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The Athletic Nerd | The Screenwriting Spark Volume 1

Gathering material for this week’s edition of The Screenwriting Spark really solidified my love of Screenwriting Blogs.  There is an endless supply of inspiration out there.

A quick search on Google or Twitter reveals thousands of articles about virtually any screenwriting topic you can name.

However, I urge you to take caution as I spent a ton of time reading and banking articles for future Sparks.  I wound up having less time to work on my latest script.

Volume 2

Twitter Sparks:

Recommended Follow: @gointothestory

Interview: Aaron Sorkin, screenplay writer of ”The Social Network” – The Boston Phoenix

How To Create Believable Characters For Film – Leslie Dunn

Five Plot Point Breakdowns – ScriptLab

The Art of Now: Living the Moment – ScriptLab

Mike Leigh’s screenwriting secrets – CNN

22 Ways to improve your screenwriting – ezinemark.com (hcroasmun)

On The Blogs:

Featured: IndieScreenwriting
Blog

A blog I recently discovered with some great original content including a fantastic series called Top 100 Screenwriting Questions.

What Indie Screenwriters can learn from James Cameron – Indiescreenwriting

Screenwriting Tips – Xander Bennett

What belongs on a title page? – John August

Top 5 Screenwriting Mistakes – ScreenwritingU

The Craft of Screenwriting – Sid Field (Audio)

Featured NERD Post: 56 Things I Love About Screenwriting

Submit your screenwriting post or article

Scripts Pro for iPhone & iPad Review

The best screenwriting app you can buy on the iPhone right now makes it easier than ever to write your heart out wherever you are.

Click here for the full review.

FADE IN:

This week, I went back and read the first feature length screenplay I ever wrote. It’s remarkable looking back more than 10 years to see how I’ve evolved as a screenwriter over the years.

What inspired me about the experience was thinking about where I’ll be 10 years from now. How will I feel about my writing then?

Will I be proud of the work I accomplished?

This thought process planted a seed in my imagination and eventually grew into an ambitious goal.

A goal to write as much as possible so future me will know I worked hard and didn’t waste a second.

The last thing I want 10 years from now is regret.

FADE OUT.

The Screenwriting Spark Volume 1

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The Athletic Nerd | The Screenwriting Spark Volume 1

The Screenwriting Spark is my way of pointing people to the blogs and articles that inspire me to sit down and write screenplays.

Sometimes, it can become incredibly difficult to summon the motivation needed to stare down the blank pages free of intimidation.

Sometimes creativity needs a SPARK to ignite.

It’s up to you to keep the fire going but it’s nice to have a few tricks to remain focused on the story you are developing.

My first trick is to watch a movie that inspires me.

If that doesn’t work I move on to screenwriting books and online blogs.  It doesn’t take long before the fire gets going again.

Volume 1

Twitter Sparks:

Recommended Follow: @thescriptlab

The Screenwriter as Benign Dictator – The Script Lab

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 2: Protagonist Metamorphosis Arc – Go Into The Story

Screenwriting for success: Ten mistakes to avoid when writing your screenplay – Glenn Magas (Helium)

The New 10 Commandments of Writing Screenplays – Screenwriting U

Movie Scene Structure – Screenwriting Foxhole

The Blatant Truth About Screenwriting – Hal Croasmun

Adding Emotional Depth to a Plot Via a Subplot – FilmmakerIQ

When the Characters Out-Write the Writer – Niya’s Place (Everything Screenwriting)

The importance of character names – Go Into The Story

Never Ever Sell Yourself Short – The Story Department

On The Blogs:

Featured: Daily Screenwriter
Inspiration, Motivation

This is a site I found recently that updates a few times a week with simple and short posts to get your brain moving.  There are definitely sites out there that offer more in depth information but I featured this site because of it’s main focus of inspiration.

Robert McKee — Worth Watching – The Unknown Screenwriter (Video)

Writing better dialogue – John August (Video)

Professional Writing and the Rise of the Amateur – John August (Video)

Setting Up Story and Character – Syd Field (Audio) Screenwriter’s Corner

Screenwriting with passion! Why screenwriters write… – The Screenwriter’s Place

Featured NERD Post: Is My Screenplay Ready For Competitions?

Submit your screenwriting post or article

Bonus Book Review:

How NOT To Write A Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make (Nerd)

Easily one of the best screenwriting books I’ve ever read.  I’m constantly flipping through the pages to pick up some quick tips and inspiration.  Highly recommended.

FADE IN:

As Volume 1 of The Screenwriting Spark comes to a close, I wanted to use this first edition of FADE IN to ask what inspires you to write?

For most it will likely be one of the usual suspects:

  • Watching Movies
  • Reading Books
  • Reading Screenplays

What fascinates me are the wild cards unique to each individual screenwriter out there.  We all have strange ways to motivate ourselves.  I’m no exception.  I tend to move all my furniture around before I begin a new script. It makes my office feel new and it’s an atmosphere I love.

What are your unique methods to help inspire your imagination?

FADE OUT.

The Screenwriting Spark Volume 1

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Things I Love About Screenwriting

Screenwriting is my passion. I love writing and I love movies.  It’s an addiction.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve searched for ways to express myself creatively.  Screenwriting just fit so easily.  I’ve been obsessed ever since.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking more and more about my overall body of work and decided it was time to expand.  So I’ve set some pretty ambitious goals over the course of the next year.  Basically, I’ve challenged myself to be better.  To learn more.  To write more.

This thought process inspired me to sit down and really think about why I love to write screenplays.

It isn’t a complete list by any means but it does represent an important idea.

Screenwriting means something different for anyone who has ever loved movies enough to give it a shot.

Here’s a small look at some simple things that remind me why I love screenwriting so much:

  1. The first time I saw the screenplay format and decided to try it.
  2. Watching movies that make me feel like writing.
  3. Feeling inspired.
  4. Being excited about a new story.
  5. The freedom to come up with new ideas.
  6. Launching Final Draft.
  7. Typing FADE IN:
  8. Writing just because I can.
  9. Finding that one thing that ties the entire story together.
  10. Designing a title page.
  11. Writing ‘trailers’ before I start a screenplay.
  12. ‘Photoshopping’ posters for new stories.
  13. Sitting somewhere quiet with a blank notebook and my imagination.
  14. Perfecting the opening scene.
  15. Keeping stories secret until they are finished.
  16. Finishing an outline and gearing up to start writing.
  17. Changing my furniture around whenever I start a new script.
  18. Finishing a first draft and then spending countless hours perfecting it.
  19. The rewriting process.
  20. Thinking about the little details.
  21. Writing good conversations.
  22. Losing track of time while I write.
  23. Writing about screenwriting.
  24. Making play lists of songs that remind me of the story I’m working on.
  25. Getting up early to write.
  26. Staying up late to write.
  27. Pulling all nighters.
  28. Creating cool villains.
  29. Creating cool heroes.
  30. Creating interesting supporting characters.
  31. Building inside jokes into scripts.
  32. Introducing new characters.
  33. Describing locations that no one has ever seen.
  34. Incorporating obscure references.
  35. Making up words and terms.
  36. Using white space to my advantage.
  37. Creative transitions between scenes.
  38. Bringing old characters into new stories.
  39. Writing confrontations and arguments.
  40. Powering through writer’s block.
  41. Revisiting old ideas.
  42. Making a change that makes the story better.
  43. Reading screenwriting books.
  44. Losing sleep because I have to write something down.
  45. Reading my old scripts.
  46. Reading screenwriting blogs.
  47. Reading produced hollywood screenplays.
  48. Knowing a characters decisions instinctively because you just know.
  49. Thinking of titles that have more than one meaning.
  50. Catching a mistake the spell checker missed.
  51. Writing on my iPhone.
  52. Printing out a finished script.
  53. Being terrified to show people my work and getting over it.
  54. Surprising myself.
  55. Typing THE END.
  56. Finishing a script and immediately starting work on a new one!

There’s literally thousands of little moments you experience when you are writing. It’s impossible to collect them all in one place.  These are just a few of the reasons why I’ll never stop writing movies.  It’s too much fun.

The Athletic Nerd Screenwriting

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Writing Screenplays on a plane

Currently, I’m 37703 feet above the ground traveling at 407 mph. (According to my personal video player) I’m sitting in a cramped plane that just entered Manitoba air space on it’s way to Edmonton, Alberta…

And I’m bored to tears.

So why not use this amazing phone’s “airplane” mode to my advantage. I was thinking about writing a little bit but I feel like it fits in the same category as writing on a bus. So I’ll hold off for now.

For the record, we sped up and are now traveling at 411 mph. This live tracker thing is handy!

I was just thinking about my new feature script. The idea came to me about 3 years ago and I’ve been messing around with the story ever since. It’s my goal to finish the first draft before the new year. Then what? My next project really is up in the air. Originally it was going to be a grim story involving a vampire but the recent blood lusting craze in Hollywood put a stop to that. I’ll revisit it in 10 years. It’s going to be a bad ass story.

To some it may seem like a negative that I’m unsure as to what script I’ll tackle next. (Feature scripts at least. Shorts don’t count in this line of thinking). I consider it incredibly freeing to know it can be whatever I want. It’s the beauty of being a writer. I can go wherever I want next… But first I have to finish my new script.

And before that I have to get off this plane… I’m not a fan of inescapable small spaces…

*Update* We just hit 427 mph. This pilot knows how to bring it!!!

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Finding Time To Write

September 16th, 2009 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Screenwriting - (0 Comments)

Finding Time To Write Screenplays

One of the advantages of taking a bus to work is having time to read.

Currently, I’m reading a book called Alone In A Room.  It’s a screenwriting book by John Scott Lewinski about the working habits of professionals in the industry.

The lesson is simple.

Everything begins with the writer actually sitting in the chair and writing.

It sounds simple but I’ve learned over the last year that it’s anything but simple.  It got me thinking though.

Working screenwriters FIND time to write.

Facing a white screen is simultaneously the coolest and scariest feelings you can have as a writer.  But that’s not my problem right now…

My issue is sitting in the chair and working on my new script.  It’s a feature film that’s been in my head for about 3 years and I’m about 40 pages deep right now.  What bugs me is how much I love to talk about the story yet I can’t seem to locate a few hours a day to get the work done.  Until now…

Over the last few weeks I’m been actively challenging myself to sit down and type.  It started with a re-write of my new short screenplay Ti amo.

For a long time I felt pretty guilty about not writing as often as I used to.  In my defense, I was directing a movie but I now find myself with a lot more free time to create new material.  The one thing I noticed is how much better I feel when I write.  It’s practically connected to my moods.

I’m easily agitated if I’m not being creative in some form.  Not the case when I’m writing something new.

I haven’t been this excited in a long time.

Hopefully the momentum continues.

The Athletic Nerd Screenwriting

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