Hi everyone!
My name is Evelyne Gauthier and I leave in Canada. I have a background in book publishing. I have a degree in French literature, I have published 15 novels and a few short stories as well (all in French, so far). I am also a book editor, a writing coach and have been working in the French-Canadian book industry for 20 years now.
Recently, I decided to try my hand on screenwriting, which is something that I wanted to do for a very long time, but never had the courage to do. I started taking lessons offered by Stage 32 about screenwriting. I am currently working on the logline and the outline of my script.
I have to admit that although I have experience in the book industry, the television and film industry is completely new to me. I have so many questions and I’m feeling excited, but I little overwhelmed, too. There’s still so much that I don’t know about that industry, and not only about screenwriting. I’m still learning about pitching, loglines, agents, directing, etc.
But… one step at a time, right?
Anyway, thanks. Love to hear from all of you.
Congrats on all the French stuff. My brothers and I are doing a French screenplay. I can feel the heat of not being French and not aware of who the characters are. My brother took French in high school. We did take our dad back to Paris many years after his WW II years. I probably shouldn't be doing such a French story, but I like it so far. We're on page 18.
We did a screenplay about one of my heroes Doctor Banting who discovered insulin. Went to his old digs in Toronto and London, Canada and all. I like that screenplay.
Thanks! Yes, writing in a language that is not your native language is quite a challenge. I think that if you like your story, it's definitely a good start. And writing a French story, in your case, is also a beautiful challenge. Wish you the best. :) Good luck to you and your brother.
Thanks.
Welcome Evelyne! You're certainly in the right place, my fellow Canadian.
Think of Screenwriting like a much more condensed-down version of novel writing. Where, with literary writing you can type as much detail and extrospection as you wish on page, without a care for word count or character limits. But with screenwriting you're restrained to the bare-bones imagery necessary to make the read go as smoothly as possible as if you were seeing your words up on the big screen.
Screenwriting is to novel-writing what haikus are to poetry.
Evelyne Gauthier! That’s so awesome! Congrats on venturing into something new. Have you heard of the Writers’ Room here on Stage 32? It’s an amazing space to learn all about the craft and business of screenwriting. We have the opportunity to work on our pitches, pitch to working executives, receive education on different aspects of screenwriting, hear from exec’s about the business, give and receive script coverage and SO much more! To try it out for a free month, please email Jason Mirch (j.mirch@stage32.com), the Director of Script Services.
Hi Evelyn, welcome.
B A Mason Yes, it's pretty different and I really have to adapt the writing. What surprises me is the amount of preparation and steps required before even writing the script itself. I find that there is more constraints to screenwriting than novel writing. From my point of view anyway. Fortunately, I was already a "planner" and I was always preparing an outline when I was writing my novels. So, I am not completely disoriented. But it's quite an adaptation. :)
Monica, thank you. Yes, I heard about the writers room. It seems great. :) I intend to join in next month. Right now, I have a novel to finish that I have to send to my publisher on June 1st, so it is my priority for the moment. But after that, I will certainly try the Writer's room. Thanks for the info! :)
Thank you, John. Happy to be here. :)