Tag: Spec Scriptacular Contest

Why I Regret Going to Film School

The op-ed of all showbiz op-eds. We here at TVWriter™ consider this a “must-read”:

Is-Film-School-Worth-It-865x505by Caleb Ward

Whether it’s terminology, new techniques, or simply how to not do something, every time I step onto a film set I learn something new. Your entire career is going to be spent learning and refining your skills… at no point are you going to sit down and know everything. The industry moves way too fast and it’s simply impossible to know everything.

When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, ‘no, I went to films.’ – Quentin Tarantino read article

Book Review: “Screenwriting Tips, You Hack”

A good book review is itself a work of art. The following review will show you what we mean. (As well as giving you a terrific sense of the book being discussed. We’re clicking over to Amazon to buy it right now.)

by Henry Sheppard

41qoKRdD0UL._SX334_BO1,204,203,200_I’ve read a lot of screenwriting advice books. They come in a range of styles and vary in value from dubious to priceless. One of the recent additions to the canon is Xander Bennett‘s Screenwriting Tips, You Hack: 150 Practical Pointers for Becoming a Better Screenwriter.  Xander was a script reader, working for a minor production company in Los Angeles, when he became frustrated by the quality of the screenplays he was reading. He tweeted his complaints until someone told him he should put them in a blog. So he moved to publishing the Screenwriting Tips… You Hack blog as “a snarky diatribe.” Since 2009 he has posted a tip a day on how to make spec scripts better. His first tip reads:

Don’t be boring. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T BE BORING. Tape it to your laptop. Tape it to your eyeballs. Don’t. Be. Boring.

Good advice, I thought. (Actually, it was a rule invoked by Billy Wilder in each of his various writing partnerships. Or, more accurately, his two rules were “Thou Shalt Not Bore” and “Anything is Permitted” — Lally, Wilder Times, but that’s a digression.) read article

WHY A WRITING CAREER IS LIKE PLAYING AN ONLINE GAME

Are you living a video game? Leveling up? Dying? Trying again? It’s a lot like being a writer, isn’t it? You’re a hero, new writer. Enjoy the adventure that is being you!

Female-Hobbit-Guardian-from-Lord-of-the-Rings-Online

by Adrian Faulkner

As a fantasy fan it’s hard to avoid MMORPGs. Even if you’re not personally a fan of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, it’s likely you’ve heard of games such as World of Warcraft, Everquest or Lord of the Rings Online. Those not already based on beloved franchises have spawned books and collectibles.

Many a writer has lost hours to these sorts of games, such that most authors have given up on them to dedicate the hours they used to spend raiding, to writing instead. But is it any wonder when playing an MMO is so similar to a writing career? read article

Breaking the 4th Wall for Writers

C’mon, just between us, didja ever break the fourth wall? Felt great, didn’t it? Here are some creative biggies who’ve done it too, just to prove that we’re never alone:

maxresdefault

by Michael Maher

Breaking the 4th wall is a metafictional technique that dates back to the theater in the 1700s. Denis Diderot, a French philosopher and dramatist, is usually credited as the founder of the concept. In a traditional three-wall theater, thefourth wall refers to an imaginary wall at the front of the stage. It’s similar to a window the audience looks through to see the world of the play.

In terms of television and film, breaking the fourth wall refers to a character staring directly into the camera to talk to the audience. Before diving in, let’s take a look at this great 4th wall supercut from Now You See It. read article

Cartoons: MY PROCESS

Awesome:

myprocess

See more Grant Snider awesomeness at Incidental Comics