Screenwriting : 'Do the work. Write the Truth. Results will follow.' by Linda Summer

Am inspired...

I've watched a few of McKee's videos. I have no opinion about and can't remember much about them. However, just because someone hasn't sold scripts doesn't necessarily mean he can't teach something. Additionally, the guy has some older television credits on IMDb. And, remember, the guys who made the real money during the Gold strikes in California and Alaska were the ones selling the food and mining supplies. Hint, hint.

Dan MaxXx: 'Lots of good writers quit and it’s not because they don’t understand the craft.'

Pardon my oblivious response, Dan, but I have been MIA for many years and am currently playing hurry-up-catch-up. Does not being a WGA member equate to 'you will never work in this town again?' The world needs good writers to flourish, grow and keep the art and craft of storytelling alive and kicking. Where do your good writers go post WGA?

I'm not a member of anything - just revelling in the recovered joy of creative freedom. That's intoxicating enough for me at this time.

Phillip - I hear you. Years ago I enrolled in an applied grammar course run by a guy who loved language but never made it as a commercial author. (To be fair, Australian publishers were tunnel-visioned, conservative, subjective folk so I'm sure it wasn't because he lacked talent.)

He scanned samples of my writing at the course interview and told me I had the ability to 'capture the emotion' of the story which doesn't come easily to many people who venture down the writing path. He also pointed out that I wrote in passive voice, which I hadn't heard of before, and enlightened me about the significant difference an active voice makes for the reader. Worth his weight in gold.

Linda: Thanks for sharing.

Hi, I read Story probably in the mid 90's. I'm not sure if it's changed any. I found the book a nightmare to get through and It really dumbfounded me why someone would explain himself in such a complicated manner. Especially a screenwriter who's job it is to say a lot with as little words as possible. I found the summaries at the end of each chapter said it all clearly though and I took away a lot of useful Story structure lessons. I think people are keen to dismiss many structure concept writers. I think being restricted isn't something a writer enjoys so the tendency to buck against it is natural.

However I think structure is as important to a writer as technique is to an artist. A painter can pick up a brush and paint a wall therefore he is painting. However an artist can pick up a brush and through the understanding of technique he can produce a masterpiece. Both a painter and an Artist use a brush but only one produces anything worth looking at.

McKees' work is concerned with story structure and character arcing. I think it's a valuable piece of work so no doubt his seminars will be the same. I'd depends what your looking for.

Selling is not my thing but my oldest son is a highly paid international Marketing Director for a major firm - he can sell anything to anybody; me, not so much. My younger son is a highly skilled and recognized Chef in fine dining circles; me, I can boil water. Both are successful and I think it's due to self reliance and ambition - I don't recall there being any 'gurus' involved.

I've played around in film & tv since the late '60s but not as a career (my professional career allowed that hobby). My teachers/gurus were recognized working pros in the film world - I never went to school or took classes but I read a couple of books.

In my opinion, writing and selling are not the same thing and if you really want to be successful in the film industry - get yourself on set however you can, learn by osmosis.

I appreciate all the comments. Thank you.

Karen, your description of his book and being dumbfounded as to 'why someone would explain himself in such a complicated manner,' gives me a sneaking suspicion that somebody else writes his marketing e-blahs. That said, good luck to him - I checked out his seminar prices and he's doing very well for himself, it seems. I'm happy to keep reading his occasional e-blahs and wish him well.

I've never been one to follow gurus of any persuasion. A seasoned mentor or teacher who walks their talk, resonates with my story ideas and provides constructive, honest feedback is my preferred tonic.

And Pamela, I don't buy the 1% either. As for 'write the truth and the results will follow,' too many writers and journalists who write the truth are experiencing bullets or prison these days. I'm sticking to writing funny stories about fairy godmothers and unicorns... right after my latest true story about losing my crazy best friend to the South Australian mafia many moons ago.

Ironically, it turns out that I have more in common with the mafia than first thought. Today I researched their origins and was pleasantly surprised to learn the following (from history.com):

“In Sicily, the term “mafioso,” or Mafia member, initially had no criminal connotations and was used to refer to a person who was suspicious of central authority. Although its precise origins are unknown, the term Mafia came from a Sicilian-Arabic slang expression that means “acting as a protector against the arrogance of the powerful,” according to Selwyn Raab, author of “Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires."

Curiouser and curiouser...

Happy writing everybody!

I do enjoy Ken Myamoto's Screencraft blogs. Enjoy these timely insights about negotiating screenwriting contracts. https://screencraft.org/2018/03/23/how-to-negotiate-a-screenwriting-cont...

What does Jack Black say in School of Rock? - "Those who can't do; teach. And those who can't teach; teach gym."

Pamela, I choose joy as well. And it keeps growing!! I, too, love the practising the 'art of impact.' Let's write from the heart and see where it takes us!

Dan MaxXx, it's interesting to learn that writers are facing tough times in the US. Here in Oz there is a misconception that in the US, the creative writing arts are flourishing and paid work is abundant. I guess it's similar to the misconception that here in Oz, Kangaroos bounce along our highways and koalas are just too much to bear! I follow Scott Myer on Twitter - we all have to earn a living but there's nothing stopping writing teachers from chasing their dreams regardless. Keep dream weaving!

Realistically, this is tough. It is very difficult. So I prefer to look at it as a practical optimist. ;)))

I rarely let statistics get to me. I just keep writing. I keep creating. I make money in many different ways, and that keeps me grounded. I know that my perspective will pay off, meaning, I just keep moving forward and meeting people and not expecting too much.

Does that make sense?

I don't mean that I don't have a level of expectation for my work, I do, I just mean I'm enjoying the journey. And I'll go wherever it takes me.

I'm in this for fun - I love the luxurious freedom of storytelling. And I'm having a great time dreaming up loglines lately.

Writing blogs is also freeing up my creativity and I've been learning how to tap into the digital economy to earn extra income through online marketing strategies. An acquaintance of mine pulls in about $4000/week from his YouTube videos. He makes funny short flicks for kids and has millions of followers.

Sounds like a good job for me. Takes a while to build an audience but that's ok. We can only live one day at a time anyway.

I prefer an entrepreneurial path these days. If I can make a few dollars from script writing, that would be a bonus. There's always plenty of ways to manifest some cash. I just don't want to get caught up in a consuming job and suffer from Strangled Spirit Syndrome again. No sireee! I have learned my lesson.

Practical optimist sums me up, too. I occasionally go to scriptwriting seminars or workshops because there's nothing like connecting in person. But online discussions are fabulous as well and we can cybermingle with people from all over the world which I just love!

I may be travelling to New York later this year and would love to time it with a workshop run by Jacon Kreuger. I attended a series of his workshops via livestream a few years ago and had a Skype session with one of the mentors to discuss my 1st 10 pages. After that, I knew I needed to pursue screenwriting. For sure.

Now, back to my blog.

I left an engineering career in June of 1995 to go full freefall into following my dream. No regrets. I'd hit a glass ceiling in '95. Knew it. The grind of the journey's been worth it. Became a person better than I'd hoped when I left. The Talent gained is the Treasure.

"It" is writing screenplays. And filmmaking, of course. For you joyful dreamers out there... do you also write prose? Seems novel writing may be a good fit then too? Perhaps? Just a thought. Lots of different mediums in which to write as screenwriting is specifically intended for performance and the screen—one hopes! Generally, you have much more freedom and independence with prose and/or novel writing—or so I am told. Lol! :)

I guess we all learn and reject ways to learn in our own personal and sometimes-biased ways, but I wouldn't go and try to discredit someone like Robert McKee, who has great testimonials from dozens of successful storytellers and filmmakers (including Peter Jackson), because "he hasn't made a film."

Pilar Alessandra never made a film, nor did John Truby or Dr. Linda Seger, and their testimonials from storytellers/filmmakers are as similarly significant as Mr. McKee's.

Best fortunes to you in your creative endeavors, Linda.

Hi Linda -- I took McKee's weekend seminar about two years ago and found it to be very enjoyable and enlightening. Are you considering attending? I think that if we remember that the wisdom from it, like any other seminar out there on screenwriting, is just giving you more tools for your tool bag. You may not need them every time, but you'll use all them eventually. Cheers!

Beth, we certainly have more words to play with in prose but I feel freedom in all creative writing forms probably because I have been away from it for so long.

In my former job with the police, my branch manager used to laugh at me when I handed him draft reports and ministerials for the top brass.

He said, 'Now Linda, this is an executive report, not a tv mini-series.'

'But boss, I'm just telling it like it is. This is eye-opening stuff for me!'

He just used to laugh at me and with me - he was a great guy to work with and I learned a lot about sanitised writing.

In the 90's when I was still working in tv and figuring out what I wanted to do when I grew up, I enrolled in a Book Editing & Publishing diploma course which I loved. I'd been a walking book, script or poem for most of my life so it felt like an appropriate arena to explore. The business side of it dampened my spirits because the majority of book profits were siphoned off to the distributors and publishers. The writer ended up close to the bottom rung of the ladder, shaking out their piggy banks to pay the mortgage.

I didn't resonate with enduring financial suffering and the Australian publishing scene was pretty conservative and boring so chances of getting published were pretty slim for me. Instead of pursuing my 'great writing dream' I kept tinkering in my spare time while opting for paid work, most of which involved writing and editing anyway, so all was not lost.

I love playing with all forms of writing and must say that after quite a few years of refining the art of saying a lot with less in promos, I struggled to write in long form! Everything felt too wordy, even though it probably wasn't. That said, I'm not a fan of purple prose but admire people who can write reams of flowery words about babbling brooks and the like.

I like McKee because he's a straight shooter and I'm sure his seminars would be engaging. And just hanging out with creative souls is nourishing and inspiring as well. And I must say that every so often, the words in his marketing eblahs have resonated so strongly that they inspired me to let it rip and write the truth. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen..heh heh...

Good to read your positive feedback about the seminar, Tony. Attending one is still on my radar. And Bill, my mentor was pretty cynical. He's doing quite well for himself as a script consultant and fixer-upperer in US writing rooms when everybody burns out. He served a useful purpose for me when I started playing with screenwriting. Thanks for your well wishes. Same to you!