Scriptchat: Should you respect all critics?

#Scriptchat is a Twitter session where scriptwriters get together to talk. Tonight I took part for the first time.

Tonight’s #scriptchat was a Q&A with Writer’s Avenue - a London-based theatre company that focuses on developing new writers.

During the chat this comment appeared from Paul Bassett Davies (Twitter moniker @thewritertype). Davies is a Liverpool-based screenwriter and script reader.

thewritertype: #scriptchat You don't have to like or respect the person giving you feedback. Their value is that they are not you.

I think this statement is nearly all correct, except on one point.

TRUE: Liking a critic isn’t necessary

Receiving criticism from someone is a unpleasant, if it’s negative. But the more crushingly negative feedback is, the better. So long as it is constructive feedback.

So if you find someone criticizing your work who you detest on a personal level, you may disregard what they say. But that is your weakness, not them.

Just because you don’t like a person does not make their criticisms invalid. You should judge their comments as any you would anyone else’s.

Being a professional screenwriter will require you to collaborate with people you dislike. If you’re not prepared to deal with this situation, give up now.

TRUE: A critic’s value is that they are not you

Getting someone to read your work is vital, because they are not you.

When your script is ready for reading, you should know your script, story, plot and characters forwards, backwards, sideways and inside out. This is also a weakness, because it can blind you to problems.

Your brain will fill in the blanks in the story, because you know information no reader or viewer will know.

A new reader will come to your work ignorant and naïve. They will be able to spot where your story falls down, or a character doesn’t make sense, because they do not know what the next line holds or what you “meant to say”.

If a scene doesn’t make sense to a new reader, or a character isn’t believable, it isn’t because the reader didn’t understand what you meant. It’s because you’re writing’s failed in it’s task.

FALSE: Respecting a critic isn’t necessary

Here’s the point I strongly disagree with.

You should only request feedback from those people whose work you respect.

Whether they are song writers, playwrights, screenwriters, or a novelist, the people whose work you respect are the ones you should turn to for advice.

Respect also means that you trust them. You need to trust these people to not spread your work around, or bad mouth it behind your back. But also that they will give you honest feedback - even if it’s stuff you don’t want to listen to or hear from.

This is independent from liking the person. If you find a particular screenwriter personally loathsome, but they produce excellent screenplays, listen to what they’re telling you.

This only applies to when you ask someone for an opinion. You will get plenty of notes from people you neither respect or like, but will have listen to them, and act on their notes.

At a minimum people you don’t respect or like are still your audience. And that means their input is valid.

Are you professional? The test

However much I admire what Raindance does for the UK's independent filmmakers, and enjoy their newsletter, there are times when it has me spitting venom.

This is the latest bit of their newsletter that really grates: 

"Those of you who know me, will know that for years I have dabbled at home - drawings, painting and a bit of writing.

"Christmas time this year, I realised that to move ahead with these creative projects, I needed to spend more than just 2/3 hours a week.

"My New Year's Resolution was to spend at least 10 hours a week pursuing these pastimes. 

"But what does that make me?  

"Here's my theory:

• 2 hours or less per week - hobbyist
• 10 hours per week - talented amateur 
• 20 hours per week - semi pro 
• 40 or more hours per week - professional" 

This view - you're a professional if you spend X amount of hours doing something - gets in my nerves, no matter who says it.

I've met plenty of writers who spend a great deal of time justifying why they are a professional writer: they write a certain amount of words a day; they writer for a certain length of time a day; they're respectful to other people; they meet deadlines; they take pride in their work; they’re always open to criticism for every quarter; they read every book, magazine and blog on writing they can find; or their spelling and grammar are impeccable.

While behaving in those ways are laudable, and will help you become a professional writer, they won’t turn you into a professional by themselves.

This is how to tell - with absolute certainty - if you are a professional writer.

Answer yes or no to the following question: Do you get paid for your work?

If you answer “yes”, you’re a professional.

If you answer “no”, you’re an amateur.

Professionals get paid for their work. Amateurs don't.

As the catchphrase goes: Simples.

Copyright is not evil

Copyright is not evil

It seems that all over the web, there's a growing number of people who think that copyright is a bad thing.

A few years back this was limited to the copyleft movement and filesharers (or pirates if you prefer), but lately it seems that more people in the creative industries and artists seem to view copyright as a bad thing - mainly that it allows large corporations to exploit individuals.

Worse, some take the view that acknowledging the rights of other creative professionals is optional.

This is disturbing because copyright exists to protect artists and creatives from being exploited. These aren't a set of perfect laws, and they're open to abuse, but they enable workers in media to earn a living.

Take this scene, set in a world without copyright laws:

Now, the same scene in the real(ish) world.

People who work in creative professions have the right to be paid, and the right to be credited as being the creator of their work, because of copyright laws.

Businesses also have the right to stop people copying products they've developed. This enables creatives in any field to earn a living, as well as enabling companies earn the money to employ staff and invest in new works.

Abuse and manipulation of copyright laws by businesses and individuals should be stopped. But destroying, or just plain ignoring, copyright laws isn't the way to do it.

Script Tank - learning from peers

Since I've been learning the craft of writing screenplays, I've lost track of the number of courses I've been on. Some have been useful (Euroscript's genre workshops), some excellent (the evening classes provided by Raindance), but I've learnt more about screenwriting from attending Script Tank.

I written about Script Tank before, but in a nutshell it's a fortnightly reading of scripts, carried out be professional actors, to an audience of actors, screenwriters and playwrights. After the script is read out, the audience then critique it (actually, it's torn apart - in a purely professional and constructive fashion - by the writers attending).

Unlike every other writers' group I've attended, Script Tank's members are all experienced professionals in their fields. So they know what makes a successful piece of writing - whether it's a commercial TV production, or a short piece for the UK's fringe theatre scene. And the organisers of Script Tank ensure this. Even attending Script Tank requires you submit work, before your allowed to appear.

Script Tank doesn't just help you develop abilities with helping you recognise dialogue, plotting and the general writing of scripts. It helps in other ways too:

1. You get a thicker skin

The performing arts require collaboration, so writers don't work in isolation. They continually receive feedback from script editors, actors, producers and directors on their work. (Or at least they should. I suspect no-one dares do this to the celebrity hyphenates, for fear of loosing their job.)

Often these notes are unwanted, occasionally desired; at times positive, most likely negative. For a writer to move from amateur (writing for free) to professional status (getting regular paid work) they need to learn how to accept criticism.

This does not mean lying back and being walked over by everyone with an opinion. It means developing the ability select the best, constructive advice from the general noise, without taking negative comments as personal attacks.

The best way to do that is to get your work seen by other people. Then listen to what they say.

This is what happens at Script Tank: once a work is performed, the writer has to sit down, shut up and listen to the feedback. They can't answer back, argue, interrupt, or even reply to questions. You have to sit there and take the hits as they come.

Just as in a development meeting you have to listen to what's being said, without storming out.

That's unless you're in love with the romantic idea of being a screenwriter, rather than learning how the industry works.

2. Networking

There are two ways to look at how the performing arts industries operate: it's either the most social of all the industries, requiring an immense amount of networking; or it's so nepotistic, it's incestuous.

You have to build contacts and friends in the industry to break in, and
Script Tank is one of the many places this can be done.

You also meet many wonderful actors - always handy for anyone with ambitions to produce their own works.

3. Learn from others

The level of experience of people at Script Tank varies from baby writers to old hands. But no matter who is there, if you pay attention you'll be guaranteed to learn from the mistakes and successes of others in the group.

You can also pick up tricks and techniques from other writers and actors, and learn about parts of the industry you may never have heard about before.

My next reading at Script Tank is in late February. This time it's a feature film script.

Whatever happens at the reading, I'm sure it'll make my script stronger.

European Screenwriters Manifesto

After reading about the European Screenwriters Manifesto in the filmmaking magazine MovieScope, I decided to add my name to it.

The manifesto, created by the Federation of Scriptwriters in Europe (Fédération des Scénaristes d’Europe) asks European governments to support screenwriters' rights to be credited and paid for our work.

It's just a pity that this sort of petition is required.

The text of the manifesto is below. You can find more information about it, and add your name to it, here.

THE EUROPEAN SCREENWRITERS MANIFESTO

Stories are at the heart of humanity and are the repository of our diverse cultural heritage. They are told, retold and reinterpreted for new times by storytellers. Screenwriters are the storytellers of our time.

European writing talent should be trusted, encouraged and supported. The European film industries need to find ways to attract and keep its screenwriters in the cinema and in their craft.

We assert that:

• The screenwriter is an author of the film, a primary creator of the audiovisual work.

• The indiscriminate use of the possessory credit is unacceptable.

• The moral rights of the screenwriter, especially the right to maintain the integrity of a work and to protect it from any distortion or misuse should be inalienable and should be fully honored in practice.

• The screenwriter should receive fair payment for every form of exploitation of his work.

• As author the screenwriter should be entitled to an involvement in the production process as well as in the promotion of the film and to be compensated for such work. As author he or she should be named in any publication accordingly, including festival catalogues, TV listing magazines and reviews.

We call on:

• National governments and funding agencies to support screenwriters by focusing more energy and resources, whether in form of subsidy, tax breaks or investment schemes, on the development stage of film and television production and by funding writers directly.

• Scholars and film critics to acknowledge the role of screenwriters , and universities, academies and training programmes to educate the next generations in accordance to the collaborative art of the medium and with respect towards the art and craft of screenwriting.

• Festivals, film museums and other institutions to name the screenwriters in their programs and plan and screen film tributes to screenwriters just as they do to directors, actors and countries.

• National and European law should acknowledge that the writer is an author of the film.

• National and European law should ensure that screenwriters can organise, negotiate and contract collectively, in order to encourage and maintain the distinct cultural identities of each country and to seek means to facilitate the free movement of writers in and between all nations.

We will:

• Distribute this manifesto to industry members and the press in our respective countries.

• Campaign for the implementation of the agenda defined by this manifesto.

• Seek the transition into national and European law of the legal changes demanded by this manifesto.

Scrippets test run #2

This is another test run of the (theoretically) very useful Scrippets. This CSS plug-in formats text in blogs into a screenplay format.

EXT. PARK - DAY

Close-up of a the face of a pretty woman, early-20s.

The picture is a freeze-frame from a camcorder.The picture starts. WOMAN is smiling. She retreats from the camera, slowly. Her eyes never leave the lens.

MAN (V.O.)

Why didn’t you tell me?

The woman laughs once.

She backs up a few more steps, turns around and walks away from the camera.

Not looking back.

The picture freezes. It rewinds. We’re back to:

UPDATE: And it works! Thanks to John August, Nima Yousefi, Will Carlough and Andy Maloney for creating Scrippets and its Maker.

UPDATE #2: This blog is now being imported to my Facebook page using Notes. Sadly Scrippets doesn't work there. So to get the full effect of Scrippets, please head to my actual blog.

Scriptwriting in the UK: Make A Short Film?

Danny Stack – co-founder of the Red Planet Prize TV writing competition - has written an excellent need-to-know on making short films. It's not a long read, but it's packed with practical advice for new filmmakers.

Scriptwriting in the UK: Make A Short Film?

ScriptShadow and Scrippets

Today I read a post on John August's blog blog about ScriptShadow - one of a growing number of blogs when spec scripts, and those in development, are reviewed.

Amongst John's criticisms of the site, he mentioned Scrippets - a plug-in for blogs that creates screenplay formatting. It sounded damn useful, so I thought I'd try it out. The problem is using Scrippets for Blogger means editing the blog template's CSS and HTML - which I hate doing.

So here as a test of Scrippets, here's the opener of the short I'm developing:

[scrippet]
EXT. PARK - DAY

Close-up of a the face of a pretty woman, early-20s.

The picture is a freeze-frame from a camcorder.

The picture starts.

WOMAN is smiling. She retreats from the camera, slowly. Her eyes never leave the lens.

MAN (V.O.)

Why didn’t you tell me?

The woman laughs once.

She backs up a few more steps, turns around and walks away from the camera.

Not looking back.

The picture freezes. It rewinds. We’re back to:
[/scrippet]

Now that test and teaser is done, onto the important stuff.

UPDATE: Scrippet doesn't seem to be working on my machine. If it does on yours, please leave a comment and let me know.

SCRIPT REVIEWS
Now about ScriptShadow. Reading lots of screenplays is key to learning to be a screenwriter. For people in my position, the combination of ScriptShadow and sites like Script Collector are a great resource for learning.

Yet, I have problems with both.

Concerning ScriptShadow. Carson Reeves (the name behind ScriptShadow) posts his reviews using the weak defense of "I'll take them down if the writer asks" (paraphrase). Now this pushes screenwriters into the position of having to police ScriptShadow, and related blogs, to ensure their work isn't being reproduced or being damaged commercially.

The reproduction and distribution of these scripts so ScriptShadow can review them is a breach of the rights of the screenwriter, and the companies they are dealing with. A screenplay is not public property that everyone can see and comment on. It's a commercial product, created by a screenwriter who sells (or, if they're lucky, licenses) it to a production company, for their income.

By placing a review on a script and having its commercial potential damaged, and the reputation of the writer harmed.

If a script is received poorly at ScriptShadow, this opinion could spread amongst other opinion influencers (bloggers, execs and journalists) through industry gossip and make that work, and possibly future pieces, a tougher sell. It doesn't require an exec to have read a ScriptShadow posting for this to occur; just hearing bad things about the writer and/or their work on the grapevine, could be enough to make them pass on a project.

Doing this could harm the careers of new screenwriters, who Reeves says he's trying to help.

There is also the issue of trust. Professional screenwriters in the industry have to accept that their scripts will get pushed around different assistants and execs. It's almost a form of networking - except your script (and its associated coverage) is replacing you bribing assistants to get meets with execs you then stalk. Yet if a script by a new writer ends up on a blog, there's the potential for execs to wonder, "Did this writer leak it? Will they leak again in the future? Can they be trusted?"

WHERE'S THE FUN?
The spoiler culture has destroyed a large part of the fun of going to the movies.

Let's face it: if everyone knew the true of Luke Skywalker's father, Rosebud, Norman Bates, and Keyser Söze before they entered the cinema, the climaxes of Empire Strikes Back, Citizen Kane, Psycho and The Usual Suspects wouldn't have had any dramatic impact.

In short, spoilers ruin stories.

Now ScriptShadow and similar blogs have pushed spoiler culture to its limit, previewing entire scripts.

We now live in a world of 100% spoilerage.

PINCER MOVEMENT
For as much as ScriptShadow, Script Collector and the like, are helping screenwriters, they're also harming the industry.

But they're only the vanguard. More of these sites will come, and the only way to stop them will be for screenwriters to policing the internet for their stolen words.

NOTE
Extract from Goodbye: © Richard Cosgrove 2009. All rights reserved.

Goodbye: Script Tank script reading

Script Tank script reading

For the past year I've been a regular at a writers' group called Script Tank.

I'll post about Script Tank at a later date. All you have to know is that this group differs from other writers' circles in that its members are all experienced, professional screenwriters, playwrights and script editors. And many also act, produce and direct.

I have gone to many writers' circles. Each time I found myself surrounded by amateur writers. Occasionally one was supportive and well-meaning and helpful, but often they came across as bitter, aggressive, critical, and jealous. (Especially when they found that I'm a journalist. Encountering someone who writes for a living seem to pour acid in the seeping wounds that were their egos.)

In short, rather than pushing other writers to higher level, the people in these groups did the best to pull people down.

Script Tank does the opposite. I have learnt more attending these meetings than I have from reading countless books, blog posts, and articles on screenwriting.

A few weeks ago I wrote a short film, and was lucky enough to have it read out at Script Tank.

The piece was three minutes long, and was written so it could be made for a no-budget production (roughly, under £500). It used two locations, three actors, and maybe four lines of dialogue.

It got a round of applause. A long one. And a series of wonderful comments - both praising and critiquing the work.

Having my script be that well-received by experience professional writers, was a sorely needed confidence booster.

Afterwards I felt secure that the script was good enough to rehearse at an acting workshop that weekend. And that I was right when I'd decided to make the film myself.

So now I'm starting on putting the film together. First stop is to figure out how much this'll all cost. And that means getting a location sorted out, and putting a team together to make it.


EDIT
7 Dec 09: Corrected title, Script Tank link and formatting.
6 Jan 10: Added labels. Corrected formatting.