Screenwriting

Steve Mallinson, not only is this element of screenwriting not talked about much, when it is, it's talked about by people with little to no experience.

My advice here is to tread carefully, take all opinions with a grain of salt, and do your due diligence on who's giving them. There's already some quite bizarre comments in the replies.

I'm afraid this is a creative pain that will be perennial for as long as you collaborate with others. It will crop up during development, it will crop up during the shoot, it will crop up during editing, it will crop up during distribution. There is no getting away with it and it's tough for any artist to go through, as you have a vision in your mind's eye and most likely something to say in the process. Finding peace with it isn't easy either, or even possible sometimes. Just know that you are going through something every working writer does, even those who direct their own material.

Also know this though; you are further ahead than 99.999% of writers ever get. This is a wonderful place to be in terms of career building as you're, at worst, attached to a project that's circulating with investors, producers, and talent.

The producer should be doing what's best for the project, so try to default to that assumption first. Talk with them when you can and learn their reasoning. It's a lot easier to swallow the frog when you know it's less a matter of taste and moreso a matter of logistics, marketing, production value, etc.

At the end of the day, the person to reflect with is yourself. You're an independent artist cutting your own path. What you're comfortable with is your business and you need not justify yourself to anyone. You're going to get people who'll tell you they'd stick by their guns, demand complete control, and insist on gild rates, which is good for them, but they'll most likely be telling you the same in ten years when you've made three films and they haven't even got an option. Been there. Few what to work their way up through the trenches.

In this case, the director might be being a little bullish. I don't know. I had that with an actor who wanted to attach to a project once. They fancied themselves as a producer and had a lot of criticisms of the script. In that case, it stopped us attaching them as they came across as too difficult. One always has to ask, why would anyone attach themselves to something they didn't at least love 90% of? To be frank, it always smacks of desperation and entitlement to me.

On the flip side, I was brought in to rewrite of a script earlier this year. The producer was a huge name. One of the biggest in recent history. The writer was a nobody. The script objectively needed a lot of work. I wasn't interested in a credit. This writer would have seen a feature film produced, been linked to a big name, and had what they'd be credited for massively improved in the background. They chose to be awkward and the project died. Now they have nothing.

These days, I release my spec scripts as novellas first. That means there's a version as per how my mind's eye sees it out there on the record. That keeps me creatively satisfied because I know trying to get into film and trying to maintain creative control are two massively opposed forces.

It's no longer your script, which is hard to swallow but if you're not directing then it's no longer the story you're telling.

Great advice there - thanks everyone.

I think the ultimate goal of every screenwriter is to see their script see the daylight. If that's what you wish then go with the flow and do whatever it takes to see if not your story your characters come to life.

To zag here -- at a point though, if you can already tell you wouldn't be in love with a potential future film made off your script given the changes required, then it's okay to step away and let this option fade out. Or let the director take full control to do what they want to do. There really is nothing worse in this biz than having your name attached to something you don't love or you don't feel proud of, except doing 100x the amount of effort than you initially set out to do to come to that result. There's no shame in moving too hastily at times due to the excitement and possibilities, but realizing an errant step and letting go to protect yourself is also a completely valid option. It's much more spiritually freeing to let go sometimes than to marathon on the rewrite treadmill for what will eventually become diminishing marginal returns on your effort. Having a produced credit ain't everything, but it is the only thing. Just be careful what you sign up for.

Technically, the best free software is Windows Notepad. When you're in the process of writing, you don't want to be editing. Seeing little squiggly lines on spelling and grammar makes you want to keep backspacing and fixing things. I start most things in Notepad. Plus, the files are small and don't run into memory issues as the page count grows. Final Draft or other software can import it later.

As an example:

INT. DEFENDER LIMO - NIGHT

Pikul drives. He can see why the limo is an off-road vehicle: the road is terrible, dirt and gravel, stutter potholes and sharp ridges, the occasional fallen tree.

PIKUL

(manic, scared)

I normally like the countryside, don't you? Normally, the country is relaxing and calm.

I use Trelby. Trivial and intuitive, so it is easy to learn.

@Christopher that's so interesting!! What a great idea.

Its been a while but Celtx had a free function on it.

I get asked this a lot, so I made a page on our Rochester Writers Workshop site.

https://www.rwwny.org/software/

Most “free” apps are really fremium, meaning you get a couple things free, then pay to unlock more.

Short answer for best truly free is Trelby (Windows) and Highland 2 (Mac). Highland 2 gives you a watermark on exports, but it’s unobtrusive.

is this already into a movie?

Yes I have won screenplay awards but still nothing has come out of this and sometimes I wonder? I don't know about you Micke, but I'm continuing receiving emails from screenplay competitions all over the world to enter and they're offering me a discount up to 70% off! Don't waste your time or money! Maybe you need to look at your story and turn it into a GREAT story because GOOD stories don't get made.

Congratulations. Keep up the good work.

Congratulations!

Congratulations. There is a pitch session every Thursday night from Stage 32. I attended a couple of times and I liked it. My time zone does not work well to attend every week.

Thanks for the heads up, Maurice. Is this new? How long has it been going on?

You're welcome, Rob Jones. Yes, this logline contest is new. It started April 24th.

At the moment the Ad Astra and 'The Keep' soundtracks.

When I'm writing, I don't listen to music. If I listen to anything it's usually a movies or series from the 80s or 90s. For instance, right now I'm writing a mystery thriller pilot so I watch episodes of MIAMI VICE that are on Youtube.

Jerry Robbins I've heard of writers doing that and also placing their desk in front of a blank wall so they have nothing to look at.

Dig the playlist! Mine depends on the project, and I typically use music during the story design stage. Once I start writing dialogue I typically switch to nature sounds on an App/ or keep it silent aside from the occasional crackle of a candle. For me, listening to music while writing can sometimes influence my scenes too much. Then again I may purposely listen to the same song over and over and over for one specific scene,

Tucker Teague yes, I have done that as well!

Pat Alexander Congrats to everyone involved

Congratulations to the ten Period Piece finalists! Way to go...and here's to added success!

Very exciting news for these writers, congratulations!

Congrats to all!

Congratulations to all quarter, semi, and finalists not an easy thing to accomplish. This is my first finalist place after many, many drafts and many many screenplays, Finally (singing that song).

When the weather is really hot, I l go to write at hotel lobbies. free wifi, AC, and sometimes the staff puts out free snacks.

Dan MaxXx I love that idea! Might try it so I can listen for dialogue inspiration

Our gazebo :-)

My favorite writing place is in my writing shell, just a desk. Values up when my fluffy felidae writing guard tenderly comes close. Together getting the flow is priceless.

Rachel, my bedroom's my one writing spot...it's where I've placed my Power Mac G5 computer (the one with Final Draft 6).

Dan, I admire your guts when it comes to walking into hotel lobbies to write!

Congratulations on "Horror-Fest" being a Finalist, Bill Brock! I think the longest it took me to finish a script was a few months. I probably worked on other projects while I wrote that script since that's something I usually do, unless I'm on a deadline.

My best tip is to network with producers, directors, DPs, actors, writers, editors, etc., Göran Johansson. Here are blogs on networking: www.stage32.com/blog/tags/networking-41

You could also post your loglines, synopses, and scripts in the logline section of your Stage 32 profile. Producers, directors, etc. search profiles for projects.

And you could search for producers, directors, etc. on IMDbPro (https://pro.imdb.com/signup/index.html?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpro.imdb.com%2F).

Dear Maurice, many thanks for your advice. Any more comments?

You're welcome, Göran Johansson.

I meant to put this in my first comment, Göran Johansson: You could search for producers, directors, etc. in the Browse Members Section (www.stage32.com/people).