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My POV
Brian A. Wilson
The Screenwriting Start Kit: All You Need To Pursue Your Dream in 2003
Happy new year!
If starting your screenwriting career is one of your New Year's resolutions, congratulations and welcome to the most exciting job on the planet.
In this column, I'll give you what I call the "Screenwriter's Starter Kit." It's a compilation of information and resources that you need to get your screenwriting adventure off to a solid, productive, fun start.
If you've been at this a while, have a look at what I've compiled. Maybe there's a resource or two you didn't know about, or have put off trying. Now's the time. Try something new, including any of the mandates below.
Consider what follows to be your basic provisions for your screenwriting journey. The supplies may help you, your networking abilities, your writing skills or some combo of all. Do the following, apply what you learn, and you'll be ahead of much of your competition.
*Buy Final Draft. I hear about people dorking around using macros on WordStar, finagling Word to get close to the proper formatting and so on. Stop it! Spend the money and buy a software program that has all the details worked out! This is used by countless pros, so it'll do the trick for you.
*Robert McKee's Story. Take the traveling seminar, or buy the book, or both. This will forever change the way you see movies and analyze stories, but that's the point! www.mckeestory.com
*David S. Freeman's Beyond Structure. McKee gives you the big picture of storytelling for the screen. Freeman gives you the insider tools you need to write like a pro. Take Beyond Structure as well. Outstanding courses. www.beyondstructure.com
*Buy and read five produced screenplays. See your target. Read the best-Paul Schrader, Cohen brothers, Charlie Kaufman, Steve Zaillian, you pick ?em. Then read five more. Then trade with your friends and read their scripts. And so on, for the rest of your life. Scriptcity.com, scriptpimp.com for scripts in original format.
*Read a screenwriting book per week. Mix and match between craft and industry. Goldman's "Adventures in the Screen Trade" is a must. Read all of Linda Seger's books. Read Chris Vogler's "The Writer's Journey" twice, at least. "A Writer's Time" by Ken Atchity is nice. And plow back through my columns for reviews of any other titles that might catch your eye.
*Watch videos about Hollywood. Pop in "The Player," "Swimming with Sharks" and "The Big Picture." Watch these, and no matter what happens to you in Tinseltown, you'll never be able to say, "I had no idea it was like this!"
*Watch your five favorite movies on DVD with the commentary on. Your days of sitting back and letting a movie flow by you like a meandering stream are, for the most part, over. You need to start taking the engine apart so you can build your own. Use your favorites so the task will keep your interest, but start to break down the components to see what makes these babies tick.
*Get on the mailing list of Sherwood Oaks. This group has, far and away, the most and best access of any group to the people you need to meet: Writers, directors, producers, agents, stars. You name it, Gary Shusett and Sherwood Oaks puts you in touch with them. No, you're not ready to show your work to any of these people yet, if you're just starting out, but it's never too early to start building relationships and seeing how the business works.
Do these things. Take these steps. Invest in your career. Do this, and I guarantee you your screenwriting life will be very different and very much better a year from now.
Happy 2003!
Keep writing.
BW
LA
transtexan@hotmail.com
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