I can’t write this!

Yes, you can. If there’s one thing I know (and I don’t know a lot so you better bloody take this as it is) it’s this: What ever you are writing at the moment, no matter how complex the plot is and how underdeveloped your characters are, you can most definitely write it. That’s pretty much the message of this blog.

 

A lot of writers I meet tend to have gotten into this mindset that what they are writing isn’t good enough to get produced. The dialogue is cliche and the characters are boring and radi-radi-rah. The excuses go on forever. Why do writers do this? Why do they try and find an excuse to not write a screenplay, when in reality they should be battling those excuses and finding reasons to write THEIR OWN story.

 

It’s no secret that many writers will get into a negative mindset while writing mainly because we have a bunch of negative statements inflicted on us all the time. Pretty much on a daily basis I hear other writers say things like: “Not good enough” “You can do better” — The comments go on. The fact is most of the time, these writers are correct. Very often my screenplays are not good enough to get produced and often I let these comments get to me.

 

So, when I sit down and write, I start with the mindset that my idea isn’t going to sell. In fact, I sit down with the state of mind that I probably won’t even finish the project.

 

Self-doubt is the number one factor that contributes to a screenwriters’ failure. However, self-doubt can also be the number one reason why screenwriters succeed. It’s about taking advantage of that self-doubt. It’s about turning it around and making it a good thing. That isn’t easy to do.

 

Part of my personality is continuously letting myself down with thoughts that I’m not good enough. At the same time, in the areas of screenwriting where I have succeeded, self-doubt is what got me there. When I first started writing, I remember the rush and the buzz and the overall feeling of accomplishment. I had finished a screenplay: How could I not be excited? When I submitted that screenplay into an online forum for critique, I found myself completely shattered at how badly crafted that script was. People didn’t hold back either… They told me straight up: This script is bad. From then on, whenever I wrote something, self-doubt would be the one thing that held me back. I was scared of failure. I was scared of not getting it right. I shared the exact same feelings that I suspect many of you are going through right now. Self-doubt has become the end of a lot of writers.

 

Don’t let it get to YOU. Don’t let these negative comments get to you in the wrong way. Let them get to you in the right way. Take in all feedback you get and use it to the best of your ability.

 

After I received my first lot of feedback, I wanted to give up. There was nothing stopping me from quitting, except one thing… That feeling of accomplishment.

 

You’ll all remember it. You’ll all remember that rush when you completed your first screenplay. That never ending buzz that you got. Cherish that feeling. I still get it whenever I finish a project. I realize now, that is why I write. I write for that feeling. I write for that accomplishment. At the end of the day, screenwriting is what I am passionate about. That’s the only thing that has stopped me from giving up. Treat everything you do in writing as an accomplishment. When you finish a scene silently congratulate yourself, even if you know it’s horrible. Even if you know that people won’t react well to it, cherish that feeling and use it as a fuel to just keep writing. First drafts are never good. They’re shit, in fact.

 

Finishing a screenplay is a great achievement. Treat it as one and you will be rewarded.

 

For those who are interested, you can join my free discussion board, where you can post your work and get some feedback. We also discuss all sorts of screenwriting stuff: http://www.chaosscripts.yuku.com

“Kingdom of Heaven” screenplay available on Chaos Scripts discussion board!

 

 

For those who might be interested in reading the “Kingdom of Heaven” screenplay it is now available for public viewing on Chaos Scripts Discussion Board.

You can read it here: http://chaosscripts.yuku.com/topic/15/master/1/#.UXkJwaLDDzI

Why don’t you join the discussion board while you’re at it?

 

 

The Bucket List – screenplay available on Chaosscripts forum

 

 

All screenwriters interested in reading the screenplay for “The Bucket List” need to look no further! You can find the link the “The Bucket List” on our discussion board. You must be a member of the board to view the thread. Feel free to comment on the screenplay, stating what you thought of the writing and how well it translated to film.

 

You can even post your own screenplay for some reviews from other writers on the board. Make use of this new board and sign up, now!

 

Here is the link to the thread where the screenplay is:http://chaosscripts.yuku.com/topic/14/The-Bucket-List#.UXR1GqLDDzI

 

Remember you must be a member to view the thread.

 

Enjoy!

New screenwriting Discussion board up!

This for me has been a rather spontaneous decision to make. After being a member of other boards for quite a while, I thought I might have my own go at creating my own discussion forum. I want to see what it’s like to be a moderator, but obviously I can’t do this without trusty members to keep things busy.

 

That’s where members on wordpress come in with this grand scheme. We need members to join, as two members simply isn’t enough to get a discussion board going.

 

So, in order to solve this problem, I’ve set up a plan. The further I get with this plan, the better. This plan will be broken up into different phases. In each phase I will set a goal for myself and for the board. If I don’t reach the goal within a certain time limit, then I’m afraid it’s all over for the board. I retire back to other threads I contribute to and try again in a few years time.

Without further ado, I’ll introduce the first phase. Once I achieve that phase, I’ll post the next one.

 

Phase 1: Get thirty members for the discussion board.

– This phase is reasonably straightforward. In order for me to progress, I need to get thirty members in the next two months, or so.

– That’s not all. Having members isn’t enough. I need at least five consistent members who regularly get involved with life on the board, no matter how quiet things may be. These members should keep things interested for new members. Those who frequently post, are likely to eventually become moderators for the board.

 

What’s the board about? 

Essentially, our aim at Chaos scripts discussion board is to connect screenwriters around the world. We aim to achieve this by creating a board where writers can comfortably get feedback on their work. 

I sincerely hope writers from around the board join this forum. While things will be quiet at first, regular promoting should put us on the map in no time.

 

So head on over to Chaos Scripts discussion board and introduce yourself!

Here is the link to the board: http://chaosscripts.yuku.com/

Sign up and get awesome feedback!

Discussion forum?

I’ve been brainstorming this idea for quite a while now and I thought it would be worth pitching something to other wordpress users. What about our own little discussion board for Chaos Scripts? It would be like any other board where writers are given the chance to post their work and receive feedback from other members. What do you guys think?

 

How to tackle procrastination

Can’t be bothered writing this article right now. Tune in next week.

Planning that script

As a writer, I often get writers block during the planning stage. I’ll think I have this great idea and I’ll start thinking of a story, when BAM! I lose my train of thought and it’s goodbye story, hello blank page. Hello blank page that is probably going to remain blank for a long, long time.

A big culprit for this lack of action probably comes down to the fact that the story wasn’t good enough. I hit dead ends because there simply isn’t something ‘fresh’ I can bring to the table. The story isn’t original or doesn’t have any break-through themes to inspire other writers. Fair enough, I can accept that.

Recently, I have just discovered that the reason I don’t punch screenplays out as fast as I like, may be because I don’t plan enough. I don’t think enough about where the story is about to take me. Instead, I just get overly excited about a potentially dead idea. How did I discover this? I’ve been experimenting with planning processes trying to work out which one works best for me. 

I’ve found that I prefer to go for a more abstract way of planning, which differs slightly from the methods that most screenwriters use. Rather than focusing on the story of the screenplay, I prefer to focus on the characters, instead. For example, I’ll look at a certain character and jot down their main goal and their purpose in the story. When I’m done I’ll move on to the next character and work from there until eventually all characters are covered. I find that slowly, as I develop characters, my story starts to take shape. Rather than focusing on the story and letting the characters take shape, I find it easier to pay more attention to the characters and watch as my story is affected.

There’s no guarantee that this screenplay will end up being any good. Hell, there’s no guarantee that I’ll even get it finished. I could pull out due to another flaw in the script. It’s happened before, it could certainly happen again. However, the fact that I have gotten this far without stopping indicates that I may have found the planning process that works for me.

Experiment, people! Try different ways of planning and different ways of writing! You might be surprised at how different the quality of your writing is.

How do you plan? Does it work? Love to hear from you!

5 Ways to please a Script Reader Part 2: Dialogue

I hate working with dialogue. For me, it has got to be the most grueling and time consuming aspect of screenwriting. Funny. When I first started out I thought it was going to be the easy part. I mean, how hard can it be to write what the characters are saying? Simple, right? Not at all…

 

Every character has to be unique when it comes to dialogue. That right there is where so many writers get it wrong. Watching a film makes writing dialogue LOOK easy, when in reality so many people suffer from bad dialogue without even knowing it.

 

The main issue comes with with making dialogue seem realistic and true. I suffer from the same problem as well. Often, my dialogue is absolutely shit resulting in an absolute butchering when I submit it to people. No worries. That’s all a part of the learning process. I’ve got to take these comments with a pinch of salt and fix it. No use sulking about it. That doesn’t get me anywhere

 

So how can you improve your dialogue to make a script reader go “WOW!”? Probably one of the basic suggestions I have is to simply read your entire script out to yourself. This doesn’t necessarily have to be done in one sitting, but you do need to do it. As you read, listen for anything that doesn’t slip off the tongue naturally. If you stumble and stutter, re-write it. If you stop to check what your characters actually mean, re-word it. The simple action of reading your script out to yourself is simply not enough. It can help, but it’s not going to uncover all those warts.

 

More important and more effective to your dialogue is your VOICE. You’ve got to have a different character voice for every single character. They’ve all got to talk in their own unique way. They’ve all got to have their own mannerisms and habits in the way they talk. Often, this will have something to do with your character. You’ve got to consider that in the way he talks. If they’re shy, add a stutter. If they’re confident and cool, have them use a lot of slang. It’s up to you. Just make sure none of your characters sound alike. We will pick it up.

 

Don’t use a profanity to make the dialogue seem ‘real’. I see this all the time. Writers drop the F-bomb all the time, because “it adds so much character”. Bulls%@t! Swearing doesn’t add character. It shows your weakness. It shows that you’re too damn lazy to FIND that characters true personality. You can’t pull the wool over our eyes. Repeated use of “Fuck this, fuck that” isn’t going to get you anywhere. 

 

Remember, while writing dialogue seems like the easy part, it really isn’t. Your characters have got to be interesting and one of the ways of showing that is through their own voice. If we think it’s boring, we’re probably going to drop it.

 

Coming up on Chaos Scripts…

So, I’ve already done a blog on 5 things that you shouldn’t do when approaching a script reader for script coverage, so now it’s time to do the complete opposite. I realize that while readers who read that blog know what NOT to do, the next step is knowing what they SHOULD do. 

 

This will be published in a series of five blogs covering the top five ways of pleasing a Script Reader. Follow this blog to get them as soon as they’re posted.

 

Additionally, don’t forget about our free script coverage. If you’re struggling with the next step in your script, or you just want a fresh set of eyes on your work, I can arrange that free of charge. More info on that FREE script coverage here: https://chaosscriptcoverage.wordpress.com/get-your-free-script-coverage-now/

Submissions are now open.

Submissions are now open..