What comes after “I optioned my first screenplay” ? One word: Waiting.

Remember, O Writer, that you merely created the word-blueprint that someone found intriguing enough to want to spend time and money to develop into a film. Now, you wait for the slow gears to mesh and the process to unfold, sometimes in jerky spurts and sometimes grinding to a halt. Don’t obsess about it. Go on about writing something else . Why? You-the-Writer have zero control . . . unless you have money and industry wherewithal and contacts to grease the development process. If you do not participate in the development process as an Associate Producer, your sane alternative is to ignore the ups, downs and sideways mechanics of getting a film into production. “My JOB is to write.” That should become your mantra

However, let me explain the barebones of a few things, if only to satisfy your curiosity.

I just groaned through a poorly realized made-for-TV movie on the Hallmark Channel. For the most part, the acting was adequate. The “look” of the western story was appropriate. The motivation of the characters had been set up . . . but the scenes repeatedly missed the “pay-off” mark. They didn’t carry through to satisfying closure. They had not been carefully wrapped for the audience to savor the unwrapping of subtext and character meaning. The scenes perpetually played out within a hair’s breath but took the simplistic, almost too “happy-people-of-the-happy-village” shortcut. The audience had to repeatedly accept by implication what happened in the story and at its conclusion.

Some critics would call my reaction “Armchair Quarterback” criticism. However, my point here is to urge You-the-Writer to identify the edginess your script needs and NOT be satisfied with simple and implication. You have to have the guts to pay-off your characterizations right through to their much-needed conclusion. Pay attention to each character’s beginning-middle-ending. Give them depth and give them closure!

Novels rely on narrative. Period. Cinematic storytelling relies on visuals. Period. Live theatre relies on Dialogue. Period. BUT they can all learn from one another to enhance the quality of each type of storytelling.

A novice screenwriter can learn a great deal about dialogue’s inclusion, exclusion and character intensity by writing a few stage plays. One-Acts of 5-30 minutes/pages are like short-short stories and can be a training ground for some. For others, the 1-2 hour full-length plays are more comfortable. Don’t think the idea that the longer 60-100 page play means characters are allowed to be verbose in their speeches, though. I’m just saying longer plays allow for a more thorough story development that some writers need. When experimenting and learning, sometimes shorter is better until your brain “gets it” as in understands how drama’s dialogue works.

What is the difference in storytelling between boring, so-so and enthralling? I believe it relies on the element of Character Intensity. The common, ordinary person living a microscopically dull and predictable life is NOT interesting because 99.9% of the population lives that life. However, putting an ordinary person in jeopardy and FORCING a change creates an atmosphere the audience can relate to and care about. Why? Because they want variety and challenge in their lives and want to see how someone else deals with all that in theirs. They WANT make-believe. The writer has to be willing to go to extremes to create Character Intensity the audience wants to live vicariously.

START ORDINARY

Act One of any story sets up the ordinary world the main character is dealing with. The audience is introduced to the character’s “ordinary” . . . but also has to wiggle a bit with the angst and frustrations of the main character coping with this present world. The PURPOSE of the entire set-up is to show the audience who the character is, the underlying mindset and value system, the potential waiting to burst forth and this character’s most common coping mechanisms at work.

Writers in the 21st century know the importance of researching competition. If you haven’t learned that lesson then listen up! Novelists need to understand style and story trends, not to defy OR go along with them, but to understand readership and publishing’s expectations. Yes, you can take initiative and be innovative but you have to do that with deliberate, thoughtful intent to avoid frustration.

Script writers absolutely have to understand what films have been done and what is in development in order to create that “new and fresh” script that will appeal to the collaborators working in the industry specialties. Film-making requires a lot of money from investors who expect to at least earn-out their monies. Therefore, producers and studios must be highly selective of time and talent they pay to work on a project that will take about a year to get from purchase through development into production and, finally, into movie theater distribution (or on the TV screen).

Once-upon-a-time script writers were confined to “reality,” as in actual location sets and exactly what was seen in the camera’s lens. The green screen and Special Effects people have liberated cinematic storytellers. So, dear writer, PLEASE tell me you are not still “writing small” for reality’s sake! That is left-brain logic speaking and you must get out a whip and chair to force it into submission to give the stage to the right brain creative free-for-all-anything-goes adventure.

First of all anybody sitting down in a theater seat knows the story about to be seen is NOT TRUE. It is fiction, all lies. Even if it is a rendering of some historical event, actors are portraying real people. The minute details and dialogue are not recordings that actually happened. All of it is lies. The cinematic storyteller’s job is to tell such a credible story that the audience suspends disbelief and vicariously LIVES the story with the characters.

Long, long ago I saw an episode of a Sci-Fi series where the Protagonist had suffered a paper-cut. Pretty insignificant, right? Well, the essence of the story was that a nefarious organization knocked this guy out and when he came to they were trying to convince him he lived in an alternate universe or world. They almost succeeded except for that paper-cut. He remembered when and where he suffered the little “owee” in his immediate REAL past. He then quickly proceeded to question and challenge everything about him and the gig was up.

For most people paper-cuts heal quickly, but when fresh they are extremely annoying. Ever get salt, lemon juice or vinegar in one? That will get your attention. The fingers have a gazillion nerve endings to remind you that you have opened a direct pathway to them, so you better be careful until the little wound heals over.

In November 2010, I wrote a column on “Correctness, Manners and Conscience” wherein I mentioned some elements of “pushing the envelope.” That is a concept I have struggled to understand. I think it has many facets or levels I need to explore more thoroughly. When originally asked by my mentor “to push the envelope” I was clueless. Now, I think I understand but do not always trust myself to let go of the safe and logical to make that leap of faith into the unknown beyond what I trust in my own creativity.

Over my 25+ years of professional writing and teaching creative writing I have heard many an aspiring writer say “I watched that movie (or “read that book”) and knew I could do better.” That belief launched the wanna-be on a journey discovering the process is perpetually not as easy as it appeared. Then niggling jealousy wormed its way into the wanna-be writer’s psyche, jealousy of the production or publication of a project they viewed as disappointing and not up to par. “How could he/she POSSIBLY get such a movie made or book published?”