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WRITING
IN THE REEL WORLD
Favorite Links for
Screenwriters and Screenwriting
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Whether
you're a wannabe screenwriter
or you already have several specs
under
your belt, you'll find these sites are useful resources.
[Not a screenwriter? or maybe you want a change of pace from slug lines
and
page-lmits? do you yearn to romp through the long form and interior
thoughts
available in the novel form? Get going here.]
| Book
Review : |
Save the Cat: the Last Book on
Screenwriting You'll Ever Need |
Script
Frenzy! write your screenplay in one month. Launching
in June 2007,
courtesy of the
Office of Letters and Light, the folks who bring you NaNoWriMo.
Done Deal
Updated daily by the indefatigable editors. They cull Variety and The Hollywood
Reporter, so you
don't have to. A daily report of the latest sales of
movie
projects, including title, premise, writer, the agents
and managers credited with the deal, the studio(s) involved, the talent
on-board, whether the sale was based on a pitch, spec script, a writing
assignment; whether the project is a re-make, a sequel, or inspired by
books, graphic novels, song, magazine article, or video game. Done Deal
also has lists
of WGA approved agents, samples of
query
letters, writing contests, and other resources. [Feb 2006]: alas, the
formerly-free report will
now be available only
with a paid subscription. At
approximately $2 per month, however, it is still a
bargain considering
all the information that is
collected from the much-pricier
industry publications.
Drews
Script-o-Rama To write
scripts you must read scripts -- the
good, the bad,
and the awful. See
how it's done
(and shouldn't be).
Movies and television scripts available for free downloading or just to
read on-line.
(Be careful, though -- many published scripts are in shooting
script format, which is NOT what your spec script should look like --
avoid including scene numbers and camera directions)
Movie
Bytes Details on
all the screenwriting contests,
including "report cards" from participants (was it worth the money? did
the promoters follow-through with prizes or coverage?)
Subscribers also have access to a list of "Who's Buying What?"
including
an especially useful category on who bought from "new
writers."
Word
Play From the
writing/producing team of Ted Elliott
and Terry
Rossio:
forums, discussions, essays on The Industry, and most
valuable, a series of columns
that amounts to a screenwriting course.
My favorite: "Me & My
Ampersand," all about the
pleasures and
pitfalls of writing with a
partner.
This site hasn't been updated
recently (the team has been busy with the sequel to their
hit Pirates
of the
Caribbean), but is
stuffed full of useful information and helpful hints
on every aspect of
the screenwriting process. Also available: the first draft of Pirates (compare and contrast to
the final filmed version) -- and T-shirts!
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LINKS to
make writing fun and/or for productive procrastination:
Fantasy
World
Building to help fantasy fiction writers create
believable
imaginary settings for their stories. Is it Earth or an
alternate-timeline Earth or somewhere else?
Is there magic? if
so what are the
rules? how do people dress? what kind of animals
exist? is there a war? These are the kinds of
questions to consider when you play God and
build your own world(s).
QuickPlot freeware to
download which helps you organize and develop your stories using a
simple tree structure.
Random
Title
Generator when you're
stumped for a title for your piece --
or looking for inspiration
for
something to write.
The Snowflake Method
another technique for designing your novel.
Seventh Sanctum for
random generators of all kinds -- titles, character names, character
traits, plots, maps, countries, worlds, and more.
Typing Test can you write
as fast as you can type? check your speed on-line for free!
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EVENTS
Congratulations to the winners of the annual Bulwer-Lytton
Fiction Contest, which recognizes, with
appreciative horror, the worst opening paragraphs for imaginary
fiction.
Got manuscript? Want book? skip the middleman and publish it yourself!
learn how here
.
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Check
out the sites of some terrific writers I'm lucky to know:
| Georgie
Gee
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"Born on Venus...Working on Mars..."
Smart.
Cool. Funny.
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| Joyce's
World O' Words
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an
eclectic beat, with everything
from dog agility training to spring-roll wrapping.
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| Jane in Progress
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TV
spec-writing tips from Jane Espenson, the former Buffy the Vampire Slayer
writer, who enjoys wrestling with the one-armed bandit in Vegas and
savors the occasional sip of Malibu rum "because it tastes like suntan
lotion." |
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Check
out my other websites:
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