It’s NOT Warner Brother’s Fault People!

Okay, I have to say something. Blaming Warner Brothers and the Dark Knight for the shootings in CO is like blaming New York City, or the World Trade Center for the attacks on Sept 11th-HONESTLY how is it WB’s fault? It’s tragic but come on!

I have been seeing posts all day on FB, saying that WB should be responsible and take the Dark Knight out of theaters, and or that WB needs to apologize. Have I missed something? How is it their fault?

It’s a tragedy and my sister lives in that area and always goes to midnight screenings, when I saw the headlines this morning I was freaked out until I heard from her, so I get it, it’s sad, reeeeeeeally really sad, but it’s not the fault of the studio.

First Five Pages, Please. . . Please. . No Seriously, PLEASE!

Advice from a writer and reader to the aspiring writer.

I have been doing a lot of script reading lately, for my own consulting, for friends, and for judging contests (just recently started doing that!) And one of the things that I notice the most and to be FAIR, I have fallen into this trap as well, is this: The script is BORING for about 30 pages-that is 30 minutes.

What would happen if you went to the movies and NOTHING happened for 30 full minutes? I know some films take forever to set up-but at least make it interesting.

If 5 to 10 pages into a script, I can’t tell you what it’s about or what is happening, something is wrong. People have a very short attention span and now I get it. I know why my own scripts sometimes have had issues-too long to get things happening.

Of course this does depend on the type of script you are writing, but still something must draw the reader or the audience in right away. Ever read a book that the first chapter was boring? It’s hard to move through. One HUGE famous author whose work I love by the way, took so long setting things up, I would start his books on chapter two or three just so I wouldn’t be bored out of my head. He was a great writer, and famous and here I sit writing a blog instead of rolling around in money, but seriously the first chapter was always so slow and not helping the story.

Les Miserables-the BOOK-the FULL version is LONG, and slow at first, but it is so well written that you don’t feel that way when reading it. David Copperfield is that way as well. You can spend time, but make sure it’s interesting.

I just read an action script where honestly NOTHING happened until page 40! 40! yes I said 40! The idea was good enough, the characters were okay, but NOTHING happened for so long I was thinking of other things while reading it. I really wish the scene 35 pages is was how he opened the script, then I would have been not able to put it down-which I did about 17 times.

So I am just sharing some advice from me, a writer and a reader to you, the writer. Make it interesting immediately until you are famous and can babble on for 40 pages and no one will care.

Typos and Grammar and Story

Yesterday I had a weird experience with someone who was reading some of my work and this person started correcting dialogue things and actually sent me like War & Peace list of fixes, that weren’t actually wrong. I felt that I had to defend myself and explain that people don’t speak in “perfect English”, and she just couldn’t see that. This isn’t uncommon actually with writers.

Ever since I started doing script and book reading and coverage, I notice more and more and more, (run on sentence) stiff dialogue because the writer is so fouces on perfect grammar that they have forgotten completely about reality. People rarely speak in perfect grammar-if they do, are they really the kind of people you want to hang out with?

When studying French I would ask my French friends grammar questions and they would say, “I don’t know, nobody speaks like that.”. I am not saying that grammar isn’t important, because of course it is, but you have to just think about it with logic and reason.

This is the BIGGEST mistake people make when writing dialogue and I see it all the time. Then the writer in question has his or her heart is broken when you tell them to losen it up a bit. I may not be the best writer and I am the queen of typos and mistakes-I admit that about myself-but I always get complimented on dialogue-always.

I think if you are a creative writer-especially screen and teleplays-you need to focus on STORY not perfect English, especially when your characters are speaking. If you spend all your time worrying about getting it perfect, you will never accomplish a great story.

I had friends in high school and college get upset with me because with little to no effort I got As on all my creative writing assignments and book essays. Their papers would be technically perfect and mine had heart and soul. It isn’t that I don’t care about those things, but it just isn’t my focus.

I also do storyboarding and I see this all the time in art. Those who worry about making these perfect sistine chapel drawings usually end up with stiff boring boards that don’t convey story, emotion, or acting. It’s not saying to not do a good drawing, but again, you are focusing on the wrong thing.

Typos are another thing that happens to writers all the time, no matter who you are. The reason is that your mind fills in what you wanted to write when something is wrong and you can not see it. God invented editors for a reason. Okay, I am kidding, because it does look unprofessional to hand in any work with mistakes all over it, but you get the point? Don’t you?

In any case, this was an interesting article that one of the making writing sites I follow posted on Facebook today and I thought I would share.

http://io9.com/optical-illusions/

Happy writing!

I Just Don’t Have Time-It’s Not You, It’s Me!

I wrote this blog a few years ago with a little help from a friend in law school going through the exact same of crap from friends and lovers that I go through constantly because I work in the film industry. I am in the same boat now and still getting a hard time from people who just “don’t get it.”

Here is that blog!

http://stephanieolivieri.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-just-dont-have-time.html

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2009

I Just Don’t Have Time

A few ground rules for dating an aspiring writer, professional writer, and or professional animation artist.

It isn’t you, it’s me and really it’s me. I am so busy I hardly have time to think and honestly don’t have time for extra drama. . .oh yeah, this is for my friends as well as potential more than friend types.

1) Just because I never call you back or I text you a week later, does not mean I’m not interested, or care about you, our friendship or more. Really, I’m not that deep. I don’t have time to even consider what kind of signal I’m sending or how you might interpret it. I’m just not sending it because I. Did. Not. Have. Time.

I have this problem all the time and I don’t have the time to worry about the game of it all. Guys, I do what I do and I don’t worry even for a second about the signal I am sending you, sorry but it is true. Friends, relax, you’re my friend, I do care, I am just slammed.

2) I don’t have time to hang out, so I will send you short text messages and emails that sometimes repeat or make no sense.

I am so busy and know that I won’t see you, so I send emails and text messages instead of going out, and maybe that is cold, or whatever, but it is what it is. Guys, it also isn’t any kind of sign that I want some huge relationship, so give me a break, because this is me trying. Friends, this is all I can do right now.

3) Speaking of hanging out…when I have a window of opportunity, you need to drop everything. That window might close in 5 minutes and it might not come again until after I finish this script, pilot, novel, animated short, commercial or whatever else.

This does not mean that I am being cold, or don’t care about you, it means exactly what it says, this is the window I have. This is for both friends and guys, because I am too busy and can’t make plans, so when I am free that is when I can do something and more often than not, it is last minute.

4) If you get a real live phone call consider yourself lucky, it’s the equivalent to spending a day together.

I can’t talk on the phone and type, or draw, so when I am swamped with work, please don’t expect me to spend hours on the phone with you, because I won’t. It’s not personal.

5) (This one is for guys) Essentially we’re down to text messages and a booty call.

Because I don’t have time for games and courting rituals. I’m not a slut, or a man hater, and am not trying to prove anything to you or your gender.

6) (Also for guys) If I do see you, even if only for an hour, that means I like you. I really don’t want to have to worry about compliments, stroking your ego or anything and I don’t have energy to compete. I showed up, that says a lot.

This one is self explanatory.

This is my life right now, until the TV show sells, or the screenplay sells, or I am working on staff somewhere.

A few other things are that: I can’t make plans in advance more than a day, and even when I do, I may have to break them. If I say I can’t do something with you and then a couple hours later change that~it is because I all of a sudden can do something that I wasn’t able to earlier.

You can not get upset with me for putting work in front of you when I don’t have a 9 to 5 job and don’t know when or where, or for how long I will be working~sometimes the hours are round the clock.

This is my life right now, and that said, if you are in my life I do care about you in some way, and I do enjoy your text messages, facebook posts, emails and even voice mails, but when I don’t respond right away, just know that it meant something to me that you didn’t forget I exist.

SORRY I Have A Good Excuse

My father died on June 7th and just like when my dog died on January 18th, it derailed me and I sank into a deep sadness that was only surpassed by fear because I was between jobs.

Fear and Grief-the two ugliest bitched on the planet let me tell you.

Now I am working on a few great projects-yes for pay-animation, gaming, transcription of scripts (so I get paid to watch clips) and illustration. I am crazy busy. I was also contacted by two major animation studios with the possibility of landing my dream job at either of them. Both are studios I have wanted to work with or for, for years-so I have hope and Hope is stronger than Fear or Grief.

I am also working on a new stage play-my first, and a new film.

So I have neglected my blog-all of my blogs actually-sorry, I am coming back to my life and will be blogging.

Bunheads! Jane By Design and the last few episodes of the Closer all coming up.

I hope you all are writing tons and haven’t had time to swing by my little blog anyhow, but if not, I promise soon, I’ll be back.

You can also follow one of my romantic comedies via Twitter @CTODFthebook.