Finding the RIGHT Time To Write By Jacob Krueger [divider type=”thin” full_width=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] This article comes in response to a question I was recently asked by a screenwriting student. I think it describes a challenge almost all screenwriters face: finding balance. Balance between the planning phases and the writing phases of creating your screenplay. Balance between […]
It may be hard to tell from some of the stuff you see coming out of Hollywood, but believe it or not, no one sets out to be a mediocre writer.
No writer dreams of writing that crappy screenplay with the unintelligible plot. No writer fantasizes about creating paper thin characters, canned dialogue, or predictable plot points.
As writers, we share a common desire: we want to write great scripts, fascinating characters, brilliant dialogue, and breathtaking stories that catch people and won’t let them go. We want to say something that matters to us, have our voices heard, and create the kind of movies we grew up loving.
All writers want to be great writers.
Unfortunately, for many writers this need to create something great is actually the biggest obstacle to their writing…
I was recently giving a lecture on using hypnosis to combat writer’s block, and was asked a profound question by one of the students.
She explained that her block had nothing to do with fear of writing, procrastination, the desire to get every scene “right” or any of the other common causes of writer’s block that students were describing.
Her problem that she simply didn’t know what happened next in her story. She was just plain stuck. And she felt like until she figured it out, she couldn’t write another word.
How many writers have felt EXACTLY like that?
More than you think.
It’s easy to convince ourselves that if we don’t know what is going to happen, that there’s no way to move forward in our writing.
But the truth is exactly the opposite. And if you want proof, all you have to do is think about your life…
I just saw “Drag Me To Hell” tonight. Talk about a great example of how a well structured movie uses theme to craft a character’s journey. Spoiler alert: If you haven’t watched this movie yet, this might be a good time to dash out and see it. Then come on back and read all about it.
The theme of “Drag Me To Hell” is pretty simple: selfish desire leads to the soul’s destruction. The film begins with a woman who is genuinely good. And step by step, the structure of the film quite literally drags her to hell– not just through the terrible curse that she must contend with, but by causing her to make such immoral choices in her attempts to escape it that by the time it’s all over, she just about deserves her fate…
The other day, a student asked me a profound question. It’s a problem faced by so many writers that I decided to include it and my answer in this month’s newsletter.
What do you do when you’re so fed up with your writing, you’re ready to scrap your whole project?
Whoa! Pull those pages out of the trash can– at least until you try these simple tricks to re-energize your writing and get your project rocking again…
For about as long as there have been screenwriting books, young writers have been taught that movies have a three act structure. Each act is viewed as 30 to 60 page chunk of the plot and when they’re all assembled together, they provide a beginning, middle, and an end for your story.
Countless script doctors, critics, teachers, and producers have used this structure to break down great movies, and analyze how they are put together.
But while this may be a great way of looking at a finished script from a critical perspective, it’s not particularly useful to screenwriters. When you’re beginning a new project, it’s not exactly groundbreaking news that your story is going to need a beginning, middle and an end. The real challenge is figuring out how to structure your story in a way that captures the essence of your character’s journey.
Trying to use three act structure to create the story of your movie is like trying to sprint through a marathon. You may start off strong, but by the time you hit the middle of the story, you’ll most likely be running out of steam…
Young writers often get obsessed with writing for the audience. Even in the earliest drafts, their focus is on sneaking in tons of exposition about their characters, layering themes or symbolic motifs, or carefully outlining the mechanics for a surprise ending they think will be the key to selling their script.
It’s no wonder that this happens. After all, these are the things that film scholars rave about and film studies classes teach– complex psychological portraits and deep thematic importance, screenplay structures, beat sheets and outlines.
So why do movies written this way so often come out flat? Why does it seem like nothing is happening, when the writer has put so much effort into building the psychological life of the character? Why do all the themes and motifs just feel like smoke and mirrors? Why is no one reacting to the surprise ending you’ve worked so hard to craft?
It’s not because these things aren’t important. They are. It’s because you’re focusing on them TOO EARLY.
What If Your Screenplay Isn’t Good? By Jacob Krueger [divider type=”thin” full_width=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] I recently had a student ask me a profound question. After chugging along excitedly for a month on a first draft of a new screenplay, he had found himself paralyzed by a terrifying question: “What if it isn’t GOOD?” I […]
The Six Most Destructive Words For Writers By Jacob Krueger [divider type=”thin” full_width=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] The following are six of the most destructive words writers can say to themselves: “Maybe I Don’t Really Want This…” If you’re a writer, you’ve probably uttered these words more times than you’d like to admit. A day spent […]
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