NYC Short Screenplay Challenge

Was surfing the book of face this afternoon and a page was suggested to me.  That page was for the NYC Midnight's Short Screenplay cChallenge 2014.  I followed the link (http://www.nycmidnight.com/Competitions/ShSC/Challenge.htm) and started reading about the competition.  It looks interesting to me. The one part that has me hesitant is having to pay for the entry, but I think it could be a good investment to get some feedback on a bit of writing I produce.

The intriguing part is that they will provide a genre, a location and an object which provide the framework for the screenplay. I might just register adn see what I can do.

The early entry deadline is tomorrow (9/25/2014) which saves $10 off the entry fee.

Characters

Today a great actor has passed away.  Did I know him?  No, sadly I did not.  What I did know were the characters he brought to life.  He not only presented us with characters, he made us believe in them and care about them and what happened to them.  He gave them life.

Who is this you might ask?  He was Robin Williams.  We were first introduced to him via a quirky little half hour comedy show called Mork and Mindy.  He was Mork and he made us believe he was an alien. From that most of us found his stand up comedy routines.  His jokes weren't merely jokes, but skits with characters who had unique perspectives on the world.  His comedy specials weren't always about laughs and that was good.

Then he moved on to movies and dramatic as well as comedic roles.  Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, Patch Adams, The World According to Garp, good Morning Vietnam, Bicentennial Man, One Hour Photo - all of these showcased his range and ability to present full characters about which we cared.  

His talent will be sorely missed. It is said that he died of an apparent suicide.  That saddens me greatly that someone who was so talented could feel so lost that taking his own life seemed to be his only way out. I pray for his family and his friends and his fans that somehow they might find a little peace.

I choose to remember the greatness he has shown us rather than this possible ending. I hope to one day write something that would have been worthy of a talent such as his.

INSPIRATION

Where does inspiration come from? Do you know? I certainly don't. Today I got inspiration from a chance link on a page I was perusing for an entirely different reason. I followed that link which presented another and following that link I came across a YouTube video of Peter Diamandis giving a TED talk and I was inspired. What he said was essentially that we are living in an age of abundance and that our lives are so much better today than they were 100 years ago. He also talked about how there are going to be 3 billion new voices heard from in the online community over the next 10 years and how we are going to see new innovations and exciting changes because of this. This got me to thinking about our present society and how we can help to create innovative and original thinkers. This then started me thinking about our current educational system and environment with its reliance on standardized tests and conformity and the lack of the arts in schools today due to budget cuts, etc. and I start to get worried. I'm worried that we are trying to fit everyone into neat little pigeonholes, all the same. I'm worried that we are stifling creative voices because we want everyone to perform the same. We need to be encouraging creativity and providing outlets for this creativity and original thinking. Let's face it, so many of the people who have changed the world were those who didn't fit in with the "norms" of the day. Many of them were considered a little crazy because they didn't conform. These are the individuals we need to be nurturing and helping to explore and build their unique voices for the betterment of us all. I believe it would be a sad day if we actually got everyone to follow all of the rules and not think outside the proverbial box. If it weren't for the great men and women who bucked the norms of society we certainly wouldn't have made any of the progress we've made.

THE CALL

Here is another excerpt from my novel:

I am in the middle of revising a budget spreadsheet at work when my cell phone rings. I look at the caller ID and it is Linda’s cell phone. I quickly answer.

“Hello.”

She doesn’t say anything right away so I think she hadn’t heard me. “Hello. Hello. Can you hear me” I say.

“I hear you” comes the reply and I can hear that something is wrong.

“Hold on a second” I say as I get up and head outside for a bit more privacy. Working in a room full of cubicles doesn’t afford any privacy.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“The doctor said I have to have more tests to make sure, but he thinks its breast cancer and wants to do a biopsy.” This comes out in a rush followed by the sounds of her sobbing.

“Oh dear,” I murmur as terrible thoughts flash through my brain. I haven’t had any direct dealing with this exact thing before but we have had family and friends who had.

“Where are you?” I ask.

“I just got home” she replies.

“I’m on my way.”

I know Joe, my boss, won’t have a problem with my leaving. I hurry back to my desk, save the work I had been doing, shoot Joe a quick email that I have to leave for the day and am out of the door before the computer shut down screen disappears.

I know Linda needs me and I hurry to get to her. The 25 minute drive to the house isn’t good. All of these horrible thoughts keep flashing through my head. What if we are too late and there isn’t anything the doctors can do?  What if we try everything and it isn’t enough? What if she suffers through all of the treatments we can find and cancer still wins in the end? I stop myself right there. I need to not look at the negative, but focus on the positive. I instinctively know that I have to be the strong one for her as she had been for me. I have to be the one who stays positive and focused on getting through this and everything being alright. We technically don’t have a diagnosis of cancer yet and that is a slim hope that I have to hang onto with all my might.

When I get home I find Linda in our bedroom lying on the bed. It is almost as if she is already defeated. The buoyancy and life are out of her. I can tell she’s been crying. She already looks half dead. I go to her and pull her into my arms. She starts sobbing anew. We sit there with me holding her for 15 minutes before the tears subside. Neither of us says a word for a while longer. Finally, she speaks first. A single word. “Why?”

I pause for a moment.  This is the same question that has been swirling through my head. There is nothing I can offer but the truth. “I don’t know dear. I don’t think there really is a true Why to this. We have to focus on beating this and not on what caused it.”

She murmurs her agreement, and starts sobbing again.

It breaks my heart to see her like this.  I want to make it better, to go back to how happy we were just this morning before this happened.

“We don’t know if it really is cancer, the doctor only thinks it might be. It could be benign.” I try to calm her.

“You know they wouldn’t send me to the oncologist unless they had a really strong suspicion, especially with my family history – my mom and my Aunt.” She fires back.

“When is your appointment with the oncologist?”

“Tomorrow at 10:00 I think.”

“I’m taking you. I’ll call Joe later and let him know I won’t be in tomorrow.”

“OK. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me silly!  Where else would I be but with you? I LOVE YOU! You know that and know that I will do whatever I have to in order to take care of you.”

“I Love you too.” is her reply.

We just sit there in each other’s arms for an hour, not wanting to break the spell In my mind I am hoping that if we don’t move then this isn’t happening. Unfortunately it is.

Inspiration and insight

I've been doing a good bit of reading and surfing looking for ideas, inspiration  and insight into the world of writing and publishing. I've been working on my novel A Quarter Ton to Kona and thinking that it might be a great movie.  Ok, a good movie.  The point is that I have been thinking that I need to find out how to go about writing a screenplay/script.

Along the way, while trying to find out the basics, I came across a screenwriter, a SUCCESSFUL screenwriter, who has also been giving out little pieces of wisdom he has garnered from his years in the business.  His name is Brian Koppelman.  Many of you won't recognize the name but will recognize some of his work.  His list of writing credits includes Rounders, Runaway Jury, Ocean's Thirteen and Runner Runner. Needless to say he knows a thing or two about the industry and following your dreams.

He dispenses his wisdom through a series of Vines he calls Six Second Screenwriting.  Here is one that really hit home for me:

He has many more which are all tagged with #sixsecondscreenwriting

Most of his Vines are inspiring and thought provoking but this one hit home.  I want to be a writer so all I need to do it get off my butt and write.  The more I write, the better I get.  There is no overnight success I need to put in the work and hopefully, one day I can produce something others want to read or see, but the main point is I am doing it.

Write Everyday - it will change your life!

What tense do you use most often???

I read an article in Writer's Digest (WD) online yesterday that got me thinking and wondering - what tense do you write in most often?  The article was written by Brian Klems who is one of the editors at WD.  He was listing the pros and cons of writing in present tense and it got me thinking.

I had read a few articles/blog posts from other editors and authors who almost universally suggested that present tense was the way to go.  It lends and immediacy and in your face quality to the story and keeps it lively, or so the arguments went. It made sense to me at the time and I bought it wholeheartedly.  I even went back and am editing my novel, A Quarter Ton to Kona, rewriting it in present tense.

Klems' article got me thinking, though. Was this the right thing to do?  I'm not sure at the moment.  I'm just over halfway through the novel with the edit and its coming along slowly.  I don't think there should be a hard and fast rule about this.  Mixed tenses are great as they allow the author to bring in past events and manipulate time lines. I even think about the classic stories and fairy tales that start 'Once upon a time...' and realize that past tense is very useful in story telling.

So, I'm curious, when you write, what tense do you use?  Do you stick with one or do you use mixed tenses as appropriate to tell the story?  I would love to hear what you think!

Keep on writing.

Novel or Screenplay

As I'm writing my novel, "A Quarter Ton to Kona",  I see that there is massive competition for resources in the novel space and it scares me a bit.  I really think my novel is a pretty inspirational story and that it could well help people make positive changes in their lives.  My fear is that the message won't be seen by very many if I stick with the novel format.  If I could get it made as a movie, I think it has a much better chance of reaching people.  I can actually see it in my mind as the movie plays out.  The scenes are perfect for the screen and it might actually allow there to be more subtle nuances than I have written, depending n the actors used.

I have other ideas that seem to play out in my mind as if they are on a screen.  I can see and hear the action and ambient or background sounds as well as see and feel the dialog. "The Elevator Story" also lends itself to that type of presentation.  I can see scenes and action and I think it might play out better on the screen than what I can write.

This brings me to my dilemma: do I continue to work on both of these, editing and rewriting them as novels, or should I look at them as screenplays and rewrite them as such?  Should I write the novels and adapt them to the screen?  I just don't know.  I'm more comfortable in the novel arena as I have read many, many novels, but never looked at a written screenplay.  That is my big hesitation.

What would you do?????