A request for MR Roderick Usher
 

I, as many can attest to, am an aspiring screenwriter. i enjoy writing in general, and love making short stories, not to mention writing articles. I run Scared Yet .Net, and write for Planet Half-Life , but ultimately i would like to write movies.

I suppose i could PM this to you, but i figured it could benefit others as well . Plus i love abusing the fact that i have been here forever and get away with shit that would get others slapped around :D

My wife struck a deal with me recently. Basically, she would excuse me for 30 minutes daily, no matter what kind of stuff needs to be done around the house, to work on a screenplay, suggesting that if i was consistent, eventually i would finish something that i could sell.

On top of that, you commented in my story The Safe that you thought this was something i should consider (writing movies), so i figured i would pick you brain for any advice you might have for someone who wants to eventually quit "real work" for a career in screenwriting.

I have 2 plotlines i am going ot be workingon, one is a serious horror with a decent amount of action. the other is very non-serious action horror. thinkSnakes on a plane (which i havent seen, just the concept) with a healthy dose of critters, arachnaphobia, and maybe some gremlins in the mix.

Pretty please?

Ahem.:D

all right, Vod here goes.

You obviously have a solid grasp of literature, film etc and the desire to write, so I'll just get to the nuts and bolts of it.

Have you read any screenwriting books? Most of them are worthless, but you need to grab The Screenwriter's Bible by Dave Trottier. It is the most comprehensive guide to all the technical crap that makes a screenplay work. But don't take anyone's word as absolute Gospel, you'll find what works for you.

You should be accutely aware of a three-act structure to your story-telling. It is the language of film. I know it sounds formulaic, but it is actually quite liberating once you get it down.

You must be precise and simple in your action lines/charater descriptions. Break up big blocks of action into individual beats -- this keeps the reader's eye moving down the page at a rapid rate and gives the impression of "speed" - readers love a fast script.

I've come up with my own "rules" that I use to keep my writing on track.

they are:

1. Every scene must drive the story forward

2. Every scene must reveal or reinforce character

3. Mood and tone should be established early and reinforced often

4. Exposition should be handled through or during action

5. Drafts should work their way up the body:
- First draft from the gut (or lower)
- Second draft from the heart
- Subsequent drafts are headwork


Making Characters POP

The key to making a character leap off the page is to know him/her as a real person before you type FADE IN:

A handy tool to get to know your characters is to answer the following 10 questions in as much detail as possible:

1. What is the one thing your character loves most in this world? Why?
2. Where is he/she from? Is the character proud of it? Ashamed?
3. Was childhood happy? Boring? Traumatic?
4. When (if ever) was virginity lost – and in what way?
5. Was he/she raised with religion? Is it still a part of their life? How does religion affect his/her decisions?
6. What’s the character’s favorite food? Color? Movie? Book? Magazine? Sports team?
7. Under what circumstances would your character lie? Why?
8. How does he/she typically react to setbacks?
9. What is his/her greatest fear? Why? How does he/she react when frightened?
10. What is his/her deepest secret shame? (we all have one)

Even if we never use this information in the script, the connection you will form with the character will be dramatically enhanced by the process.

hope this helps!
:D

and you are going to need the proper software. Final Draft is the industry standard, but MovieMagic is good too.

It's a touch pricey, but if your work isn't formatted properly, no one will read it - harsh, but very true.

write every day - a half hour is pretty short, but we all deal with time constraints.

My partner and I put in 2-3 hours a day mon-fri and a little more when we're banging out rewrites (like we're doing right now - ugh.)

Kick ass
a writer writes

I would say you have no idea how much this helps, but I think you do :)

Thanks, I REALLY appreciate it.

So Roderick is a writer too?

Nice pointers Rod. I've read 'Screenwriting for Dummies' and that's it so maybe I'll check out the book you mentioned as well. I'm basically about a step behind Vod in that screenwriting is something I would like to do eventually, but right now it's more in it's hobby phase. (I have yet to alot X amount of time per day for working on scripts. Although, I do have a few I'm working on, I just write on them when I feel the urge.)

Rod actually does it for a living, which is why i bugged him.

I knew it was a good idea :)

Oh really..... Anything we might have seen Rod?


*Runs off to check imdb for roderick usher....*

Well.... Frederick Usher was in Mystery Men.... *shrug*

Maybe that's his stage name.


;)



So, what type of writing do you do mainly, Rod?


Hey Vod... I seem to be in the dark here. If there's already a thread about all this, a kindly link in the right direction would be obliged. Thanks.

Roderick Usher was a character in Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher".

Damn. You've made me to look a fool!


I challenge you to a duel!


*Glove slap, baby... Glove slap!*






Okay, Rod... If that's your real name... Anything we might have seen?

I'm far too much the coward to duel...

My credits thus far have been abyssmal - a handful of SciFi Channel flicks (the checks cleared) - but I've got a very scary horror flick in pre-production (theatrical release this time - even have the distributor) that I'm sure you'll all love.

Once we start shooting (Dec) I'll fill you in on the particulars, but discretion is part of my job, sorry. If the movie is a hit, I'll brag my ass off, but knowing how brutal some can be on this site, I'll keep my identity (and credits) hidden for the time being.

Sci-fi channel, eh?


I still love you, man. I dont suppose you would care to spill the beans about how much sci-fi buys scripts for? They have the best rate sout there for purchasing short stories for their magazine (last i looke dit was 20 cents a word as opposed to the 4-8 most magazines do)

No biggie if you dont.

No problem, Vod.

I'd make it a habit of reading the scripts to your favorite films - just to see how the page translates to the screen. You can find tons of free scripts to read online (forgot the links, sorry.)



To answer bwind - I've written 24 feature-length screenplays in just under 6 years (used to be an actor before that) and 18 of them are stright-up horror (anywhere from creature-feature to gothic, period pieces) A couple are action/fantasy (going out with a new one of these in a couple of weeks) and the rest are comedy.

I've sold 1
Optioned 2 (giving someone temporary rights to make the film for less money than an all-out sale - if they fail to make the film in a specific amount of time, the property reverts back to me)
Landed 3 assignments for SciFi Channel
Landed 1 assignment from an Independant producer (a pirate flick, no less, aaaaaaarrrgh)

And newb, thanks for comin' correct with the English lesson. as for me I'll be

"...dreaming dreams no mortals dared to dream before..."

Hey Rod, another writer here (aren't we all;) )

Just curious; I've gotten paid for writing before, but mostly just doing shit like copy for web pages/brochures and crap like that. It's a start, but it doesn't pay the bills. My question is, and I've heard several different sides of this, is it REALLY better to start off by getting an agent if you're serious?

I know it's always the dream (much like musicians & their demos) that we'll just be able to write an awesome script/manuscript/whatever & send it to a publisher with spectacular results. I'm not sold on this idea.

also woul you red my awxsom vampir story its great i know ull luv it lol! how bout som feedback?!!1

:D

Seriously though, the majority of people say that getting an agent is the only way to go. Thoughts?

Here's the deal with agents, and it sucks.

If you don't have an agent, you can't get an agent. These people live in a closed circle that is intentionally exclusive in order to justify the very existance of the position. You simply have to know somebody to get in...that or sell a spec screenplay and they'll come after you.

Finding an agent is the second hardest thing to do as a writer, just behind selling a spec script.

The best way to get going is to enter screenplay competitions. It is how I landed my first manager (had a few) and a manager can get you an agent.

Focus on your craft and write a cool story that you would like to see as a movie. Allow your passion for the material to leap off the page. Do this and the suits will come after you.

Chasing an agent reeks of desperation and Hollywood hates desperate.

Yeah, I'll read your vampire story. Is it posted on the site?

I'mI'm pretty sure he was talking to me.
And if you want to duel Bwind....just know this.....you have to go through my body-guard.......and he's really pissed.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...chimp-BASE.gif

that is the weirdest looking thing i have seen all day....

but if I sent Bruce Lee...

shit, not again.

Sorry but....Bruce Lee would kick the SHIIT out of your monkey.

And another thing, is I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread....Well I saw it in the main page and That is sweet that your a writer.

I mean an actual WRITER whos MOVIES were on the SCI-FI channel is reading my bullshit post :)

Thanks for the info :).

LMAO

Once again I bet old Rod is saying "what the fuck have I gotten myself into?"

Sorry,it just struck me as funny-no offense meant in the least to Anyone.


Hey, can we have your autograph?
:D :D

I said old
Sorry!!
I meant: ole , as in ole buddy (even though I do not know you,but you know what I mean)

Old Rod?
Wasn't that one of Vod's other film credits?:D

That's a little ironic.

I can see how you could get "old" and "big" mixed up :)

Yeah, Vod was in 'Big Rod', starring him and Dennis Rodman.

All right I need all the good intentions and positive energy I can muster. Got a script going up the pipe at Dimension - with Adam Green of HATCHET attached to direct!

It's made it up to the VP of Development who can give us a simple yes or no answer. Should hear in a week to ten days - Hollywood is so fucking slow!

Wish me luck. If it goes, I'll tell you all about it, it's something I'm sure all of you will love.

Good luck, hope they like it, if they don't, send 'em here, we'll give 'em hell :D

That's fuckin' awesome man! Best of luck to ya!

It won't be long now until you are the next Kevin Williamson and forget all about us little people. :D

Thanks:)

As for the little people, I love midgets and could never forget them:D

I wish you all of the best, Rod!

Another question: You spoke of contests as being the best way of getting something done for an aspiring writer. Can you recommend any lists/sites that list these, and ways young writers can help avoid being scammed by paying fees to bogus contests?

And if I were to send you an outline that made a great book, because I don't write screenplays, how do I know you wouldn't rip me off?:D

Oh, and doesn't anyone know that only good writers get fame and notoriety after they've gone and died.;) :p

Midgets scare me.
Only thing that creeped me out about Xtro.
*shudder*

I had a nightmare after that Surreal Life episode with Vern Troyer (mini-me) drunk and terrorizing the house with pee and mini-nakedness. He was chasing me around on his little scooter making the scary drunk midget noise.

moviebytes.com

they list virtually all the competitions and includes writers' feeback on how they were treated. I'd steer clear of any competition that hasn't been around for at least two years.

if you're in the horror genre, the best is LA Screamfest. I was a semi-finalist three years in a row before landing a rep, but I got one from this competition.

I wouldn't rip anyone off - karma's a bitch. but you should copyright and/or register the outline or story synopsis with the Writer's Guild of America - then you are protected.

I'll gladly take a look at the outline and offer a critique. If my writing partner and I like it, we might ask your permission to write it and give you a "story by" credit.

Hey Roderick, I have another question for ya. This one is about talent agents...

How do they normally get paid?

Do you like pay them on an hourly or weekly or monthly basis or is their pay based on whether or not they create income for you?


For example, say you have an agent for a year, but don't sell any scripts (or get any parts or whatever). Are you paying that agent for essentially doing nothing for you? Or does the agent not get paid unless you do somehow?

I'm just curious as to how that works.

I'm talking about a novel, not a screen play.

I've been wracking my brain as to whether or not to ask you to, when you have time to look a rough "main character" design" story outline/synopsis (two or three paragraphs), and a general description of what I'm trying to do, however, I don't really know if that's "kosher," or rather if that's necessary. ( You know the whole, "go with it, baby!")

The thing is, you're a pro. and I'm not (yet [heh]). I've spoken with other professionals. I've had other pros. take a look at what I'm working on, and I have gotten a "thumbs up."

The thing is, though, most of my writing credibility is in academia. I write damn good analytical thesis papers, documents, and essays.

I once talked to a dude who wrote for TSR (the fantasy rpg comp.) He talked me out of becoming an English major. Told me that it would the worst mistake of my life, if I wanted to be a writer.

Mainly, what I do in the form of creative writing, currently, is poetry, in the form of free verse, with a dash of beat poetry. Every year I buy the Poet's Market and stare at it. That is the one area where the lighter side of my being shows throw. E.A. Poe, I ain't.

--bwind--

Agents get 10% of what you make. If you earn nothing, neither do they. Kepps them motivated to find you work. Some agents try to get one over by charging administrative fees. you NEVER need to pay these and anyone who tries to charge them is disreputable.

Managers, however, can charge up to 25% - once again, this is a sign of someone who is disreputable. I'd give a manager 15% if I didn't have an agent as well, but as soon as an agent is added to the equation the manager's fee should drop to 10%.

--Haunted--

I'll gladly take a look and give my honest critique. I'm a pro screenwriter and still trying the tame the novel (and poetry) thing myself, so don't take my word as any kind of absolute.

And writing from academia is awesome - I'm sure your grasp of grammar and sentence construction is far superior to mine.:)