Tag: screenwriting

Every Heard of ‘Podfics?’ Yeah, Neither had We…

…But now that we’ve seen this article we’re ready to jump in and get hooked!

image by Kristina Menente

by Kristina Manente

With nearly 22,000 works on Archive of Our Own alone, podfic isn’t exactly niche. Nor is it new. Fans were recording audiozines, aka fanfiction on tapedecks, in the 1970s and ’80s, with Doctor Who and Star Trek stories being the most popular. But audio fanfiction didn’t really make it “mainstream” until 2004 with sbp aloud, the Livejournal project to record an audiobook version of a popular Harry Potter fanfiction, “The Shoebox Project.” Soon enough after that, podficcing communities started to pop up all over Livejournal and Dreamwidth. With the creation of the Audiofic Archive, which sadly had a major server corruption and lost over 25,000 podfics in 2016, podficcers were slowly building a community, one that would spread to Tumblr, Twitter, and Archive of Our Own over the years.

That said, podficcing is still on the outskirts of general fandom discourse. With the rise of podcasting, it’s come up more often than it did two decades ago, yes, but it’s still an art form and a way of experiencing fanfiction that more people simply need to know about. read article

The 8 essential elements of a story

One of TVWriter™’s favorite writers – and writing consultants – is here with a guide to storytelling that every single one of us needs to memorize (or maybe even worship?)

This is Kurt Vonnegut’s classic diagram. We find Nathan Bransford’s take more helpful. For reals.

by Nathan Bransford

Not only do I find editing novels and helping authors achieve their vision incredibly meaningful, it’s such an interesting exercise because it forces you to think very deeply about storytelling.

It’s a wonderful challenge to be forced to articulate what’s working and not working in a story and, most importantly, why it’s not working. read article

Successful Self Promotion for Screenwriters

Another astonishingly helpful article for new screen (and of course TV) writers from the Stage32.com blog. We don’t expect to hear any complaining about how difficult it is to get started in showbiz after you read these open, honest, and knowledgeable words.

by Daniela McVicker

It’s not uncommon to dream about becoming a screenwriter. You see your words and ideas come to life on TV and movie screens worldwide. That’s fascinating. Have fun with it and never let go! However, Hollywood has changed in the past years, so screenwriters have to know how to promote themselves. If you don’t have an agent or a manager to help you out, then it might be difficult to establish yourself as a successful professional. You’ll have to do everything on your own. Likely, the digitalized world has dozens of opportunities for self-promotion. You just need to develop a strategy and that’s what this guide is all about. read article

Cartoon: Leaves

Think optimism is dead? TVWriter™’s all-time favorite artist/philosopher, Grant Snider, begs to differ.

Here’s another example of Grant’s wonderful worldview.

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Have You Read PJ McIlvaine’s New Book?

Little Lena and the big table

LB’s NOTE: Irregular but always worth waiting for TVWriter™ contributor Pj McIlvaine is a prolific writer/author/screenwriter/writer/journalist. She has been published in The New York Times, Newsday, and a host of other places. Her Showtime movie, My Horrible Year (with Mimi Rogers, Karen Allen and Eric Stoltz) was nominated for a Daytime Emmy.

We tell you all this so you’ll understand the scale of the opportunity Ms. McIlvaine is offering us all now.

Intro by Kathy Temean

PJ McIlvaine has written a picture book titled, LITTLE LENA AND THE BIG TABLE. She has agreed to share a copy with one lucky winner. All you have to do to get in the running is to leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know the other things you do to share the good news, so I can put in the right amount of tickets in my basket for you. read article