Screenwriter-to-Screenwriter.com » writing process

Trusting Your Gut: Writing Passion vs. Structure

Monica — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:39:03 +0000

I’m visiting with one of my best friends now whose son, my godson, tragically died in October. This is a part of why I haven’t been writing since that time. I’ve also been trying to prioritize my own creative writing, but I’ve not had an easy time getting those pages in, either. It’s cold and [...]

Inside Out vs. Outside In

Monica — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:13:02 +0000

The great debate: character to story or concept to character. Face it: you’re either one or the other. If you think you’re both at the same time, I’d really love to hear from you and learn how you do it, because it seems to me there’s a huge canyon in between and I’m waiting for [...]

When in a Draft: Re-Read Your Own Pages

Monica — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:14:08 +0000

I’ve been working on a draft these past couple of weeks, so I have the writing process on my mind.

I was chatting with a couple of writer friends the other day and they both said when they’re drafting, they start the writing day by re-reading the previous day’s pages and editing them. This helps [...]

Be Smart About When You Write What

Monica — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:13:10 +0000

This is intended as a follow up post to Write What You Love.

I went to AFI for film school where, I imagine distinct from USC and UCLA, we didn’t really learn much, if anything, about the entertainment business. I learned a ton about writing and the writing process – but as far as the business [...]

Write the Movies You Really Want To See

Monica — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:13:43 +0000

This is intended as a follow up post to Write What You Love.

Okay. This might sound ridiculous, but bear with me. Say a magic genie appeared tonight before you fell asleep, Shazam!, and gave you a magic ticket to the best movie ever the following day, what movie would you want to see? If it [...]

Write What You Love

Monica — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:29:52 +0000

My friend had a rough writing day the other day. She had a moment of disappointment that she wasn’t writing projects that are more high-concept and commercial. I reminded her that we can only write what we love. That’s the best we can do. Sometimes we just have to write what we love just because [...]

If It Doesn’t Buy You Something, Take It Out

Monica — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:13:28 +0000

The more I write and the more I read, I find I return to this mantra again and again: If it doesn’t buy you something, take it out.

Screenplay beats to me are a commodity. You have to buy the beats in the beginning of your story to cash them in later on in the [...]

Screenplay Openings: Most Beginnings Are Overwritten

Monica — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:13:59 +0000

This article follows up on Screenplay: The Importance of the First Five Pages.

In the last batch of scripts I read for one of the screenwriting competitions, I would say about 30% of the screenplays had beginnings that were overwritten. It’s not uncommon. In several cases, the real story didn’t start to pick up until [...]

Fighting for Your Craft

Monica — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:13:12 +0000

I’ve been back in LA this week. And from the minute I got here, all I’ve wanted to do was go back to Santa Fe. There’s a specific energy here in LA for me that’s a little bit like living beneath a veil. Everything is a little bit obscured. I chalk this phenomenon up to [...]

Q&A: Simple Present vs. Present Progressive (“-ing”) Verb Tense

Monica — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:31:03 +0000

Michael asks: Is it ever okay to use the “ing” present tense to describe action? “The Complete Screenwriters Manual” says no, but I don’t buy it.

Monica says: Thanks, Michael. Great question.

Here’s the deal with what I refer to as active verbs vs. passive verbs and screenwriting. The standard for screenwriting is to use the most evocative [...]