With details of free screenwriting resources, classes and more, here are the latest Script Magazine newsletters:
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This week's screenwriting tip, sci-fi
screenwriter Jenna Avery explores the methods of handling exposition and
backstory in science fiction screenwriting.
Don't miss the big sale on sci-fi products! Get hundreds of dollars off when
you order Writing the Sci-Fi
Screenplay or TV Series Ultimate Collection by the end of March!
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By Jenna Avery
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One of the challenges with writing good
science fiction is introducing not only the world itself, but any story
background needed to set the stage for what's to come. In my interview with
Amazon Studios-optioned Adam Pachter, he mentioned his pet peeve about
screenwriters using voiceover to get away with exposition that might
otherwise be delivered through story. On the other hand, Carson Reeves,
Scriptshadow blogger and Scriptshadow Secrets author, recommends using some
kind of introduction for sci-fi scripts to help avoid overly expository
dialogue, such as title cards (like in Star
Wars or Blade
Runner) or voiceover. His reason for this, as he puts it, is that
“science fiction is a memory hog,” and if a writer isn't careful, a large
percentage of her script can end up being filled with exposition.
Like Pachter, I've never been a fan of much in the way of voiceover in
general but I thought it was worth exploring the options to blasting our
readers and viewers with tons of exposition. I mean, let's face it, Carson's
right about sheer volume of page space taken up by story explanation. So are
there efficient ways of bringing the audience up to speed that actually work?
What's been done before, and what do we think about them? Are there times the
standbys such as title cards, flashbacks, and voiceover work? Is there
anything else? Read More...
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Jeanne Veillette
Bowerman
Jeanne is the Editor of Script and adapted the Pulitzer
Prize-winning book, Slavery
by Another Name. Her screenplays were selected as Top 25 Tracking
Board Launch Pad, CSExpo Finalist, Second Round Sundance Episodic Lab, and
PAGE Awards TV Drama Finalist. Twitter @jeannevb.
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F+W, 10151
Carver Road, Suite 300, Blue Ash, OH, 45242 USA
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Advertisement
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The Finish Line Script Competition offers 6 pages of development notes so you can rewrite &
resubmit new drafts FOR FREE! Our winner will meet/Skype with 32 top Film
& TV mentors in Los Angeles, London, Canada & Australia.
www.finishlinescriptcomp.com
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Since writing now happens in the digital
world, we can actually create new screenwriting practices that don't focus on
print. Marty Lang explores how incorporating digital technology in
screenplays could dramatically change collaboration and filmmaking. Read More...
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Your query letter is out in the world. Barri
Evins’ advice on how to reply like a pro, turn a pass into a positive, and
recognize an open door.
Read More...
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Individual subplots illustrate a different
aspect of the main conflict or shows a different step in the solution of the
main conflict. William C. Martell examines how the subplots in The Shape of Water help
shape the film's main conflict and theme. Read More...
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Comedian and television writer Devon Shepard
talks about the early days of his career and how he broke in to the business.
He has written for many hit television shows such as Crash, Weeds, MADtv, and
The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air.
Read More...
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since many of the principles of playwriting
apply to all forms of dramatic writing, taking Introduction to Playwriting is
a great idea for screenwriters too. Not only will you come back to your
screenwriting with fresh insight, but you might find that you like writing plays
too. Enroll Now...
See full list of self-paced
online courses here.
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Our webinars include both access to the live
webinar where you may interact with the presenter and the recorded, on-demand
edition for your video library. You do not have to attend the live event to
get a recording of the presentation.
See full list of upcoming
live online webinars here.
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Some writers struggle in transitioning from
one type of writing to another, but Nicholas Meyer has conquered many forms.
Learn Meyer’s cross-format storytelling processes and what encouraged him to
write his memoir.
Read More...
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As a writing critique group member, you walk
a hair-thin line between appropriate ruthlessness and inappropriate
intrusiveness. So how do you know where the boundaries are before you stumble
into them? Here are nine mistakes it’s never okay to make. Read More...
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Before you submit your script for coverage
or critique, make sure your work is void of things that annoy script readers!
Professional script reader, Brian O'Malley, shares insights into things
script readers hate to see in a screenplay. Read More...
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I know writers love to know the “rules” and
“formulas” and “principles” of writing, but truthfully, there are no great
truths about writing. A great writer knows the pitfalls and takes a concept
and creatively considers the most compelling way to tell that story—structure
be damned. Read More...
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Sign up for Glenn Benest's Creating a Great
Character Arc webinar today! If you can't make the live event on March 22nd,
as long as you sign up in advance, a recording will be emailed to you! Read More...
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Jeanne Veillette
Bowerman
Jeanne is the Editor of Script and adapted the Pulitzer
Prize-winning book, Slavery
by Another Name. Her screenplays were selected as Top 25 Tracking
Board Launch Pad, CSExpo Finalist, Second Round Sundance Episodic Lab, and
PAGE Awards TV Drama Finalist. Twitter @jeannevb.
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F+W, 10151
Carver Road, Suite 300, Blue Ash, OH, 45242 USA
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