Introduce Yourself : Newbie Screenwriter by Heather Kennedy

Hi Heather, I am in a similar situation: writing again after a long time and I am also in the DC area. While I cannot offer mentoring per se, I'd love to trade ideas, exchange readings, and see if we can help each other in the creative process.

Thanks, Antonio. It does sound like we're in the same boat. That sounds like a great idea. Please keep in touch.

Great to have you here, Heather. Think you'll find this community to be supportive in every way.

Heather, I've been able to learn at a rapid pace! This is a terrific platform. I'd love to stay in touch! Comedy, animation and uplifting others is my passion!

Heather, if you have a pressing question you need an answer to, message me. I'm too busy to read scripts and break them down, but I like helping people who are starting out. Best of luck. EB

Wow, Deborah, you've got a lot going on. Good luck with it all. I'll be sure to update my page with milestones. And Eric, thanks so much for the offer. I'm outlining right now, but I'm sure to have questions imminently. And RB, I think I'm already finding that this community is very supportive! Thanks!

Nice to meet you Heather, I wish you luck with your screenplay, I'm still writing my first feature, but it's been a very empowering experience :)

I'm in the same boat, Heather. I'm writing a 30 minute web series and outlining what I hope to be a short film.

Welcome to the wonderful world of listening to the voices in your head and and putting it all down on paper Heather! Good luck with your script.

We wish you all the best!

Good luck, I am a cinematographer in New York, I'd be happy to look at your script and give you some pointers/feed back, I also write

When you do your story outline, make sure that between each scene you can say "therefore" or "but". your story wont be very interesting if you say "and then" between scenes... 'therefore' moves your story with a purpose (for lack of a better way to describe it) 'but' is what changes its direction (conflict, etc...) "and then" is just a way of linking events without purpose, direction, conflict, stuff that makes stories interesting.... hope this helps

Hi - it seems so bewildering at times. I am very fortunate in that the screenplay I wrote adapting my first (self-published) novel has been optioned by a small production company. The only thing I can say, from my own experience, is don't be too precious about what you have written or, more specifically, how you have written it. I will be having meetings with people who soon will be telling me what they don't like about the way I have written my story - I have to tell myself that they know how to film a story, I don't. Apart from that, 'show, don't tell' is the key.

I highly recommend Robert McKee's Story Seminar. It's a bit pricey - but worth it. He's in New York City in April, I believe - something around $700 for a four-day intensive seminar where he goes through his book, but lots of people in TV and film go to his seminar more than once - there's a discount for being a former student. He really goes through conflict and subtext as well as character dimension - so it's a great class by a great teacher as well as a networking opportunity. Also, I'd recommend staying in New Jersey and not going with the hotel deals his website recommends - they were overpriced when I went to see him in Canada. As for books, I'd also recommend MAKING A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT by Seger or Trottier's THE SCREENWRITER'S BIBLE.

For formatting questions, you can't go wrong with Christopher Riley's "The Hollywood Standard," and to help you "trim the fat" from your (nearly-)finished screenplay, read "your screenplay SUCKS!" by William M. Akers. I'm not a screenwriter, but I'm married to one, and I have read both of these books. They're easy to read and use to make your work better.

Hello, I am newbie too. I've written 3 and I'm working on my next three. I hope we can share info and experiences sometime.

Teach Yourself Screenwriting by Ray Frensham is an older book. The section on layout is a little out of date but the sections on Structure etc are amazing.

This is also my first screenplay. Film is called Operation Nemesis: The Armenian Avengers. Film is about the Armenian Genocide revenge. How far are you along Heather.

Please check out my campaign on indiegogo.com. Read through it, watch video, if you like it please donate a few dollars. Also please tell your friends about it.

You're in for quite the ride. Stock up on emotional confidence, you'll need it. Send me your logline, I'd love to read it.

Hey Heather -- if you're in the market for a mentor, hit me up. I'm a working WGA produced screenwriter, and I offer mentorships to a select few on the side.

Hi, just checking...how's the scripting doing? Still needing tips? Got a few that could be helpful.

I have too many montages and flashbacks. I opened my script with multiple montages and flashbacks, and it makes the story confusing. Do you have any ideas that can make the story any better?

Erik how much if any do u charge for your screenwriting mentorships?

How 'bout you break the montages/flashbacks with present day action and dialogue?

Trevor, I don't charge for mentorship. It's strictly a matter of time and relationship. I do occasionally teach a two day intensive when I am in London. Just did one in November. I'm traveling a lot these days and don't really have the time to mentor at the moment. If you have too many montages and flashbacks you probably have a structural issue. Or you are listening to somebody's dogma. Only you can decide the right way to tell your story. Montages are a necessary compression of time. If you have a lot of them, you may be trying to tell a story that is too spread out for the confines of a feature film. Perhaps it is a short series ala True Detective. One of the things you can look at is taking the essential information from the montage and creating a series of short powerful scenes. It's a subtle shift but sometimes effective. I personally like the use of flashback, but agree that it is often used improperly. I recommend that you buy John Truby's Anatomy of Story and do some dissecting. Very important to distinguish between structure and formula, although Hollywood really likes formula. Remember that no story hits all of the structural beats perfectly, but it is still very important to give your script the best skeleton possible. Best of luck to you. Eric

when will u be available to mentor.

No time in the foreseeable future. Sorry.

interested in new projects let me know if you have any things coing up i might fit... http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1826288384/nm1212145

To RC Keys i am looking for screenwriting mentors. R u available.

Hey Heather - welcome aboard! Good to see another face from the DC area. I don't have a lot of script-reading experience (yet), and I'm in a boat pretty similar to yours, as I'm an aspiring screenwriter with a (different) "day job", but if you're interested, I'd be happy to trade reads and critiques.