Mentors

men·tor
Pronunciation[men-tawr, -ter]
–noun
1. a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
2. an influential senior sponsor or supporter.
–verb (used without object)
3. to act as a mentor: She spent years mentoring to junior employees.
–verb (used with object)
4. to act as a mentor to: The brash young executive did not wish to be mentored by anyone.

Are you a young aspiring screenwriter? You have the desire, you don't mind putting in your dues, you're not a jackass (this is really important) and you don't feel entitled to the big money (another important thing). Then what you need is a mentor.

The worst thing about being anything these days is that, by and large, you're on your own. You may have training, you may have talent, you may have contacts, but when the rubber hits the road, it's you, yourself and, well.... you.

Having a mentor allows you to lean on the wisdom of somebody who has already been there, done that. Or at the very least, somebody who knows the pitfalls that await you in your chosen field of work/play. Reading the above definition, you'll see it also says "...and trusted" which really is important. This is a person who is going to see your insecurities, your weaknesses and your really shitty work (on the way to being better). But their goal is not to finance you. Not to get a sale, not find a contact for you - they're work lies in helping you be better tomorrow than you are today. This means opening up at some point (not the first thing you do) and sharing who you are what what you really want.

Now. Unfortunately, you can't go down to Mentors-R-Us and pick one up. It's a shame. How many times have you heard "if I could be X age knowing what I know today!". Well, having a mentor is sort of like that - it allows you to benefit from (sometimes) an almost lifetime of experience and hard work of another. To me, it's like having a "career coach". While a parent can be a type of life coach (how to live your life well), navigating the paths of a career is full of moments of peril - those times when you should duck instead of dodge. And making the right choice is the difference between success and more years of toiling away (or even failure).

Well. If you're young, I'd find a writer you admire for their writing. I wouldn't worry if their material is the same - as long as you admire the writing - and write them a letter. See if they would be willing to mentor you. Now - the caveat here is you can't ask somebody to train you. This isn't a free workshop, this is more like your post graduate work. Once you have some chops, you seek somebody to help you be the best you can be.

How do you know if you are good enough? Well, if you get some sincere positive feedback, that's a good start. Once again - mom doesn't count - or dad. If you can get a brother or sister to acclaim your exalted status publicly, then you may have something. I'd like to give you a blueprint of what to write, but it's all a crap shoot and you're basically begging (politely) another person to give up some of their precious time (and after 40 time really does become precious) to help *you*. I have seen the positive effects of being a role model and I know others with a mentor (and, yes, I am jealous). I suggest write from the heart and explain how you believe they can help and what you both expect and can do in return (perhaps down the line).

One thing to make certain of before you go down this road - you are not seeking just some great tips and strategy. This is, hopefully, a lifelong bond you're attempting to form. Should you progress, then it's possible that your mentor will even share their work with you. If you're lucky, what you'll get is an incredible bond with a fellow writer. Maybe it's the estrogen in me talking, but I believe sharing a common dream with a fellow human is a life affirming experience.

Wonderful Times

How great is it to be a screenwriter these days? Heck, any writer! Boy. The material. You just can't beat the possibilities for getting new material now. At no time in the past has news and information been more available to assault your every sense.

On the downside, I saw part of a show (before the power went out) where it's almost like Candid Camera. Thing is, it's not jokes we're playing on each other - it's a study of human behavior. "What Would You Do?" They comment on the popular teenage past time of "bum bashing" where bored teenagers will randomly wander the streets in a gang, find a bum and then proceed to beat the hell out of them. I know. WTF? That was my thought too. Saw it on a CSI episode and thought, man, that's pretty creative. Should've known it was ripped from the headlines. You can take any material like this and create a compelling character. I'm here to tell you, your character is a bum, a basher or somebody who stops the basher, you have an instant POV and an instant reaction from your audience.

On the positive side, I ran across an artist's website (Anna Nalick). She's not the first artist to blog or reveal information about themselves - just the first I've read. Anyhoo... she goes on to reveal some personal moments about her life, what's going on and to share what she's doing regarding her music. How fantastic - and how dangerous these days. On one hand, they are enabling fans to get closer than ever - to communicate directly with them. All the old farts can think back to their favorite artists and remember how much communication they had with them... yeah. An album (that's an old timey vinyl "cd" for you young 'uns). It's allowing fans to share how much the art means to the them with the artist. And this is from all over the world!

Boy, how exciting. I say dangerous just because of the possibility of exploiting the information or the relationship, but here's hoping that's not happening.

From a writer's perspective, you can now get some personal information about artists in different Arts. See how they live and be able to form characters better. Be able to set stories in those environments better. For writers of different ages than the artists, you can get a unique insight into the older or younger personalities. When I read some of these young artist blogs, I can't help but see just how optimistic their perspectives are. When I think back a few years, I can remember hearing that Hollywood is a "young" town. They don't want older writers. Well, I know there are plenty of "older" writers out there, but I believe that this possibly came from the thought that older writers are out of touch with what young folks want to see at the movies. To some degree, it may be true.

While I remember Porky's fondly, it's not the type of film that I would find easy to write -- or more accurately, even want to write. At my age (not too old, but too old for the likes of Anna Nalick) I've got more issues that getting laid, getting drunk or will I graduate high school. As we all get older, we have to deal with new things in our lives. It might be something like - the first quarter - getting a good education and getting a good job. Second quarter - finding a spouse and getting married. Third quarter - raising children and *keeping* your job from being outsourced or given to people in their 1st quarter. And lastly, 4th quarter - trying to keep upright.

Those new concerns make for completely different stories, so if you're in one quarter, but your characters are in another quarter, perhaps you can help yourself by taking a peek at the internet and blogs of folks in other corners of their lives. It's so easy to share, and frankly, so many people are willing to share - hell, *wanting desperately* to share - to feel a part of something and connect with somebody, that it's well worth the time to invest in a little browsing on the internet.

Reach Out

No, I'm not talking about the Cheap Trick song from the Heavy Metal soundtrack, I'm talking about the act of writers reaching out to their fellow writers for help. Writing is often pictured and spoken of as a solitary art. Hours, days, months toiling away plastered to a chair writing or typing away as we hammer out our story beats. Well, sometimes we get stuck. Get, not blocked, but just unsure of where we're going with a story. It's at this point that a writer's best friend can be another writer. Just a conversation to illicit some intelligent thoughts and fresh ideas into the thought process can make a huge splash in the creative pool of the original writer.

For me, I've been fortunate to belong to a group of writers for many years. Writers who will willingly give their time to read or listen to some of your thoughts and offer some suggestions. All it takes is a willingness to put your ideas out there and not be judgemental when you hear what's coming back. Be stimulating...if the place they're going is left field, see if you can't provide more information to them to either steer the idea back into your ballpark or, and this can be marvelous, provide enough information so they can steer your story into their ballpark! Sometimes what you thought was the right idea needs to be adjusted or tweaked into something new and different.

For me, one of the easiest things, and let's face it, most fun things, is to take a story or a script that doesn't have a ton of things wrong with it and punch it up. Offer suggestions that might just heighten the various situations a little. Sometimes people are so close to a story, they just can't see the whole thing and looking from a fresh perspective is all that is needed to lay out the whole outline. Then the writer can go back and write with a solid destination.

Now. This kind of fun is not to be confused with critique. Rewriting somebody's story should be left to them or at the very least to a request to assist with the rewriting. I once submitted a horror story and instead of getting some honest comments, I was told how I should change all the scenes in my first act to make it a comedy instead. Had I said, "this isn't working, does anybody have any suggestions?" that would have been expected, but in a critique format, you say what you believe will make the writer's current story stronger.

So make sure that you're not the only writer that you know and talk with on a regular basis. Writing is tough and there's no reason why we can't make things a little more encouraging by allowing somebody to refresh us with some stimulating thoughts.

Support the Writer's Strike

It's frustrating these days how selfish and greedy we can be as a nation and as individuals. I was loitering about on TV.com checking out to see which of my shows were being canceled (4400 was the biggie so far) and the comments just astounded me. People are coming down on the writers because their shows aren't on the air. As if this is all the fault of the writers.

I'm dumbfounded that people are able to get up and go to work everyday and not be able to relate to the writers and their reason for striking.

If you've paid any attention to the strike information, you'll see there are actors and directors supporting the strike as well. Why? Well, aside from their belief that it's the right thing to do, their contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have not expired yet, but will in the near future, and you can bet they want the same deal the writers are hoping to get. It's in their best interest to let the writers pay the big price here (in public opinion and view) so that when their contracts are reviewed, it's a smoother transaction.

If you read the AMPTP's website, they're taking it from the perspective of, "look what the writers are causing! All these people losing money and jobs and the fans don't get their tv shows. Just look! It's all the fault of the writers!" Well, if you look back a couple hundred years, you get the same perspective from King George in England when talking about our good ol' US of A.

I read one user who actually said, "and don't give me that old argument that without the writers there'd be no TV (or films) because you could say the same about actors and directors, too. Without them, they'd be no TV shows either. Hmmm... While in essence, it does take actors, directors and writers to make TV/film, I am sticking to the argument that without somebody to write the story, there is no reason for the others. While actors and directors (and producers) really do need somebody to actually write a story, writers don't really need actors and directors to gain an audience. Screenplays are read for pleasure all the time. In fact, we have something referred to as a "book" or "novel" that seems to have acquired some attention over the last couple thousand years.

Bottom line is the writers create the stories and, because of the Hollywood system, are required to sell their script to the studio in order to get it produced and made. Thus, they get paid once for their work. However, the AMPTP gets paid on multiple fronts throughout the life of the show/film. It's only fair that all the participants share in the profits. Now before some whack job goes off, we're talking about a small percentage for the writers (and probably actors directors, depending on the deal they strike when their contracts renew). All the writers are asking for is a small share - I don't even think it would qualify as a fair share, but hey, it's all they're asking for at this time.

Another person blasted, "well, if the AMPTP are the ones putting up all the money for the shows/films, why shouldn't they get all the profits?" Well. That'd be fine if the writers got paid a larger amount at the sale of the script, but the fact of the matter is that the AMPTP are protecting themselves by structuring the deal as it is. It allows them to pay the writers a small amount and only payoff more if the film/show does well. If it doesn't...no more. If they paid up front for the scripts, then they could lose money if the show/film didn't succeed as well as they'd hoped.

In the old days, writers could be hired by a studio and paid a salary. Everything they wrote was an assignment or on spec, but owned by the studio. These days, it's proven much cheaper to contract out to any writer they want, that way, they can hire/fire them at will, depending on their desires at the time. This has led to a sporadic work life for most writers. They are depending on the small percentages they get after a film sale to keep them afloat financially until the next time they sell something.

The public and critics cannot bitch about the quality of tv/film, then bitch that the writers are screwing them over when they're asking for fair wages. I don't know of anybody who would voluntarily give up wages for work. I know there are idiots willing to give work away for free when they have no financial or personal obligations, but that's not the same thing. When you need to feed your family and put a roof over their and your head, every penny counts and if it's your talent that is bringing in the bacon to the studio, you deserve a fair share.

This argument is closely related to the bitching argument you hear from jealous sports spectators complaining about the salaries of major athletes. These players who many times only get about 5-10 years for their career and then afterwards are physically disabled due to the heavy pounding they take during their career. While not all of them are practically disabled, they all don't make the huge salaries either. You won't see many with 20 years of playing service though. I bet I can find more CEO's bringing down multi-million dollar salaries for longer than athletes. Fact is, it was Jordan that filled the areas. It's T.O. (and the like) that fill the stadium, not the owners or the coaches - the players - and they deserve a piece of that huge financial pie.

Getting back to tv/film, take a look at what writers are paid in comparison to actors or directors, then come back and tell me that it's their fault. There has been 1 (one) ONE script I've ever seen sell for $4 million. Fifteen years ago Arnold was getting $15 million for a movie. I don't even look at the salaries of today's film stars. The cast from Friends was getting $1 million per episode. Think the writers were getting that an episode? While the cast had a lot to do with the success of the show, I believe somebody put those words in their mouths in the first place. This is not a chicken or the egg argument. The writers came first. No writers. No show. The actors could have been anybody and we'd have the same chance of success. And I do say "chance" of success. Nobody can guarantee anything and there's no telling if a different case would have changed anything.

If you want the full details, go and visit the WGA site and read for yourself. If you just don't have the time, just read this FAQ for the most asked questions and see that the writers are David, not Goliath in this fight. The AMPTP is doing all they can to smear the WGA and the writers in an attempt to punish them and maximize their profits at the expense of the creative talent in Hollywood.

Bitching about you TV shows not being on right now is like bitching about all the stores closing down as the Jews were taken off to concentration camps. Do us all a favor and think before you bitch.

Is all that old stuff just crap?

So, I'm all cranked up, after Unk whipped me into a screenwriting frenzy, to write a new entry when I sit down and catch (unintentionally) a documentary (Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001) on Marion Davies. Watching bits and pieces of her performances led me to dig deeper into my reasons for not watching all the golden oldies. I've still never seen A Wonderful Life all the way through and have little interest in seeing many of the older films that have garnered so much acclaim (i.e. Citizen Kane).

I started thinking about what it was that turned me off some of these old films and came to the conclusion that I'm just not relating to many of them. Now, a lot of these films have universal themes, you say, so how can I not relate? Well... I think it's a little of me and a little of the times they were made. I was reading the current Script and they are talking to Robert Osbourne about the Oscars and their history. He mentions that Mrs. Miniver was a great film, but that to truly appreciate the film, you need to put yourself in their perspective. That is - we'd just entered the war and everybody was terrified we'd be invaded.

Over time, our values change as humans. It's why it's difficult to appreciate the finer, perhaps character defining moments of specifically the older films, foreign films and perhaps some of the newer independent films. Mainstream Hollywood caters to the largest common denominator, so odds are, if you're an average individual, you at least "get" the movie. Liking it may be another story, however. Yet, with these other films, you just may not "get" them. If you don't understand where the characters in a movie are coming from - what's driving them - it's hard to invest yourself in their plight. And if you're not emotionally invested in the characters, I guarantee you won't think much of the film.

Thinking back to the older films, what takes me out of them immediately is the society. While I understand that all films are not "real life", when you put in Narnia, you don't expect anything close to real life, however, when you toss in, say, The Seven Year Itch, which is based in our real world, you expect to relate. However, in the opening, we have a man sending his family off on vacation and staying home. Now, while I'm sure there are families like that, mine is not one, and I'm going to guess after seeing all the families on my vacation, most don't these days.

There are little things in the film that just remind you that this is not from your time - the attitude towards people or things, the jargon used at the time, the innocence of some of the characters. Rarely do you see an adult portrayed as possessing any innocence these days - even Nell was more savage than wide-eyed positivity. Our times today are defined by sarcasm, bittersweet, the unfairness of life instead of over the top romance or wackiness.

What does all this point to? That as writers, we need to be conscious of our audience and as an audience (or reader) we need to try and put ourselves in the time of the writing in order to immerse ourselves in the story. A good story is told from a universal perspective - we still fear, love, hate, strive to succeed, are jealous of the achievements of others. Find themes that mean something to you and then put characters people can relate to into those stories.

Science fiction has a difficult time connecting with people due to it's inherent fictionalization of just about everything, but one story set far, far away in another galaxy caught the attention of millions of people and is still popular today; Star Wars capitalized on universal themes and characters who, while we were unable to relate to the specific needs, we were able to relate to their story needs (falling in love, growing up to be successful, stopping the bad guy, learning new skills, finding your family).

The more universal your character needs, the better chance you have of connecting to your audience.

Please... At Least Make An Effort

So I've been reading and writing scripts (mostly reading I have to admit) for the better part of 15 years now. Overall, the worst thing I've come across is the half-assed effort some people seem to put into a script. People wanting - hell, expecting, this writing to be good enough to earn hard cash. Maybe not immediately, but they believe this can all be theirs (since the last thing they saw on the silver screen just stunk).

These people come in with a format not even recognizable as a script. If, by some miracle, it is in script format, then there are orphan sluglines and Tarantino-esque diatribes (with none of the skill) and narration out of a Stephen King novel. Fifteen years ago, this wasn't hard to do. You really had to do some looking to get information. Books were scarce, there were about 5 sites on the internet, and about 60% fewer computers even on the internet. Scripts were obtainable only through the script stores and local film offices.

Now, though? You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a script. They're in film offices, all over the web, in book stores... all over the place. How can you *not* find a script when you want to learn to write one? To make matters even more pathetic, there is even *free* screenwriting software now. I'll admit that Page2Stage isn't the most full featured software, but compared to Notepad or Wordpad - hell, even Word or Wordperfect, it's a godsend.

The absolute total lack of professional effort astounds me. I know why readers are so ill tempered sometimes. If you had to read one of these full scripts, you'd want to torture the writer in some equally painful way, also. Even worse is to inflict one of these mental turds on a writer's group. Here, a group of your peers who will provide free feedback are being asked to just casually burn 1-2 hours on some drek a person didn't have the respect to even fully think out.

I know I waste a lot of my time on things I have no business doing. But it's my time and my life. Asking that of another should command some sense of pride in yourself and some respect for that other person's time. The following are *musts* if you submit your screenplay to somebody else:

1) You must have read at least 5 scripts written by professional writers.
2) You must write in standard screenplay format
3) You must have proofread your script at least once *after* you believe it's ready for submission
4) You will have no narrative passages of more than 5 lines.
5) You will have no more than 3 passages of dialog more than 4 lines
6) You will always have narration after an Int/Ext slugline
7) You will always use courier new font - 12 point
8) You will always have fewer than 10 speaking parts in 30 pages
9) You will use flashbacks as a last resort
10) You will not use a montage until you have written 3 scripts
11) Curse words are to be used only by characters, and not as commonly as vowels.

If at all possible:

1) Have the story be about somebody doing something that we can identify in 15 pages
2) Have your main character actually DO something. Not walk and talk for 30 pages.
3) Have some sort of jeopardy for the main character. It has to matter to them or it sure won't to us.

If you can do the above, your reader should at least talk to you again.

I haven't written for awhile now because I've just been thinking "how many times can you just repeat the same rules over and over?" I mean, nothing is really changing. But in light of the last four months and what I've come across. It would appear that a) somebody is always learning something new and b) some people are just hard headed and are not getting this the first 100 times.

Power to the writers. Go WGA.

So let it be said, so let it be done

Just caught a preview of The Brave One with Jodie Foster and my rants about the average person's frustrations with crime came to mind. I believe I mentioned how the Death Wish type movies will be making a comeback and here we have a fine example. While obviously our perspectives have changed with regards to taking justice into our own hands, I can't help but feel this is a reflection of the times. That the majority of well behaved people are tired of criminals shaping our society.

We'll see if my thoughts are validated when the box office receipts come in and the reviews roll in.

I believe the remake to the ending of Shooter is another reflection of the frustration we feel with regards to the corruption of our political leaders. What better way to express our thoughts that have them executed in cold blood?

How can WB be the only one that sees this?

If you ever watched Charmed, or have tuned into Smallville, you know that both of these shows just have to be sponsored in part by WB's music arm because they both feature the music played on the show prominently after the show. For folks that like the music, it makes it so simple to just go down to the local music shop (or even one click to Amazon) and pick up their new favorite music.

However, nobody else seems to get this. Forums all over the internet are just chock full of posts asking who performs X song on Y show during Z episode or who does the theme song to Q show. It's not rocket science. Obviously, somebody thought this song was good enough or appropriate to include in the show, but after that, it's mums the word.

The RIAA is all over fining teens for downloading music, why can't they just work with the TV folks and put out some PR on these songs? It's truly frustrating. Depending on the internet for information is a lot like shoving a message into a bottle and throwing it in the ocean.

Anybody out there with contacts on the show Burn Notice? I need some artist names and song titles :)

Thank you For Smoking -- sort of

Spoilers beyond here.

I finally got around to watching Thank You For Not Smoking. I'd read the book and read the interview with the writer/director (Jason Reitman) in one of the screenwriting magazines. Now, I read where he said that he felt boosting the kids presence was important and he felt deepened the story. There were several added scenes created just to add/embellish create more screen time for the father/son relationship. For the most part, they were good, some really good and often funny. Really in keeping with the novel.

What I liked about this was that the tone of the novel was kept and, for the most part, it stayed fairly close to the book. The comedy really played well and it proved that this book really was ripe for translating to the screen - no special effects to speak of, good dialogue and a great modern day whodunnit wrapped up in a fabulous black comedy.

Problem is, they took out the story. WTF? I really don't get it. The movie, while entertaining, is really just 90 minutes of stand-up type comedy. It's a character study of a guy and his world. You really can't say, "this is a story about a guy who...." because although things happen to him and around him, there is no reason for any of it. They kept the kidnapping, but removed the whole purpose behind it.

Don't get me wrong - I've said it before - I love seeing books turned into films. I don't expect to see the same thing I read; however, I usually expect to see a *story* in the film. Even the worst adaptations tend to keep that damn much. In this case, they dumped the story and kept the characters. And what a shame.

I can't imagine why this was left out - and it wouldn't have added much more to the length of the film. Then, at least the movie would have made sense - it certainly would have received better reviews and word of mouth than it must have received as it is.

As it stands, this movie makes a great starter for the book. It allows you to see the characters in the book so well and would make for an even better read. The casting and acting were first rate and the scenes with the son add some depth to a character in the book that was a minor character.

Anonymity on the Internet

I'm in a spiral of defeatism lately, so seeing this stuff just adds fuel to the fire.

Andy Barker, P.I. is a comedy. I didn't watch one episode, even though I knew Jane Espensen was involved. However, something pulled me over to the NBC site, so I watched the pilot. It was humorous, so I ended up watching all of them.

I look over to the forums to verify that it's been canceled (what isn't these days?) and I see this comment:

It is no wonder that there is nothing but Crap to watch on TV these days with idiots like you wanting to keep this kind of trash running. This was the most idiotic show that NBC has put on the air waves in a long time.

Hmm.. That's great. Username means nothing, no personal info, no first or last name, no contact info. Now while you may say "everybody is entitled to their opinion", I don't know that it's really necessary for everybody to voice that opinion. I mean, exactly how does this comment help anybody? Should the creators/producers of the show actually read the forum, this tells them nothing of what they may have done right or wrong on the show.

It says nothing positive about anything and is basically an attack at the previous individual that expressed a desire to see the show continue, the network for it's programming and the creators/writers of the show. Nice. Proud to have this person as a fellow human being.

Anonymity on the internet is just breeding this type of infantile behavior. Suddenly, it's okay to publicly mouth off about anything without providing any type of insight as to why you have your opinion nor take any responsibility for your words. While this is just comments about a TV show, people are doing much worse by making personal attacks towards individuals on their personal blogs.

Keep these comments in mind next time you critique something for another writer - or give your review of a movie to a friend. Likes and dislikes are always in the eyes of the beholder and as such, what you think is bad, might appeal to somebody else. Reporting that it's "crap" or "doesn't work" doesn't help at all. However, if you can articulate what didn't work and why it didn't work for you, that will go a lot further to giving the other person some insight into what the writing/movie is about and also learn something more about you as well.