How does one become a screenwriter? I dying to be one!

[wonderbunny]

I'm so out of my element... I applied at the Guild; and I'm working on a couple of pilot ideas, but now what? My family thinks I"m crazy. What about Law? Can't now I have a criminal record, that's a puzzle because I used to be a medical malpractive paralegal, and I thought I understood the parameters of the law "I supposed broke" but the innocent until proven guilty standard does not always apply; I can't stop crying over that one. I worked hard to get on the Dean Honor's List. Apparently the Judge and I disagree on the verdict. But screenwriting has always been a hidden desire. I loved the Truman Show.

[Filomena]

Don't give up hope. But do you have any completed screenplays? Try writing something that you can relate to, or else it's going to seem contrived. There's a lot of bullshit out in LA nowadays, because nobody is writing from the heart anymore -- it's all about the almighty dollar.

Make sure your screenplay is not just about a good story -- a good story is important, but relies on a person's subjectivity. Maybe your audience will relate to it and maybe they won't.

What's really going to get people's attention is a story with real characters who are going through some sort of emotional journey. Either joy or pain or suffering or passion or......you get the idea.

Almost every critically succesful movie includes characters that jump off at the screen at you. Fully developed people -- not flat, one dimensional people who are just reacting to the events that are happening around them.

What you just described about your personal life already sounds like a great movie idea. I bet you could sit down, flesh it out into three different sections (beginning, middle and end) and write it out right now.

There are lots of screenwriting resources on the web you can check out to make sure it's properly formatted. And then when you're ready and it's completed (and checked over a dozen times) send it out to production companies, agents, contests, whatever you can find.

The hardest part about being a screenwriter is perseverence. If you believe in the movie you wrote, then you'll continue to send it out. And as you're waiting for replies, think about something else in your life you can grab and write about.

Good luck!

[quirky]

Someone should write a screenplay about a bunch of people who are very different, but post on the same BB.

[Niobe]

Someone should write a screenplay about a bunch of people who are very different, but post on the same BB.

Hey I like that idea. You could really go in all directions there, but drift constantly back to the central point. Nice one.

Not sure where you got that idea from though......

[quirky]

Not sure where you got that idea from though......

It's mydea...rectal retrieval.

[wonderbunny]

Thanks for the 411- I had a lot of fun doing therapy on the internet. But I'm not much of an actress though. I had nothing better to do, so why not make it a clever story told in a not 'in your face' manner. Crescendo? I never really thought about screenwriting until I watched the final episode unfold. I kept giggling all through the 2003 Recall debate. There's the debate monitor talking about 'adjusting his medication' when things got a little heated. (i.e. manicky- things are getting a little too lively) Now and then I look back. On Fox News people were counting the days (Kind of Genesis) I sent this email and things got really screwy. Suddenly Arnold's on Leno announcing his candidacy for Governor. The email was a drug test on paper. Split the Republican Party and Democratice party right down the middle. "What have you been smoking?" was my favorite. Some people got it, and other thought it was a terrorist plot. Go figure. It was an email, they trigger so easy. Go back and revisit this. Then there was God Bless You #2, Jim was on that one. Watch Bruce Almighty twice, and theres Bruce Almighty 2. Cost efficiency is my motto. Here goes Presidential Campaign Kerry/Bush. Right wing conspiracy or something.

[cotton]

umm....huh?

[Twigggy]

I'm so out of my element... I applied at the Guild; and I'm working on a couple of pilot ideas, but now what? My family thinks I"m crazy. What about Law? Can't now I have a criminal record, that's a puzzle because I used to be a medical malpractive paralegal, and I thought I understood the parameters of the law "I supposed broke" but the innocent until proven guilty standard does not always apply; I can't stop crying over that one. I worked hard to get on the Dean Honor's List. Apparently the Judge and I disagree on the verdict. But screenwriting has always been a hidden desire. I loved the Truman Show.

Try finding copies of your favorite scripts (via google, or where you can find them) and try rewriting them word for word. Get down the sentence structure, it will eventually rub off. Earnest Hemingway said to be a successful writer you should always write about what you know--the truth. To many he is considered one of the greatest writers to walk the earth, so adhering to his advice couldn't hurt you.

Try reading Thomas Harris' Hannibal. It's a book, but in a lot of ways, seems more like a screenplay.

[fluffy]

good advice .............that´s why i got my paws on Jim´s scripts......it´s the best way to learn structure etc........and i got Final Draft.........the professionals screenwriting software.........

fluffy

[wonderbunny]

Thanks Twiggy, but unfortunately anything in that genre turns my stomach; I'm a little too hypersensative for that stuff. I've been working on a few (as I have always multitasked, some call it scatterbrain; my brain neurons work differently than most, if you haven't noticed) Most are for Christian programming an relatively untapped market.... Wonderbunny has a heart for God stuff, with comedy!