Tips on Writing a Screenplay & a big REVEAL!

If you don't know Heather Holden, you should. She's a fantastic artist with a unique style. And she writes hilarious vampire/horror comics. I've been dying (haha) to have her draw something for me, and finally decided to commission Gabe - he needed a new look. And here he is!

Gabe Thorntry by Heather Holden

Now in this snapshot of Gabe, can you see he's short? He's also smart with his book (haha) and a little unsure of himself, but a pretty happy guy in high school. And he's a green goblin. That's a lot to get from a picture, but it's all there, captured by the artist!

And as my last guest post of the Taking Back Beast World campaign, I'm excited to be at Heather's place talking about Gabe's journey in visuals!

THIS JUST IN! 

I re-published BROKEN BRANCH FALLS, Beast World Book One 

for KINDLE! Yippee!

Now, on to the topic at hand:

SCREENPLAYS & SCRIPT WRITING

I love having so many terrific writers as friends--I get exposed to so many great stories! And I'd love to see them up on the big screen or as a series on the small screen. I've even offered to collaborate on writing screenplays with some of them. Unfortunately, it's just one more thing on my never ending want to do list... But it's definitely not at the bottom.

If you've ever pictured your book as a movie, you should try turning it into a screenplay! This is especially good for short stories, and you'll see why in a moment. You can also dive straight from an idea into a screenplay. Here, I've gathered some pros & cons & tips for writing a Screenplay:

• Downsizing - This is the hardest part. If you start with a 300-400 page MS, you have to cut it down to 100-120 pages! This is because one page of a screenplay = one minute of film. And the pages are severely formatted, think minimalist. 
• Things that are easy to cut: You don't need paragraphs describing the characters' inner thoughts--they're acted out. No detailed descriptions of scenes--they're part of the set. Any minor scenes that don't move the story along, cut 'em.
• Things not so easy to cut: characters or scenes you love, but the story could be told without them. It's going to be hard to determine who stays and who goes. And some scenes will have to be rolled into one or rewritten entirely in the interest of time. This is why the movies are so often lacking when compared to the book... 
• Formatting - There are many programs and software packages that will help you format your screenplay. I cannot afford such things, especially when I am willing to search for a cheaper alternative, which I found. There's a terrific Word Doc Template, and it's very easy to use, once you get the hang of it. But you definitely need to know this important part of the process!
• Take Control - With all the cutting that must be done, you should be the one to do it. You know the story and know what is necessary and what isn't. You also have to be honest with yourself. You have to cut it down to the essentials only -- and you have to visualize what that looks like. Will it make a good movie? Can you juice up any scenes to make them more visually stimulating? Cut, cut, and rewrite, then cut some more.
• Don't Lose Control - Make sure you are a part of any rewriting or editing decisions if your MS gets picked up. They never leave it as is. Be flexible, but be heard!

• Research - So important to research! Go read a screenplay of a movie you know... many are available in the public domain! Sign up for Script Writing newsletters and follow other screenwriters who seem to know what they're doing. Read up on formatting and tips for pacing. SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder is a splendid guideline for writing a screenplay (or writing a book!) It has loads of info you'd never think of, but it's true and eye-opening. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Screenplay writing can be invigorating and exciting. It can also be somewhat traumatizing. Either way, it's something to consider, especially with so many competitive venues for visual entertainment.

One last thing... Funny how things work out!
I planned my Taking Back Beast World campaign post topics over a month ago--that way I don't have to scrounge up ideas to write about. As you know, this last week was Screenplays. Then, by happy coincidence, I just received some exciting news: I made it to the Quarter Finals of a Script-writing contest!

A few months ago, I transformed JOLISSA - AN ANTI-PRINCESS STORY into a screenplay and submitted it to an animated script contest. I was so excited to find out I made the first cut! I don't know how much farther I'll go, but I've been floating with that awesome recognition. Wish me luck!

Ever consider writing a screenplay? Go for it!

Are there any books you'd like to see on the big or small screen?

Still giving away free ebooks! Just ask!

Stay distant, but stay in touch!
Stay smart and stay safe!

How to Self-Publish the RIGHT way!

The traditional route to getting your book published is painstaking, time-consuming, and full of rejection. The only difference between that and self-publishing is the rejection.

While I go through the process of self-publishing Windy Hollow, I'm taking you along for the ride! (ps - Here's a form if you're interested in helping me with my Campaign or Windy Hollow's release)

Steps to Self-publishing:

1. Write a phenomenal book - I have lots of posts on that...
2. Edit - Hire a professional - the more eyes & critiques, the better, plus a technical/grammatical final look.
3. the Cover - I've already given my two cents on covers, here. A definite must to get professional help, especially if you want/need artwork.

And today, I'm talking in general about Formatting.

Once you have polished the contents of your book, you have to go back through and delete stray formatting extras, like extra tabs or spaces. All paragraphs should be uniformly formatted with automatic indentations and spacing. You will have to forget about "Select All" if you need to make changes to margins, line spacing, paragraphs, etc. once you start getting it ready for publication.

There is so much involved in Formatting for publication! Just look at the first 4-5 pages of any book. Title page, copyright/publisher page, dedication page, and the dreaded Table of Contents... which I guess could be optional, but is preferred for some genres like fantasy and sci-fi and middle grade. These pages conform to no formatting used in the rest of the book and are usually not numbered.

You also have to consider that the top of each page alternates between the title of the book and the author's name. Even/Odd page headers are easy enough to deal with, but when you throw in each new chapter page, it throws everything off! New chapter pages do NOT have a header. It's best to start chapters as a new "section" which can be designated with "different first page header" and conveniently linked back to the Table of Contents. I haven't tried linking to the TOC yet, I didn't have the patience, so I did it manually.

If you have any cool/fancy images for new chapters and/or breaks within the chapter or illustrations, those also need special attention. Each one should be checked and re-checked to make sure they all look the same.

At the end of your book are the Acknowledgments and Author Page, plus any other info you want to include. As with the first few pages, these pages each get their own format, usually without a header.

Not too bad, right? Ha! I almost went cross-eyed checking all the formatting. Little things kept popping up and I'd have to re-check the whole thing again to see if the flaws were anywhere else in the book. And there's a whole other set of rules for print pub vs e-pub!

I like to write this stuff down for myself as it's usually a long while between publications and I tend to forget what-all is involved. Hope it helps!

I also want to make a special announcement! My wonderful and brilliant romance writer friend, Elizabeth Seckman recently published her latest novel! Perfect for Father's Day!

HOOSIER DAD

by Elizabeth Seckman

Sarah Andrews can hold her own in a courtroom, but when it comes to love, she’s 0-3 and Rich Cooper was her biggest loss to date. 

Now available!

 Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords / kobo.com

Elizabeth is a mom, a wife, and the caretaker of far too many pets, all of whom her children swore they'd take care of. But they went off to college leaving fur babies in their place. She is a multi-published author of women's fiction and romance. 

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