In the Beginning Was the Box

So you have an idea for a script. You talk to friends, they like the idea. YOU like the idea. This is exciting. Then you open up a blank document. And stare at it. You write down your idea. Suddenly, it's not seeming so great. Hours pass, sweat beads on your forehead. The blank page mocks you. Dozens of other pressing needs cross your mind: changing the paper at the bottom of the bird cage. Checking the mail. Throwing in the whites. And still, the page mocks you every time you return from these other pressing priorities.

So - what is literally the very first step you take in this whole "write a script" thing? The Wave-inatrix has written ten scripts and believe it or not, the first step is always the hardest. There's no easy, pat way into getting your story going. Why, I spent this last weekend in this self same position. But by the end of the weekend, I had written a complete outline for an idea I've been bandying about for weeks. It's imperfect, it's not fleshed out, but it's there. Finally, a lumpen shape to play with. I also changed the paper at the bottom of the bird cage and did quite a lot of laundry. But I digress.

The first thing I do is write down, in a long, sloppy paragraph, what my idea is. I stare at this horrible paragraph. And I ask of it - where's the antagonist? What is the crux of the conflict? What is the deal with the main character? What is her flaw?

And that is where I start. With my main character. Because I know, lo these many years both reading and writing scripts, that whatever the adventure I had first come up with, must be inverse to the flaw of my character. Uh, oh but I don't have a flaw yet. I go back to the main gist of my story idea. Okay what is the worst flaw you COULD have in this situation, that fuels the story, that will make the universe rain down on my main character's head at every turn?

And then I just begin to write. Steam of conscious, unedited crap. I just write. I write stuff that I will quickly delete. And then I rewrite it. I write bits of dialogue. I fill the page with utter gobbledygook that no one else will understand. Then I look back up at my primitive premise line.

And I begin to see. A shape has started to suggest itself. And I tweak the premise line. Then I keep writing about my main character. Oh - and that idea for the antagonist again. Yeah, great line of dialogue. And hours pass and still, I have a half-page of confusion. But slowly, very slowly, a shape is beginning to emerge.

It's like packing up to move. At first, you have a pile of boxes and all of your stuff staring at you. Half-heartedly, you pack one, random box. Okay, one box done. Is it time for lunch? Anyone want coffee? But you stare bleakly at the rest of your stuff and know you've got to keep moving. And suddenly, you must categorize. What if I just pack up this ONE cupboard? What if I start with the kitchen at least? A primitive system of organization has emerged from the muck of procrastination.

Boxes are assigned and stuff is going in those boxes and hours later - aha! Progress has been made! Now motivation starts to kick in. That part of the house is DONE. A light is at the end of the tunnel - you can do this!



So think of the blank page as a room full of possibilities that need to be categorized, starting with what your story idea is. So put that idea in a box and stare at it. Then look around the room and know that character work is the next box that really has to be packed and stacked, next to the premise line. And then later, the theme - oh but you don't need that right now, just pack the dishtowels and leave the box open, you'll get back to that. Oh and the antagonist, that should get packed and put near the main character. Oh looks like you forget something to put into the premise box! Keep that one open too.

And suddenly, hours later - your hot mess of an idea has started to gain a certain organized beauty. It's not perfect, but you've made progress. The end is in sight - the end, in this case being an outline that while imperfect, makes a certain kind of sense. Once you've packed all your boxes, you can endlessly arrange and rearrange them before you make the move and UNPACK the boxes into actual script pages. But that's much easier - these boxes go in the kitchen, those boxes go in the living room. You organized the packing now you can unpack at your leisure. Because you know where everything is and where it needs to go.

That might be one hot mess of a metaphor but Wavers, it works for me. And I have begun the process of organizing my next script and it feels great. But the point of this missive is that it's not only okay it is totally normal to feel somewhat overwhelmed and distressed when you start a new script and have no idea what your first move should be. Just pack one box. And then another.

What's the main idea of the script?
Who is the main character (that's one messy box)
Who is the antagonist?
What then is the inciting incident?
What would the climax then be?
And the midpoint?

Hmmmm... Not working. So rearrange the boxes. Nobody is judging this right now. You are alone in this rag-and-bone shop, you decide how to find just enough order to spark your creative juices and let the eventual pages flow.

Keep shuffling those boxes until order arises from the chaos. And once you've got some kind of order, you've made it past the toughest part. Truly. The unpacking, the actual script pages will present challenges too, but at least now you're in your new place, full of possibilities and extra closets and cupboards you didn't even know you had. Now is not the time to worry about exactly where you're going to put the panini maker. This is just getting this big, overwhelming, dusty project STARTED.

Actual page writing? That's when you're all unpacked and have an amazing outline and then you figure out what color to paint the living room or which kind of curtains to put in the kitchen.

Sweet Emotion - Part II

Yesterday we talked about the importance of delving deeply into the emotional core of your script - of really going there yourself in order to make the pages truly transformative and resonant.

Writers go through identifiable, almost predictable stages of learning. Interestingly, new writers start off with a lot of what I’ve talked about the past couple of days – the emotion! The coolness of the scene! The coolness of writing a script! The coolness! But they need to dial that part back and get under the hood. The outline! The premise line! The idea testing! Not so much with the coolness.

But ironically, once you’ve put coolness on the back burner and do the hard work of learning about execution and outlining, guess what – you get to come back to the coolness. In fact – you have to.

All humans have very deep, hard-wired primal need for love, justice and safety, and very deep, primal fears of death, danger and betrayal. So tap into that most primal part of yourself when you write – if your pages don’t make YOU cry or flinch or laugh your ass off – they probably won’t make anybody else feel that way either.

Do any Wavers know any actors? I don’t mean celebrities – I mean actors. Yeah, they’re pretty weird. In a good way. You know I love you, actors that I know. But you’re odd. Because that’s what actors do for a living – they go into the deep well of universal emotions and archetypes and literally dwell in that space. No wonder so many famous actors have all number of emotional and substance issues – it takes a lot to live in that space as often as they do.

My personal trick? Music. I literally choose a playlist of songs that ping the emotions in what I’m writing. Songs that make me sad or put me in the mood that I want to establish on the page.

I believe that music is one of the single most powerful tools for opening up your emotional pipes – ever. I don’t care who you are, you drive down the street and Springsteen comes on the radio – say Dancing in the Dark – and you turn up the music, and for three minutes, you are right there with The Boss and you don’t mind the light you just missed. You just don’t. Because the music flows through your veins and life is good in that moment. Music literally changes your brain waves.

Maybe you like to listen to Tibetan monks droning, maybe you can get into the white noise at a café (I really can) – whatever it is for you – whatever transports you into the emotional core of your story – go there. Do it. Because it will transport you into the right-brain reverie that we writers are addicted to and moreso – it will transport your audience too. What you feel deeply – they will also feel. There’s magik at work in truly great writing.

After you’ve outlined, after you’ve written a great premise line – when you are ready to start pages, tell your left brain sayonara, turn on some tunes and get into your deepest place of feeling and being. Don’t be afraid of it – it’s what makes us writers.

In my experience working with writers, the ability to be fearless and go into the emotional core of what you are writing is what separates mediocre writers from great ones. If writing your script isn’t an emotional journey for you, it won’t be an emotional journey for anybody else. When I open your script to page one, I just bought a ticket. Take me with you.

Sweet Emotion

In a moment that will live in infamy forever, recently the Wave-inatrix lazily tuned into the last half hour of Deal or No Deal. It was horrible. What a spectacle. But j-u-s-t before I could click to the next channel, I found myself thinking – TAKE the eighty-six thousand dollar offer! TAKE IT! Okay okay he said no deal – choose briefcase number 16! The million dollars is in number 16!!

Suddenly, even in the lowest form of entertainment (the banker said that if the contestant’s family gained enough pounds eating chicken wings, live, on stage, that he’d add $1,000 for every pound they collectively gained), I found myself identifying with the main character – the contestant. He really needs the money! He and his wife have had a hard time financially! Eighty-six grand is enough to change his life! Go for it, guy from Iowa! GO FOR IT!

What a rush it was, gambling with someone else's money, someone else's life! It was vicarious and it was fun.

It’s the same reason that when I found myself watching 27 DRESSES (way cuter and solid than I had given it credit for, by the way) I was able to ignore a couple of silly plot choices in the third act because - dammit – if Heigl didn’t choose Marsden, then her one shot at true love would slip through her fingers. Choose him! Choose him! Go get him! Love is real! Love is GOOD!

It’s why I watched PHILADELPHIA the other night and literally cried my eyes out. Oh and what wonderful, cathartic tears they were. Love! Grief! Justice! Take that, mean Jason Robards!


It doesn’t have to be an experience you know personally, it doesn’t have to be anything you’ve ever done – but here’s the thing – we humans, we crave the sensation of feeling. PURPLE RAIN? Arguably a pretty lame movie – but, but – When Doves Cry? Not sad? Darling Nikki? Man, Prince was MAD! And it was effective. If you like Prince. The Purple King. The Glyph. The Tiny Purple Wonder. Nothing compares 2 him, take me with U!

We all know what it feels like to be overwhelmed with our emotions when we watch a movie and we also know what it feels like to be grinning and laughing so much in a movie that the utter silliness of the world doesn’t matter – damn, ANCHORMAN is funny. It just is. And you can bet your bottom dollar, that as a performer, Will Ferrell can reach into that feeling part of himself that knows how it feels to be the big guy, the lumbering guy, the flabby-tummy guy.

Judd Apatow wouldn’t be able to write such great comedy if he didn’t identity personally with his main characters. He clearly has an empathy and connection with men who are vulnerable and imperfect and struggling. I don’t think many comedies have as much heart and depth as The 40 Year-Old Virgin – and as many belly laughs and memorable moments - (You know how I know you’re gay?) Apatow gets how it feels to be Seth Rogen in KNOCKED UP.

When a certain primal part of you is called forth, your intellect – the insistent, thinking part of your brain is on the merciful hold and your heart takes over.

So how do you imbue your script pages with those kinds of urgent, primal emotions? Fear, love, longing, grief, injustice – or pure, unmitigated, totally freeing laughter?

The secret is this, Wavers- you have to feel those emotions yourself as you write. When you’re writing – don’t think about the eventual audience. Get so into your pages that you are completely transported with the emotions on the page. The anger, the jealousy, the fear, the love, the laughter – feel it completely. Immerse yourself, suspend that thinking part of yourself as you write and reach the primal part of yourself that needs to see justice borne out or the girl get the guy or the bad guy killed off and justice wrought.

Getting to Know Me

Call it heat-induced narcolepsy, call it end-of-week laziness, but the Wave-inatrix just couldn't seem to motivate today. But I owe something to my Wavers today, do I not? Who else provides mildly entertaining sort-of-education while you are at work? So here is an interview Christina Hamlett (Could it be a Movie: How to Get Your Ideas From Out of Your Head and Up on the Screen) did of me for American Chronicle this last April. I think you will find it scintillating. Or at least way better than that report due today by 5pm. By that measure, almost anything is scintillating, isn't it?

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There´s a funny scene in Shakespeare in Love in which a boatman – upon recognizing the young Bard as his passenger – eagerly tries to foist a new script on him. As anyone who has lived in Los Angeles for more than 10 minutes can attest, it´s an accurate send-up of the fact that almost every valet, waiter and clerk you encounter will just happen to have an extra copy of his or her latest project if they overhear you have any connection to Tinseltown. ("Here´s the Cobb salad you ordered, Ms. Hamlett, along with 10 side pages of my horror script about mutant lamprey eels.")

While no one can fault their unabashed enthusiasm (the writers, that is, not the eels), many of them could benefit from a session of insider knowledge on how today´s script-selling game really works. Julie Gray, founder of The Script Department, serves up her views on how to break in to this elusive market.

Let´s start out with some background on your love of movies and how you came to launch The Script Department.

I have loved movies since I was a little girl and The Wizard of Oz was on television once a year. I don´t know if it´s an odd gene or something, but I fell in love with movies like South Pacific, Oliver! and Pillow Talk. I loved the glamour, the stars, the way everything was dramatized and larger than life. (I lived in a very rural community which might have had something to do with it.) My grandmother was a stage actress in Boston and I think I inherited my love of film and theater from her. When I was in high school, my best friend and I wrote, directed, starred in, produced, edited and exhibited many fine films using our Super 8 camera and allowance money. We did everything from horror to game shows to a sci-fi fantasy with fake little Styrofoam jet fighters.

After graduating from The Writer´s Boot Camp in Santa Monica, I began working as a reader for several high-profile production companies here in town. Over time, it began to break my heart to be so brutal to the scripts. There´s just not a lot of nuance in a "pass". So often I saw scripts that had great intentions but that just didn´t deliver, particularly on the premise. I know just how hard it is to be writing feature scripts in such a tough spec market. Writers need encouragement and inspiration as much as they need the cold, hard truth about what is not working. I came to realize that how you work with a writer can either open the creative doors or shut them down. I decided to start a company that not only provided great notes but provided those notes in such a way that each writer was respected as a unique individual, no matter where they were on the curve. I wanted to really interact with writers and help them not only become better writers but to also feel empowered in the process. You don´t see a lot of that in a town that historically doesn´t have much respect for writers.

How many people work with you in analyzing new projects?

Gosh, we have grown so much I have to take a minute to answer that. There are two Script Department partners, Andrew and Margaux, and I have three other readers who work pretty much full time. Then I have a few go-to readers if I have overflow beyond that. And we also have some "boutique" services offered by such giants as Christopher Keane. I´m very careful about who I choose to work with. I have always held a very clear vision of our objectives and every story analyst who works with me holds the same vision of integrity, kindness, honesty and encouragement because we are all writers and we´ve weathered the slings and arrows.

What is the breakdown of charges and what can clients expect to get for their money?

We offer everything from Story Notes, which is $400 and you get an hour phone consultation after you´ve received 5 pages of notes, down to logline and query letter evaluation which is $75 and everything in-between. We try to tailor our services to the unique needs of writers. Probably our most popular service is the 3-reader package where three of us read your script and get you 1.5 pages of notes. So the writer gets three opinions and three takes. That one flies off the virtual shelf!

We launched a screenwriting competition this year, called The Silver Screenwriting Competition. We´re doing this competition in the same spirit as The Script Department, holding that vision of writers really benefiting from their relationship with us. The Grand Prize is pretty generous and my favorite part of it - beyond the $2500 in cash, beyond the free trip to LA, beyond the day of meetings with 3 managers - is cocktails with Blake Snyder at the Chateau Marmont. How incredible is that? I´m tagging along, for sure!

The Rouge Wave is a hilarious component of your website! Tell us how this flirtation with silliness and mirth came about.

Oh, thank you. The Rouge Wave is definitely a labor of love. I don´t flirt with silliness, I am silliness. My business partners really have so much patience! What can I say, I´m a Scotch/Irish redhead and we like to laugh.

And again, returning to something that I said earlier and the motto that Mary Poppins lived by, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. When we can laugh and be silly, we open ourselves up to learning. So the Rouge Wave is a very silly and yet very informative place. I run little short scene competitions a few times a year and gosh, let me tell you, I´ve gotten some good stuff!

What do you feel is the most unique about what The Script Department has to offer its clients?

Our attitude and intention. We take our time with each client and we pour ourselves into it, heart and soul. You wouldn´t believe the gifts and cards we get each month. It makes me choke up sometimes; wine, candy, chocolate – I even got a boomerang from an Australian client! I have clients offer me their homes for vacation – I mean, who does that? I like to think that we receive what we put out there to our clients. Working with The Script Department is like working with friends who get you feeling comfortable and relaxed and then tell you the truth about your work so that you can raise your potential as a writer.

On average, how many projects do you receive per month and, of these, how many sparkle with potential?

We get between 20 and 50 scripts per month. Sometimes more. Of that number, I´d honestly say maybe every couple of months we see a script that really blows us away and those we do submit to various managers. In terms of potential, we probably see perhaps 3 or 5 a month that, while in need of work, do have potential because of a unique premise and/or because the writer really has a great "voice".

What are the three biggest mistakes you see in the submissions you review?

Soft premise – meaning, there´s simply not enough story to tell, and poor character work. Characters who are two rather than three-dimensional. Writing great characters takes time and experience, there´s no two ways about it. Oh, and typos – people forget to proofread and those simple mistakes can really encumber a script.

Which genre would you like to see more of/less of?

It´s not really a genre, but scripts that are essentially autobiographies with the names changed. We see, very often, young writers who are writing their first or second scripts and they forget to test the premise to make sure that the time they went to Florida and their cousin Bobby got lost in the petting zoo is as entertaining to others as it was to them. It´s not. I would like to see less fantasy/epics because, honestly, with the box office domination of Harry Potter, for a new writer to break in with an expensive spec like that is next to impossible. Writers should write what they love and what fascinates and motivates them but also keep an eye on the market. Judd Apatow has put a new spin on comedy in the past few years so don´t write another Judd Apatow comedy; try to foresee the next wave of comedy in terms of zeitgeist.

The $64,000 question: why is Hollywood turning out so many bad movies (including remakes and sequels)?

Because box office is slipping and television is taking a big bite. Studios are very risk-averse. It´s getting harder and harder to get audiences into the movie theaters and executives are making decisions based on the lowest common denominator. Teen boys are a very lucrative part of the box office and shock/horror and violent movies appeal to them very much. But the slow-grade success of The Bucket List is an example of a movie for a different age range that, while it didn´t do box office gold on its opening or any other weekend, has proven to have legs over time. I think audiences like intelligent, provocative movies and that sooner or later, the decision-makers in Hollywood are going to have to acknowledge our aging population and widen the net.

What´s your best advice to someone who wants to write his/her first screenplay?

Take a class. There are online classes available through UCLA that are quite valuable and many other programs, from weekend workshops at Gotham to 12-week programs at The Writer´s Boot Camp. You learn by doing – buying 12 books on screenwriting is very overwhelming. I can´t recommend taking a class enough – and then another class. And another. Educate yourself and get the peer and academic support you need so that you don´t waste four years writing pointless scripts and feeling totally defeated. Some are real self-learners, sure, but in any case, all aspiring screenwriters should also read as many produced scripts as possible. If there is one faster track to learning, it is reading produced scripts. There you can see, right in front of you, what is working. Beyond that, there are message boards like Done Deal and of course Absolute Write that offer a lot of inspiration and instruction and I like to think The Rouge Wave is a good resource, too.

The most recent writers strike was not the first – nor will it be the last – experienced by the film industry. Do you envision that more screenwriters will start following similar trends provoked by the publishing world (i.e., the emergence/escalation of ebooks/downloads, self-publishing, small presses) and embrace alternative venues that are at less risk to disruptions of income stream, intellectual property rights, and residuals?

Yes. I think a whole new world is dawning in entertainment and that we have only just begun to see its effects. This is the You Tube generation and the success of websites like "Funny or Die" prove that there is a plethora of new venues out there for entertainment and writers. I think it´s an extraordinarily exciting time for writers because a system which was exclusive and entrenched is beginning to crack around the edges.

What are your three favorite movies of all time and why?

Without question, Singin´ In The Rain because I love the music, I´m a huge Gene Kelly fan and I just love the optimism of those MGM musicals in the 1950´s. I think I´ve seen Singin´ over a hundred times!

Another all time favorite is Harold and Maude. The premise is perfect, the character arcs beautifully wrought, the theme is life-affirming and, of course, it has a great soundtrack. The first time I saw it, I was a teenager and I really didn´t know what to make of it but over time, I discovered a new layer with every viewing. Great writing and truly heartfelt material.

More recently, I loved Away From Her and 3:10 to Yuma. Loving the latter surprised me because I don´t think of myself as a fan of westerns, but the writing and performances were spectacular. That scene where Christian Bale whispers fervently to his wife why he has got to take this on brought tears to my eyes. My god, every word was just golden.

Oh and I can´t leave out Ordinary People. That has to be up there in my all time favorites. It doesn´t matter how many times I see it. I love that movie top-to-bottom; performances, writing, direction – everything.

If a movie were made of your life, who would you most like to portray you?

Carrie Fisher.

Cyber - what?

Rouge Wavers know what a huge fan the W is of UCLA Writer's Program classes, both online and on the ground. I am totally, unabashedly in love with the quality of this program; the instructors are spectacular and I have never been anything short of gratefully amazed whenever I have taken a class. The online classes are quite easy to navigate, too. This from the person who until recently couldn't figure out who to put an accent over a letter and who has no idea how the interweb works. In my defense though, does anybody? Like, really know how all that information travels invisibly through space to show up magically on your computer screen as teeny little words and pictures?

Anyway - so when I received this email from the program today I wanted to be sure and share it with all my Wavers:

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This June, save 10% on online courses at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program Cyberhouse: An Online Open House

Enjoy a taste of what it's like to learn online with UCLA Extension and connect with a dynamic writing community. Make plans to log on anytime to the Writers' Program's Cyberhouse: An Online Open House, Monday through Thursday, June 2-5.

Just by logging on to our Cyberhouse, you can meet and chat with more than 30 UCLA Extension online instructors scheduled to teach this summer and get all your questions answered.

Whether you're interested in writing feature films, television dramas, novels, short stories, essays, memoirs, or poetry, come explore your course options and enjoy a 10-percent discount on online course enrollments (some restrictions apply).

Log on to our Cyberhouse to:

• Meet and chat with more than 30 Writers' Program instructors teaching online this summer
  
• Join two live chats scheduled with instructors
  Caroline Leavitt and Barney Lichtenstein
  
• Ask Writers' Program advisors about online courses and certificate programs
  
• Enroll in most summer online courses at a 10-percent discount (advanced courses not included) when you enroll from June 2-5
  
• Learn more about the Blackboard format and how easy it is to use
  
• Find the writing community you've been looking for!

For more information, visit us online, call the Writers' Program office at (310) 825-9415, or email writers@uclaextension.edu.

The C Word

Cliché. It's an ugly word, isn't it? Clee-shay. The fact that it's a French word adds to the shame of it. You can practically see that Gallic, upturned chin and averted gaze. Cliché. Touché. Ouch.

If I read a script that is cliché-ridden, I try to think of a more polite way to say it - can you dig deeper into the gum-chewing waitress and, um, maybe her name isn't Doris and she's got something other than a Southern accent? Most of my Script Department readers are more blunt, god bless their hard little hearts. That's what clients pay for; the unvarnished truth. But hearing that your script is riddled with cliché is just such a blow, it makes me cringe.

But here's the good news - it's not that hard to dig your way out of. Writing a clichéd situation or character is the easy way out, right? All you have to do is dig deeper, push yourself some, and really find that writer's soul you have to go over and above the easy stereotype to write in a more unique way.

Here's the thing - truly, every story has been told. But not every character has been written. Sometimes the sheer infinite potential for characters is overwhelming and it's easier to just hit the archetypal high notes. But there's a fine line between writing a TYPE and writing a cliché. The litmus test is sort of like that old saw about pornography; you know it when you see it. When I read a cliché, I literally cringe. And I think - how could the writer not know this?

Truth be told, I think writers do know when they've done it. I'm basing that on the roughly one million hours I've spent on the phone with clients, as we review and brainstorm notes they received. I always get a hangdog silence when the cliché comes up. Yeah, yeah. Caught me. But then we brainstorm together and rifle around in the character's back story, etc., until we find ways to bust out of that cliché.

Sometimes a cliché is a great jumping off point for subverting expectations and turning a corner with your character. Why, just the other day, I was working with a writer who had a clichéd situation between the two romantic leads of his action-adventure. Until we swapped the gender roles - then suddenly it was fresh. Ha! Cliché as your friend!

Can you tell if clichés are messing up your script? Well, it's always hard to get that distance from your own material. And there are writers who argue that they did it on purpose. Truth be told, of course, particularly in comedy, a kind of cliché can work - except, again, gaining distance from the cringe factor of cliché, what you might be striving for is a type.

Websters online defines a cliché as:

NOUN:

1. A trite or overused expression or idea: "Even while the phrase was degenerating to clich� in ordinary public use . . . scholars were giving it increasing attention" (Anthony Brandt).
2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial: "There is a young explorer . . . who turns out not to be quite the cliche expected" (John Crowley).

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ETYMOLOGY:
French, past participle of clicher, to stereotype (imitative of the sound made when the matrix is dropped into molten metal to make a stereotype plate)

SYNONYMS:
cliche , bromide , commonplace , platitude , truism

These nouns denote an expression or idea that has lost its originality or force through overuse: a short story weakened by cliches; the old bromide that we are what we eat; uttered the commonplace "welcome aboard"; a eulogy full of platitudes; a once-original thought that has become a truism.

Not much positive in the definition, is there? So avoid cliché like the plague, Wavers, but if you've found yourself slumming in cliché-land, use it as an opportunity for your evolution as a writer. Dig deeper, try harder, rifle through the back story or through your own experiences.

Each human being and therefore character embodies an infinite number of possibilities. If it came easy to you - be warned, you might have written a cliché. And you'll know. Down deep, you'll be aware that you took the lazy way out. And be on the lookout for euphemistic cliché-speak: I liked it but some of the characters seemed kind of.....(polite silence).

Dumping Self Doubt

Through the magic of technology, the Wave-inatrix can check up on Google searches that led readers to the Rouge Wave. Most common: "rogue wave". I hope those individuals are pleasantly surprised when they get to the Rouge Wave - psych! The other day I found a heart-breaking Google search for "dumping self doubt".

Oh Google searcher, you were led to The Rouge Wave for a reason. Writers are often plagued with self-doubt. It's practically a requirement. Do we have talent? Do we have the connections we need? Is any of this cool stuff ever going to happen for us? The Wave-inatrix has a client who has a script that went wide yesterday. Early word on the tracking boards is quite positive. Will he experience the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat? (hint: looking like the thrill of victory so far).

So how do you know if you can write? Or if you should be trying to win at this crazy game? Or if any of this is worth it? You don't.

Yes, it is true in the Wave-inatrix's experience that some writers really do have to work harder at that innate ability to work with language and with story - I guess that's the pc way of saying, no, not every aspiring writer has god-given talent. Do you? If you didn't, would someone tell you?

In my opinion, talent is either immediately evident but needs to be shaped and disciplined or it emerges slowly, as the writer finds his or her voice and style. So how can I possibly say that a writer has no talent when perhaps it just hasn't quite emerged and taken form yet?

I've seen it happen, Wavers - I've seen a writer go from all-over-the-map to quite good over the course of several years. Because that writer was me. But truth be told, I have always had a facility with and love of writing. I won poetry contests in grade school, I published in the yearbook and school paper - I guess you could say I got my start quite young. I still have my copy of the 1973 Writer's Market to put that into perspective.

It was my determination, belief and my love of reading, language and film that kept me going and going for so long. Until gradually a voice emerged and with that, publication, validation and confidence. Talent can be innate and it can also be groomed.

But what about dumping self-doubt? Can it be done? Sure it can. In the same way that you can dump worry, anxiety or depression. By sheer force of will and by holding on with an attitude of gratitude and joy. All writers get stuck in self doubt. As do most creatives. And heck, most humans, let's be real.

Self-doubt can fuel and energize us, but it can also be debilitating. Don't let it get in the way of your writing. Write for the sheer joy of it, maintain a perspective, always be learning more, watching films and reading great prose.

If you didn't have self-doubt, you wouldn't be human. But don't let it get in the way. Relax into life and writing and ride the horse with joy - don't let it ride you.

This Just In

My colleague Jim Mercurio has made a krazy-kool offer. Anyone who submits to the Silver Screenwriting Competition between now and midnight, June 1st is eligible for a drawing to win a slot in Jim's Killer Screenwriting Class - a $1,200 value! That's quite a generous offer - Jim's class is amazing. So if you're thinking of submitting, do it in the next two weeks and get yourself in that drawing!

We are Miners

A little Cowboy Junkies ref for those closest to the Wave-inatrix's cupcake heart.

When we think about the flaws of our main characters - the flaw that will be changed or resolved at the end of their character arc, we have to be sure that the flaw is an active one. In other words being "shy" as a flaw doesn't connote much in the way of this character driving the action because of it. Your character's flaw should be something that affects every aspect of his or her life so that because of this flaw, stuff keeps raining down on the character's head in such a way that he/she cannot deal with it effectively. Until the lightbulb goes off over the character's head.

Writing good characters is all about digging deeper. Mining for the details.

Being vain is a flaw. But it's not a really good flaw until we know WHY your character is vain. Or why your character is a bully. Or a doormat. Or has anger management issues. Why, why, why? Therein lies the answer to creating a really active, interesting flaw.

I like to get to the flaw like this: I ask a client what the flaw is and they usually say something like "he wants his father's approval." Nnnnnot really working. It's not specific enough. So then I ask - why? What is the backstory to that flaw? Well, his father was distant and distracted growing up. Okay, so he didn't get the attention he wanted and you've sketched out what that arises from. Still not a flaw. It's a need. His father's attention and approval.

So let's try this: What does the character overtly WANT in his life? To be wealthy and respected. No - what does the character WANT right now, in this moment in time? To cut a deal and sell 10 Lamborghinis. Okay. But what does the character NEED?

To feel respected and loved by his father. Nnnooo....actually, digging deeper, he needs a sense of self-worth. So - the character cannot get what he wants until he gets what he needs. Car sale, i.e., money and success ain't gonna happen until he has a sense of self-worth.

And how is this character going to find a sense of self-worth over the course of your story? Ohhh how about by finding out he has a mentally deficient brother tucked away in a home? How about the bright idea of kidnapping that brother in order to share the inheritance more fairly? But what happens on that memorable road trip in THE RAIN MAN? Tom Cruise learns more about himself through his brother than at any other time in his life. So by the end of the story - the money and the success - this no longer is Cruise's goal. It's hanging onto the brother he never knew he had.

All character flaws are rooted in some kind psychic wound. A lot like life, right? Something messed with your character's head earlier in life. But here's the thing - just like us 3-d people, characters will do anything rather than just plain face that psychic wound. Often, we can't even really articulate it. But as a screenwriter, you get to be the Universe (g-d, Yahweh, Spirit...) You get to deal the psychic wound, you get to decide in what way your character acts that wound up via flaw and you get to decide what the real NEED of your character is.

Because wanting a father's respect is not the healthy answer to the psychic wound. It's about self-respect. You've been to therapy, Wavers. The thing is never the thing.

So do this exercise:

What is your character's flaw?
What psychic wound does it stem from?
What is your character's want/goal at the beginning of the story?
How does that want unconsciously relate to the healing of the psychic wound?
What does your character really need, then?
So again, what is the flaw? How is it a lame, sideways way of having the psychic wound healed?

NOW you have arrived at the actual, interesting, active flaw. A good character arc is like therapy writ large.

What We Have Here, Son, is a Situation

What is the difference between a situation and a story - that is to say, a compelling crux of conflict big enough to cover three acts of your feature film?

A situation is that I walk into a bank and it gets robbed. A story is it is being robbed by an inept man who needs the money for his lover's sex-change operation. A situation is I cover for my dragon-lady boss while she's away. A story is I cover for her, I do better than her, her boyfriend takes a shine to me and then she comes back, furious. A situation is I decide to put my child up for adoption. A story is that the couple adopting starts to fall apart from the inside out and meanwhile my due date is coming up fast. A situation is I decide to escort a criminal to the train station. A story is when his gang is close on my heels and then he escapes.

So we could say that the central difference between a situation and a story is that a story is a situation which has a set of growing, causal complications. Kind of like a Rube Goldberg machine, right? Not just the marble rolls down the chute and plonks into a cup - but then the cup tips, the marble rolls down another chute and then makes a gear turn which lifts another chute which takes the marble on a hard right turn and the journey continues...

So how do you know whether you have a situation with the potential to really grow complex and interesting? It's all about what happens before and after that situation. And it's all driven by character. That's where the real work of being a writer comes in. Most anyone can come up with a situation - what if you woke up in the morning after a one-night stand and the person you were with was dead? Yeah - that would be pretty weird. But what if he turns out to be a senator. With enemies? What if you start getting phone calls late at night? What if it turns out, he had just announced his candidacy for the presidential race? Now we have a lot more than a situation - we have a story to play out.

Make sure that you aren't just writing a finite situation but rather that that situation, the one you first dreamt up over that second mocha frappuccino has the potential for Rube Goldberg-ness. Complications - unexpected turns - a causal, domino effect that sets other things in motion. You know, sort of like a nightmare - this happens BUT THEN that happens and you can't get out because now THIS happens, you know that funhouse-nightmare you have sometimes? Where things just keep getting worse? That's what I'm talking about. It can be funny-worse or scary-worse or dramatically-worse, but it's all going to feel completely inevitable.

A situation has an easy, predictable way out. A story takes us on a journey.