Attn AA: Screenwriting vs Literary Writing

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Masato
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Attn AA: Screenwriting vs Literary Writing

Postby Masato » Thu May 11, 2017 7:01 pm

Hey just found out Anti-Archon says he's done both novel-style writing and screenwriting. Didn't want to hijack the thread so I'll start a new one here

Care to share some differences between the 2? Which do you prefer?

I love screenwriting and feel terribly uncomfortable at the idea of writing in a more prose or literary style. I'm not even sure I'm using the right terms here, lol.

Writing big stories is so crazy fun and difficult, would love to hear any ideas you have about the process, how you approach etc.

All other writers amateur or not chime in. I know SRBrant is writing some crazy shit but its on its own level I have no idea what he's actually creating (yet) :D

Manifesting a story and characters from the mysterious muse - what a strange and magical process when achieved.

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Postby Masato » Thu May 11, 2017 7:02 pm

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Postby Masato » Thu May 11, 2017 7:06 pm

I don't know who Maya Angelou is, but its a cool quote:

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The Anti-Archon
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Postby The Anti-Archon » Fri May 12, 2017 1:22 pm

I started writing in a screenplay form, scripting comic books that my best friend would draw. I was a giant nerd when I was a kid and played a ton of Dungeons and Dragons. That was where I cut my teeth on world building and writing. Once in high school, I "got serious" and started writing awful horrible poetry and really bad articles for the school newspaper and occasional short stories, one of which I am still sort of proud. When I went off to college, I took a fiction writing class almost as a lark because I thought I was going to go into computer science. It turned out I hated the advanced math necessary to go anywhere in engineering and barely escaped those classes with my GPA intact. I loved my fiction writing class where I wrote four different stories that I really thought were good (at the time). I took a screenwriting class the next semester and changed my major to English, you know for all those big English jobs out there.

I absolutely loved screenwriting. It became my passion and I sincerely wanted to move to Hollywood and become the next Tarantino. After college, I did wind up moving to California, but it didn't quite go as planned. That's where I wrote my first novel. The difference between screenwriting and novel writing is that you don't get to quickly describe visuals for a director to interpret later. Everything that happens in a novel comes down to your command of the language. Word choice is incredibly important. It can be grueling. However, Maya Angelou (one of the world's most celebrated poets BTW) is correct. Once you open yourself up to the voices of your characters, they start to speak through you. Like any exercise, you have to get into a daily groove where the muse or whatever it is begins to talk to you. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

I finished that novel which was all dark and depressing and Bukowski-esque and got very disappointed when it went nowhere. Quit writing for a time afterwards. Moved back to Michigan and started grant writing for a nonprofit. Been doing that more or less ever since. When I met my wife, she re-ignited my passion for writing and we collaborated on another novel. That one is a DaVinci Code-esque potboiler that I thought would be more marketable. Still didn't sell. C'est la vie.

After that, I had kids and became a director at my current nonprofit and time has sort of gotten away from me. I've half-started other projects, but never seen them through. Of course, I did win that three-way tie for 2015 Poster of the Year at EY.com, so that's a feather in my cap, lol.

In the end, I like the freedom of novel writing more than the strict structure and reliance on someone else to complete your vision necessary with screenwriting. However, it is a lot harder. To put together 100,000 words on anything takes six months minimum for me, and that is the minimum length a publisher will consider for adult fiction. That is working on it 6 days a week straight. I can't do seven days a week or I go nuts. I have to give myself a day where I don't have to sit in front of the screen and lose myself. I can really only do that for an hour at a time and I feel drained afterward. I really do feel like it is channeling something that is not within me, but outside in the ether. Out in the psychsophere, if you will. It's a complete sacrifice of yourself while you are in that mode, like meditation, but with more exertion and no peace. And yet, sometimes I am compelled to do it, even though other times I have to force myself.

Anyway, if you are interested in ever trying novel writing, Stephen King's book "On Writing" is the best thing I ever read. He's a goddamn freak of nature, though, so I try not to compare my struggling attempts with his prolific output. But his tips and advice are invaluable. As for screenwriting, Lawrence Kasdan wrote a book that really helped me back in the day. I don't remember it's title, but it's good.

Anyhoo, there's my two cents on writing. Time to do some actual work.

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Postby Masato » Fri May 12, 2017 2:16 pm

I will get those books (King & Kasdan)

I learned tons about screenwriting from Robert McKee's book STORY, and another book from a woman named Linda Seger.

I must have read 20 other books on screenwriting too, but most of them sucked & just said what is in those other 2 books but worse lol


As for sales/success, I am starting to suspect that the success of a book might have much less to do with the quality of the content, and more to do with how big/aggressive your marketing campaign is. Without a major publisher, deals with bookstore franchises, guest spots on radio shows, paid banners on every website etc etc, how can people ever see or know about the book?

Proof is that BenW and I wrote the greatest book in the world and we only sold like 6 copies, lol :D Its all advertising man, who has the promotion machine behind it. I suppose same for movies. Sad.

Yet on the other hand, a lot of cool books I see on those franchise shelves. I wonder how each of those author's books found their way on those shelves, and how its working for them. I often ponder about making graphic novels but always hear how it doesn't really monetize so how can you make the time?

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Postby The Anti-Archon » Fri May 12, 2017 2:44 pm

For sure, it is all marketing, especially in today's world. All the advice I read now is to self-publish and self-promote, but the Venn diagram of people who can author a book and the people who can successfully market that book rarely circles the same person.

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Postby Masato » Sat May 13, 2017 2:14 am

I heard that Stephen King says he starts his stories without knowing where they are going, and just follows along.

This is crazy to me, of course he has infinite more experience and is a genius, but for me I find if I don't have a very clear map and structure planned out I just make a mess, lol

How do you write, AA? Do you plan your stories meticulously beforehand, or do you let it flow and clean up afterwards?

And totally agreed about most artists being shitty marketers/businessmen. I have a friend who is a really great painter but can't figure out how to make a career of it, its hard to see. I love making all kinds of stuff but hate marketing it

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Postby Canuckster » Sat May 13, 2017 2:32 am

I used to write, once upon a time. And this is how I would start, with no story or plot, only an intro and an idea of what the story was about.

I wish I had time to do another one.
People say they all want the truth, but when they are confronted with a truth that disagrees with them, they balk at it as if it were an unwanted zombie apocalypse come to destroy civilization.

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Postby Mullet Tard » Mon May 15, 2017 3:12 pm

Screenwriting is a lot of fun. A local company made a great screenwriting program called CelTX, which perfectly formats your script as you go. Been using it for years.

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Postby The Anti-Archon » Tue May 16, 2017 1:15 pm

I have done both starting to write with no plan and fully outlining a story before writing one word. Both have their pros and cons. Starting to write with no plan is very freeing and opens you up to endless possibilities. You can also write yourself into a corner and have no satisfying conclusion to end your story.

Conversely, my wife and I meticulously researched and outlined our novel and then I sat down and did all the prose. This method was much better in putting together a cohesive novel with a three act dramatic structure. I knew where I was going, what I should be foreshadowing and how it would all end. However, that increased the feeling of "ugh, this is a chore" when I would sit down to crank out the next 1,000 words every night.

Overall, I'd say a structured outline where you clearly define your dramatic acts, character arcs and any underlying symbolism you are trying to convey results in a better end product. However, Stephen King disagrees and just goes whole hog into whatever story he's writing. Upon his rewrites, he will strengthen certain themes and cut and rearrange scenes to fit a better structure. For me, that's too much work after the fact. I'd rather lay the carpet right the first time and just smooth the edges than tear it up again once its down.


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