Tuesday, February 23, 2010

PROJECT 2: Screenplay - Starting Out

Today, I started work on my screenplay. I went out yesterday and bought How to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Viki King. From the title, I wasn't sure about it (sounded a little like 8-minutes abs, or something), but it got overwhelmingly good reviews on Amazon. Most reviewers said that, while it actually took them longer than 21 days to complete a screenplay, the overall method is very effective. From what I gather, Viki King's idea is to get things down on paper quickly, and then refine from there. This seems perfect for me, since I have a lot of trouble with second guessing myself and not being able to complete projects (who doesn't?). My dad is sending me the Syd Field book, which is considered the bible of screenwriting, or so I have been told.

Now, I'm not sure how this is going to work in terms of sharing work, because, although the only people I've told about this blog are close friends, everything on here is theoretically public, and I don't necessarily want to share everything I write with the world. So, for now, I think what I'll do is share my progress on the blog (what writing exercises I've done, what pages I've written, etc.), and, if you're ever interested in reading what I've written so far, just shoot me an email. I'd be very interested to hear feedback, especially since I've never done this before.

At this point, I've done a couple stream-of-consciousness exercises, so nothing interesting to read. But the process has begun!

2 comments:

  1. The American formula (like it or not) is to reveal the plot within the first ten pages (minutes).

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  2. Yeah but are there any books about how to SELL a screenplay in 21 days? I'm happy to give feedback. Enjoying the BixBlog so far! -AJ

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