by Lucy V Hay
PREMISE AND LOGLINE
• What is my idea?
• Why this story?
• What existing stories are ‘like’ my idea?
• How do these existing stories differ?
• What overriding type of drama story is this? (Joy, Devastation, Wonder, etc.) And why?
• What is the story world and how does it inform the story?
• What is my theme/message? (Do I have one?)
• Why do I need to tell this story? What would happen if I didn’t?
• Who are my characters (names, ages, relationships, etc.)?
• What types of characters are they?
• Why NOW in their lives?
• How will I ensure authenticity?
• What type of structure do I want to use in this story?
LENGTH
Be honest with yourself. Are you running before you can walk? Writing a great drama is DIFFICULT. It’s better to write a brilliant short drama film, and find people to get it made, than to end up writing and rewriting a drama feature screenplay that stays on your desktop forever.
TARGET AUDIENCE
• Who is the audience for this story?
• What projects ‘like mine’ has this audience liked before?
• How is my project different to the above?
• What do they get out of it?
• How can I ensure there is emotional truth?
• How would an audience relate to the characters’ world views here?
• Why would they want to?
OUTLINE
• The characters – not just their biographies, but what they WANT and NEED (not always the same thing!). Your protagonist and antagonist may be at odds, but in drama they may be the same person; your secondaries need a strong reason to help or hinder your main characters in their goal/s too.
• The story structure – whether you use three acts, ‘Save the Cat’, the 22 Steps, the mini-movie method, non-linearity or something else, your audience needs to be able to follow the story to invest in your characters’ journey. Put the work in at foundation level, by whatever means necessary!
• The plot beats – especially the beginning, middle and end. This document is for you to work out how this story goes from A to B to C, so the writing of your actual draft goes as smoothly as possible. You’re not setting the plot in stone. You may end up deviating from this outline and that’s fine; it is just a starting point!
• This outline is as long as it needs to be – you can write a polished one-pager and/or treatment LATER.
STATEMENT OF INTENT
This is a ‘note to self’, if you like, on WHY you’re writing this project and HOW you’re going to make it happen, whether the piece ends up physically produced or not!
• What do I care about?
• How do I see the world?
• Why do I want to explore this subject/person, etc.?
• Why is it important I share this with the world?
• What are my goals i) short term, ii) long term?
• What drives me in these directions? Why?
• Within what timescale do I want to achieve the above, i) ideally, or ii) in the worst case scenario?
• If i), what would I do after that? If ii), what would I do during this time period as well to keep ‘on track’?
FINDING COLLABORATORS
• Who do I already know who might be interested?
• Why would others want to tell this story with me?
• Who has made films like mine?
• Who might want to make films like mine?
• Where would I find them?
• How can I make new contacts?
• How can I persuade others I know what I’m talking about?
MONEY
• What are the opportunities for this story?
• What are the threats?
• What is the budget for this story, ideally? Realistically?
• How does the budget affect what I can do (i.e. portmanteau)?
• What can I use that’s FREE to create a buzz about myself and/or my project?
• Are there new ways I can approach this story (transmedia, 50 Kisses)?
GETTING STARTED NOW!
• WHAT do I need to make this a reality?
• What skills base do I already have?
• What knowledge gaps do I have?
• What are my writing weaknesses?
• What are my own potential issues or flaws?
• What actionable steps can I take to begin this journey?
• What can I do TODAY?
• When will I FINISH WRITING and ‘sign off’ on a draft?
SWOT ANALYSIS
This is a consolidation of the questions you’ve already answered in the course of this document. You should know now WHAT your project is, WHO it is for, WHY it stands out, WHERE you would want to send it, and WHEN you want it done by, as well as a multitude of other very important elements! Don’t just start writing; give your spec drama screenplay its very best chance of a) being brilliant, and b) getting some attention out there in the marketplace/with industry pros. Good luck!
STRENGHTS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
ADDENDUM
So, you’ve read the case studies on how other people have navigated their way through the writing and selling of their drama screenplays. You’ve scoured the various screenwriting tips I’ve outlined here for your screenplay, as well as pitching it and presenting yourself. You’ve taken on board my warnings about what not to do, as well as a brief history of drama movies: the difference between ‘devastation’ and ‘depressing’; internal versus external conflict; what audiences do and don’t like; and how it’s possible to still screw up, no matter how careful you are! In other words, you realise writing and selling a drama screenplay is a hugely difficult journey to make, even for those scripts with major stars attached; or for producers, writers and directors with a track record. I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it appears a Sisyphean task! What is the point, you might ask, if writers like Kelly Marcel or Eric Heisserer, with Hollywood screenwriting résumés to die for, have it so hard? I might as well not even bother! I must surely have triple the distance to cover?
But here’s the good news: you DON’T have triple the distance! This is the thing: when it comes to drama, EVERYONE has the same ground to cover. It’s fraught with frustration and peril (and there’s probably a giant scorpion at the end of the world as well like the ancient Greeks believed!), but if you’re willing to put in the hours and keep going, you WILL get there. But to do this, there are five things you must do:
1. DARE! Effective drama can literally be about anything and anyone, in any form you like. You may decide drama feature screenwriting and filmmaking is not for you; perhaps you prefer the idea of short film, web series, television or transmedia? Delivery is not important when it comes to real drama: the medium is the message and vice versa. Instead, concentrate on the story and your characters, but most of all, DARE to be different. Remember Blue Valentine and how it took ten years to make it to production and distribution, even with significant box-office draws like Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling attached? On paper, Blue Valentine is a hugely hard sell. A non-linear tragedy about a marriage break-up?? Yikes, talk about a downer! – yet huge stars were attracted to this material, simply because it was so well written. Their faith, which made them stay with the project and its multiple rewrites for over a decade, was well founded, too: Blue Valentine won several awards and accolades, setting writer/director Derek Cianfrance up for his next movie, The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), another drama with an all-star cast. So whether you want to write a movie that realistically only ONE studio such as Disney can make, as with Saving Mr Banks (2013); or a drama involving disability like Dear Frankie (2004); or an ambitious portmanteau movie like Night People (2005); or you want to take on the likes of giants like Pixar wit
h a (non-animated) movie for children like the as-yet-unproduced Rocketboy, you simply must go for it! DON’T try and play it safe, thinking you have more ‘chance’ of getting produced that way, because you do not. If you want others to get on board with you, you MUST be daring. It’s the only chance of getting your bravery rewarded.
2. Banish all clichés. Whatever story you want to tell, whatever character you conceive of, they simply MUST NOT be ‘the usual’. In drama territory, the usual clichés might be sinkhole estates, teenage mums and drug dealer boyfriends, but just because your story does not feature any of these elements doesn’t mean you’re off the hook! You must identify not only the story you want to tell and its characters, but also the TYPE, such as ‘Devastation’, ‘Shock and Awe’, ‘Bittersweet’, ‘Hope/Joy’ or ‘Gratitude’. You must watch all the predecessors in your story’s category, plus you must be able to pinpoint your own story’s theme, whether it’s a shocking tale about morality, or a bittersweet ‘Anti Rom’ or ‘Dramedy’ (or something else!). Your characters must present refreshing and genuine world views that defy stereotyping and well-mined tropes, but which, at the same time, are not too far out of left field either. Remember the likes of Juno, a credible and intriguing portrait of a teenage girl who becomes pregnant, who is never once sexualised or ‘ruined’? Or Olive in Little Miss Sunshine, a child and free spirit, who inspires all the adults around her?
3. Tell the truth. Remember the essence of drama is not that dreaded ‘d’ word: ‘depressing’! Instead, drama is about struggle, the psyche and internal, rather than external, conflict. Audiences want to be involved in the emotions of your central character and his or her world view. People will get on board with your storytelling and your characters’ journeys if they feel they are authentic. This means your story can even change people’s minds altogether! Remember how much I didn’t want to read Gail Hackston’s Cancer Hair? Or how I would have avoided Stepmom, starring Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts, had I known in advance it dealt with a terminal diagnosis? Yet I couldn’t take my eyes away from either of these stories, because they both told the truth in a way I could invest in. The stories you tell don’t even need to be YOUR stories for you to do this either (though it can obviously help). Even if it is your story, it never hurts to ask for multiple points of view to help inform those of your characters. Just remember to stay on track with regard to what you first conceived and why, to avoid going off at a tangent.
4. Be adaptable… but don’t sell out. Sometimes an Industry Pro might like your idea, but want to change it. Sometimes it will be for the obvious better. For example, if you conceive of your drama screenplay as a 60-minute TV drama, yet a producer wants to make it as a 90-minute feature with a great, bankable star in the lead instead, then why the hell not?? Other times, that Industry Pro will have a different idea of what your material means and their suggestions will not be good. Don’t be afraid of holding on to your screenplay in these situations, rather than signing it away regardless. If one Industry Pro likes your writing, trust me: another will. Yet over the years I’ve heard multiple writers express doubts about ‘being on the same page’ as a producer or filmmaker, yet signing anyway… only to live to regret it! If you genuinely think the Industry Pro doesn’t ‘get’ what your story is about, listen to me: walk away. Do NOT work on the basis that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, because YOU are the bush! I’ll explain why, next.
5. Understand the emphasis is on YOU to get this done. This is the truth: unless your fantastic drama screenplay is an adaptation of a bestseller you happen to have the rights to, NO ONE is going to come looking for it, no matter how well written it is. This isn’t because The Industry hates drama, or great storytelling, or gifted filmmakers, but because The Industry is risk-averse financially. That’s just the way it is; we can fight that – and lose! – or build this into our plans and expectations. Talk about a no-brainer! So, if you want to write a brilliant drama screenplay that is daring and tells the truth about well-conceived, non-clichéd characters, know that there are two routes available to you in ‘selling’ it:
a. ‘Off the page’. This means you’re using your brilliant drama screenplay to sell YOURSELF and your writing ability, in order to get paid work on other people’s ideas. There’s nothing wrong with this and many professional writers have received their big break off the back of a great sample drama screenplay, especially in television. Just know the market is flooded with people just like you, doing the same thing; plus it takes YEARS, not months, of repeated submissions, networking and follow ups to ‘make it’. You have to keep your feet on the ground. There is no alternative and no short cut. That’s the bad news… again, the good news is, keep going and how can you NOT get somewhere eventually? Another no-brainer.
b. Do it yourself. It’s a reality that studios and networks are favouring genre screenplays and movies at the moment, so by wanting to write a drama screenplay you are literally swimming AGAINST the tide. Generally speaking, in The Industry, if you want to break the rules, you’ll need to take the risks by making the movie yourself. That’s not to say you won’t find any investors: remember the producer Cassian Elwes, who got Dallas Buyers Club funded on the basis of previous favours owed, rather than its concept? Or Eric Heisserer, who managed to finance Hours on the basis that a European distributor picked it up before shooting, because it starred Paul Walker? But be realistic, too: know that making a drama screenplay and getting it out there will be difficult; more difficult than making a slasher horror or gross-out comedy. But then, as the twenty-sixth president of the USA, Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt, said:
Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.
Dallas Buyers Club might have been the ‘most stalled screenplay’ for the best part of 20 years, but what do you suppose Cassian Elwes’s peers think of its Oscar-winning glory now? Hours may not have received quite the same accolades in terms of statuettes, but as one of Paul Walker’s last films it is both a fitting testimony to the late star’s acting skills and a showcase for Eric Heisserer’s ability to turn around a previously typecast actor’s persona!
So BE that object of envy. Tread the more difficult path of the drama screenplay… and do it well! Good luck!
RESOURCES
FIRST, A 'THANK YOU'
I have tried to list as many writers’ resources and useful sites as possible but will inevitably forget some, so first of all: thanks to all the writers, publishers, filmmakers, script consultants, competitions, services, trainers, readers, agents and assistants who endeavour to share their insights on the web with students of the craft. We salute you! It can seem like a thankless task sometimes, but you are more appreciated and have made more of a difference than you know. Kudos!
WRITERS…
Wait! Don’t painstakingly copy every single URL in this list into your browser – visit kamerabooks.co.uk/resources and save on your desktop, so you can click/copy and paste and browse at your leisure. I will also try to make sure it’s updated with anything interesting I find, or if any of the links here go dead.
WRITING, FILMMAKING & CAREER ADVICE WEBSITES
These websites, services, groups, pages and chats will help you get your screenplay written; answer your questions; and/or get your work 'out there'.
• Bang2write: www.bang2write.com Tips, How Tos and Q&As on screenwriting, creativity, filmmaking, social media, networking, inspiration and self-promotion.
• Bang2writers: Online Writers’ Groups at: www.facebook.com/Bang2writers or search 'Bang2writers' at www.Linkedin.com in the groups section.
• The B2W Required Reading List: http://bitly.com/u/o_4h0h9gl8st A free e-library of links bundles on all things writing and filmmaking, including feature film investment and transmedia, as well as social media and submissions.
• Twitter. Twi
tter is not the 'time suck' you think… if you use it right! Check these out:
#scriptchat. http://scriptchat.blogspot.co.uk There are usually two moderated chats every Sunday, Euro at 8pm GMT and 10pm GMT it’s US chat. There are dedicated topics and guests each week, plus the #scriptchat hashtag is used throughout the week by writers seeking information, as well as sharing tips and links.
#amwriting. Writers use this hashtag to share information and chat about what they’re working on. Remember, the more people who know what you’re writing and what you do, the more likely you will find collaborators and people who can take your work somewhere.
#FF is Follow Friday and #WW stands for 'Writer Wednesday'. Check out the #FF and #WW posts and find out who is worth following. Engage them in conversation. What’s the worst that can happen?
#filmmaking, #GFilm, #londonSWF are hashtags where you can find people talking about actually making films, including producers.
Other hashtags worth a look include #askagent, #subtip, #querytip, #writing, #screenwriting, #writetip, #writingtip, #scriptwriting, #rewrites, #scriptnotes, #screenplays, #screenwriters, #movies.
There are stacks more hashtags and new ones pop up all the time. Get on Twitter and find them – and find the people you seek!