DatingYourCharacter

The Sexy Guide to Screenwriting, by Marilyn R. Atlas, Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein, & Elizabeth Lopez, provides a map of eight creative character stepping-stones.

[DatingYourCharacter @DatingCharacter]

Marilyn/Devo/Elizabeth interviewed about DYC’s genesis & why it belongs on your bookshelf! https://t.co/HIJLkTRUA1

[Brendan O'Brien @BrendanOBrien77]

For anyone trying to “break into Hollywood.” Even after you do, it’s not like you get a badge and key card. You gotta keep breaking in, again and again, project after project. Pros don’t seek a result; they embrace the process, keep grinding, always planning their next heist.

[Elisabeth Noone @ElisNooneWriter]

How well did I handle the challenge of building a career and raising a child as a single divorced parent? How much fun and joy did I create for him? How much time did I spend just listening to him? I feel a need to explore these questions…

[DatingYourCharacter @DatingCharacter]

@itslizhannah Inception can motivate you to reach another level of your writing or make you fall into a deep sleep. Your choice...

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

After writing professionally for 27 years and teaching for almost as long, here is my not-so-secret way to be a more talented screenwriter.

First, understand that screenwriting is not a single skill.

It is a combination of skills working together to create a whole.

Choosing what happens in the story is a different skill than imagining how it happens on screen, which is different from how to express it on the page.

You have at least a dozen unique skills that all fall under one category: screenwriting.

And that's not even mentioning pitching and navigating development!

𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰.

Over time, as a writer and a teacher, I have grown to see talent very differently.

I think of talent now mostly as a starting point combined with how quickly we learn.

Each of us has a different starting point for understanding, processing, and executing all the skills involved in screenwriting.

Everything else is determined by practice, mentoring, and training.

This is because much of what we consider talent is simply processing certain things at a faster rate.

And like anything, that can be developed. The mind gets better at it the more it does it.

Emerging screenwriters ask themselves, am I any good at this?

But often, it's the wrong question.

The right question is: are they willing to work hard enough to get good at this?

You can catch up to many of the so-called more talented writers by outworking or outlasting them.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹.

When someone first learns to play basketball, they must consciously focus on dribbling.

They think about their pivot foot and staying in bounds. Later, they worry about proper shooting form. How to play defense.

In high school, they add more layers to their game, and then intensify it even more in college.

Now, imagine a pro player.

Do you think that player is thinking about dribbling? Is he worried about his pivot foot?

No. He is just doing what he knows how to do without even thinking about it.

They perform one skill learned on top of another skill learned on top of another skill.

It's done now as muscle memory in a flow all so seamless that it looks like one skill: Basketball.

𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻.

The reps are everything. It's not just reps on the page. It's outlining. It's breaking down film structures and generating story ideas and interesting scenes.

It's reading screenplays, both by the masters and your friends.

In short, it's about training your mind to see the world as a screenwriter so you can process all this information faster than you did yesterday.

Stay Teachable.

I got stagnant for a while. It happens. Being a student elsewhere taught me to be a student again in my screenwriting.

Early in your writing, you will try to learn everything all at once. That's normal. However, it may also be helpful to make sure you choose one area in each project where you will assert extra focus.

Mind The Dip.

You will hit walls. It happens to everyone.

After three decades, I almost always have a wave of doubt around page 35 that this screenplay isn't working.

Screenplays have dips.
Learning curves have dips.
Careers have dips.

Getting through the dip is required.

It doesn't mean anything is wrong, so don't let it scare you.

Just push through it.

Your growth as a screenwriter is on the other side.

That's a wrap for this post!

If you're interested in screenwriting and found it helpful:
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[DatingYourCharacter @DatingCharacter]

What a nice way to start accessing the outdoors, if it’s been a while, or if it’s never been a habit. I got so much more out of this essay than I expected to!

https://t.co/1hPe8kWPcs

#nature

[Elyse Hollander @ElyseHollander]

I think about often how film schools push students to write and make short films but they’re so much harder than writing features and really don’t teach you how to write for the industry. If I could tell my younger self not to spend 20k on a short film production I would.

[Colin Matthews @colinwmatthews]

Want to be a screenwriter?
2004 - You need to spec an existing show
2014 - You need to create an original pilot
2024 - You need an original pilot, bible, and pitch deck
2025 - You need a complete A.I. pre-viz of your show
2026 - You need to make the show yourself
#screenwriting

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

Big picture screenwriting structure:

Act 1: I have a problem.
Act 2A: I think I'll solve it.
Act 2B: This is harder than I thought.
Act 3: The sacrifice.

Keep it simple. Structure is just the framework. It's the scenes, characters, and surprising moments where you'll shine.

[DatingYourCharacter @DatingCharacter]

Intrstng review of old timey character actor and early Hollywood politics...

The Academy Changed Its Rules After This Actor Won 3 Oscars in 5 Years https://t.co/j3XvYLC7hx

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

Every time an early writer tells me, "I get structure, I need help with other stuff," it turns out they do not actually get structure.

It's not their fault. It's deceiving. Here's why. 👇

It took me over a decade to be consistent with it; the whole time thinking, "I totally get structure."

It's true, the surface level of structure is probably the most teachable aspect of screenwriting.

It seems rules-based, with clear definitions and even page targets. This is extremely helpful, but it's akin to training wheels.

It's designed to get you started and learn balance. But it is not the goal itself.

Story structure is not prescriptive. This is where early writers tend to misunderstand it, or think they "get it" before they actually do.

They think if they hit page targets they're nailing their structure.

But structure is a tool. It is choosing what the audience knows and when they know it to create the specific emotional journey you intend for the audience.

I summarize it as narrative momentum and emotional resonance.

How all these things work together to create the specific response you want is more art than science, and for most, it takes experience, not definitions (and I LOVE definitions), to be consistent with it.

You can ignore every definition and page target in the book, and if you create something with narrative momentum and the emotional resonance you wanted, your story is, by its own definition, well-structured.

[DatingYourCharacter @DatingCharacter]

If intrstd in Thanksgiving countrprogmmng, check out ths sweetly idiosyncratc film.

[ARRAY @ARRAYNow]

ARRAY is proud to present a new look inside Billy Luther's (@billyluther) highly anticipated film, FRYBREAD FACE AND ME.

Luther’s coming-of-age masterpiece explores the intertwining lives of two young Navajo cousins, leading distinct paths until a transformative summer visit with their grandmother.

Don’t miss this incredible journey when “FRYBREAD FACE AND ME” arrives on @Netflix on 11/24. 🗓️ 🎬

[DatingYourCharacter @DatingCharacter]

I love Wile E. I woulda shwd up!

[Tom Vaughan @storyandplot]

I struggled early on with the midpoint in my screenwriting. I knew it was important, but I was still hit or miss.

It wasn't until I understood the midpoint's role beyond just a plot point that I found any consistency.

This is how I utilize the midpoint now. 🧵👇

First, the job of the midpoint.

Like any structural device, the midpoint's job is narrative momentum and emotional resonance.

The midpoint helps us avoid a long, protracted second act. It emotionally affects the protagonist and takes our story in a new, unseen direction.

It's like a trampoline bounce of narrative momentum into the movie's second half.

What makes a good midpoint

The best midpoints have three qualities:

1. It relates directly to the dramatic question (rather than a subplot).

2. It feels like a victory or a defeat.

3. That victory or defeat is strong enough to create an emotional response from the protagonist(s) that changes their behavior.

There is an additional element to the midpoint that has helped me considerably and that is the midpoint's role in the story.

Story is transformation.

If you want to know the story of any movie, look at who the characters are at the beginning and who they are at the end.

That's your story.

And the second act is where that transformation happens.

The midpoint is a crucial turning point in that transformation. It is the final story beat in the fourth sequence, which I call "First Attempts."

That fourth sequence is the protagonist's first legitimate attempt to solve the problem.

This attempt to solve the problem will feel like a success or a failure. And this success or failure will happen at... the midpoint.

Here is what's even more important:

The midpoint is also the protagonist's last attempt to solve the problem as the person they were in Act 1.

This success or failure affects them in a way that accelerates their journey to become someone new.

The midpoint is when their change begins.

How to find your own midpoint.

There are all kinds of ways to do a midpoint, so if you already know what your midpoint is going to be, great!

You can reverse engineer Act 2A to get you there.

But if you are struggling, don't panic. It happens. Here are some things to think about:

Who is your protagonist, and where are they headed?

Consider who your character is at the beginning of Act 1. How do they solve problems? Brute force? Manipulation? Intellect? By proper procedures? Risk-averse? Desperation?

How does this inform their plan going through the 4th sequence (First Attempts) to solve the problem?

Don't overthink this. It doesn't have to be deep.

It can just be a rational plan that they think will work. John McClane in DIE HARD just wants to inform the police and does so at the midpoint.

Naru in PREY just wants to follow the trail of the animal. She finds it. But it's worse than she ever expected.

It can also be more specific to the character, like in GROUNDHOG DAY where this awful person tries to use his knowledge of the future to seduce Rita.

Launch them in a new direction

Next, whatever plan they have, it is going to succeed or fail in a way that is going to change the direction of their journey.

That's the midpoint. And this is when their change begins.

Sometimes, this growth is thrust upon them, like in STAR WARS; other times, we must destroy the old version first, like in BRIDESMAIDS or GROUNDHOG DAY.

The midpoint can be a success, like in RATATOUILLE, where they are celebrated, but the problems only multiply, and forces against them grow.

It can be a failure, like THE AVENGERS, where the Chitauri surprise attack the bickering, unorganized version of the team.

Either way, this is when the old version of the protagonists starts to die as they are sent in a new, unexpected direction.

That death will be complete at the end of sequence 5, leading soon to the third act where they solve their problem in a very different way than how they tried to solve it in the movie's first half.

By the end of the story, they will have become someone new.

[Ty Leisher @TyLeisher]

Equity is enticing to investors because if the film is a huge success, they will share in, usually, 50% of the massive potential profits. So a $30k investment into a Blair Witch can net them millions in profit.

But there is no guarantee or protection that you'll get to profits.

[Ty Leisher @TyLeisher]

Equity.

Equity is the final stage of a film's finance plan. This is private investors putting in cash with the understanding it is the most risky and highest reward.

Equity is recouped last and usually comes with a 20% premium plus part of the profit on the film.

[Ty Leisher @TyLeisher]

The remaining unsold territories will hopefully be eventually sold, so they have some value.

Your gap lender, which may be different from your senior lender as not all senior lenders do gap, will give you a percentage of those remaining territories. Usually 10% or less.

[Ty Leisher @TyLeisher]

A great website to view tax incentives worldwide is the @EntPartners map: https://t.co/WomRy5h3qb

[Ty Leisher @TyLeisher]

There are three types of tax incentive: a cash refund where you get money back dollar for dollar, a transferable tax credit that you can sell for 90% of the value to a company or individual in that state, or a non-transferrable credit that you or your investor must use themselves

[Ty Leisher @TyLeisher]

Presales.

Presales are agreements made with distributors in territories throughout the world that binds the distributor to paying a minimum guarantee when the film is delivered. There is also usually a deposit associated with it, such as 10% of the agreed purchase price.

[Ty Leisher @TyLeisher]

There are four key elements to a successful film finance plan. Those include presales and tax incentives (backed by a senior lender), a gap or mezzanine loan based on remaining unsold territory estimates, and equity.

There are other elements, but these are the main ones.