Initially, when you start writing, or at least when I started writing, you think the reward is, wow! It’ll be so great to see my words on screen, to see my name on screen…

I think what happens over time when, because you’re a writer – especially once I became a screenwriter – you’re very powerless as a screenwriter.

And what happens – and it’s a subtle change, but I think it’s the one that most mature writers go through – is the gratification becomes personal… the process of writing becomes its own reward… you tell the story the way you want to tell the story, and then hope for the best…

The frustration, I think, boils down to the fact that I believe screenwriters are the most crucial aspect of a movie, and they’re the ones with the least power and the least control.

Continued in article Therapist to the Hollywood Stars.
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writers inner life, dennis palumbo, screenwriters challenges, psychology of writers

From Diablo Cody’s Tips for Blogging Your Way to Hollywood Success, By John Scott Lewinski, Wired magazine site:

“One of my teachers told me that I was lazy,” Cody explained. “He said, ‘I think you’re the best writer I’ve ever taught. But I’ll never hear from you again because you have no ambition.’

“I never intended to get my writing out there. I always thought of published writers as honor roll students — the real overachiever types. I never intended my work as a springboard to anything else. I write because I’m addicted to it. It’s my confessional.”

“There are so many talented people that exist in the marketplace,” Cody said. “So, don’t look for a plan. Put your blog out into the world and hope that your talent will speak for itself.”

~ ~ ~

From The Oprah Winfrey Show:

Diablo says Juno is based somewhat on herself, like the hamburger phone in Juno’s room. When [her mother] Pam first saw the phone, she says it made her cry. “[Diablo] had a hamburger phone at home, and I used to see her on it all the time, and she used to shake it because it wouldn’t work properly,” Pam says.

Oprah says she thinks Juno is the movie to see this year. “How did you get it to be so fresh?” she asks. “I don’t know,” Diablo says. “I guess, you know, when you’re coming from the middle of the country and you’re not part of the industry and you’re just telling your own story, I think it’s easy to be more original.”

~ ~ ~

From Diablo Cody’s MySpace blog, January 31, 2008

I get asked a lot why I’ve chosen to be so confessional as a writer. I’ve publicly documented aspects of my life that most people wouldn’t reveal to their shrink, spouse, girlfriend, or partially deaf Dachshund.

The stuff that polite folks confine to the pages of padlocked journals, I’ve treated as a matter of open discussion. … When you possess the courage — or blunt, gourd-smacking stupidity — to be totally candid, you silently amass thousands of allies.

It’s the “me too” effect. As Steven Morrissey (Esq., Demigod) says, there is no such thing in life as normal. And if you walk around pretending to be normal, hiding your scars and incisions and putrescing wounds, you only further the Conspiracy of Normal, which exists to make us all feel like shit.

I ain’t having that. I refuse to act like I have it together, because I don’t.

~~~~~

Also, see short video of conversation between Cody and ‘Juno’ star on The Inner Actor site: Compromising yourself – Ellen Page: I’d rather be shot in the foot.
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screenplays by women, diablo cody, writing ambition, writing honestly

When Alan Ball offered you a staff writing job on HBO’s “Six Feet Under,” you were literally getting ready to leave town and give up on your writing career. Why is that?

When I moved out here I decided that I would give it five years because I’m not a kid anymore. When Alan called, I was moving because my five years were up. It was very difficult because I was doing it at a later time in life than most people.

I didn’t have the years to screw around. I was going to go back to Florida, find a place on the beach and figure out another way to make a living… But after the first day [of thinking about it], I was like, “What? Are you crazy? Yeah, I’ll do this!” Then I was clearly onboard.

How do you battle writer’s block, if you get it?

There’s plenty of struggle, no question about that. I had had a block . . . for five years and I wasn’t sure that I would ever be able to write a big piece again. I’ve been working since I was 21, trying to put it all together, and hit just one dead end after the next. You question sometimes, “Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? I’m following my dream and it’s leading me into the gutter!”

How did your writing habits change as you went from writing by yourself to being part of a writing team?

“Six Feet Under” changed me a great deal, and it was a wonderful training ground that really toughened me up. I’d been sensitive for quite some time and when you have to put your stuff on the table and let everybody go at it, it either makes you stronger or kills you. I really enjoyed it because I got so much out of getting other people’s opinions. I think I’m a braver writer now. Less wimpy.

[From The real woman behind 'Lars', by Jeff Goldsmith, Los Angeles Times, Dec 12, 2007; photo by Robert Durell.]

In another interview, Oliver explained part of her inspiration for the story: “It was a ‘what if?’ thing. Like, ‘What if we didn’t treat our mentally ill people like animals? What if we brought kindness and compassion to the table?’” [From Guy and Doll, and the Woman Behind Them, by Margy Rochlin, The New York Times, October 7, 2007.]

The photo (by George Kraychyk, NYTimes) shows Ryan Gosling as Lars, far right, cutting food for his doll companion Bianca, at a meal with Paul Schneider and Emily Mortimer.
~ ~ ~

Sensitivity and identity questions are relevant for many writers and other artists, and a number of mental health issues addressed on the site may be of interest in terms of self-exploration, and story material.

Here are some related Talent Development Resources pages:
Mental Health
Intensity – sensitivity
Highly Sensitive
Being Creative and Self-critical
Identity
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Nancy Oliver, writer’s block, screenplays by women, Six Feet Under

“The people who love their craft and see themselves as artists, and carry that identity through and study each day… are the people who thrive. … Successful people are able to sustain their identity as separate from their profession and what’s happening to them. That’s particularly important in the arts, where what happens to you bears only faint correlation to your talent.” Robert Maurer, PhD [From one of the pages on identity.]

That perspective seems appropriate at any time, but perhaps especially with a Writers Guild strike on, and writers suffering a lack of respect for their talents.

The business of making a living

In his recent LA Times The Big Picture column Come on, writers, script your futures, Patrick Goldstein writes, “As the writers strike enters its third week, I think the future belongs to a tantalizing new hyphenate: the writer-entrepreneur.”

He notes that Tony Gilroy, the writer-director of “Michael Clayton,” had a script “that was dead in the water until a total outsider…said if Gilroy could get a star and stick to a budget, he’d bankroll the film.

Gilroy didn’t see himself as an entrepreneur. He just had a script that was burning a hole in his pocket. ‘I’d say the experience was more about my wising up than becoming a visionary,’ he explained the other day. ‘But the moment I started chasing private-equity money, it didn’t take me long before I’d realized that I’d short-circuited the formula for getting a greenlight. I didn’t need studio approval. All I needed was one guy who believed in the movie.’”

[Photo: Tony Gilroy (left) with George Clooney]

Also see the site The Inner Entrepreneur.
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entrepreneur writer, business of writing, entertainment psychology, screenwriters challenges

“I know that this subject is fodder for ridicule…. But ultimately, I have to write what I have to write about, including the question of life continuing beyond our ordinary senses.” ////

“Some of it [depression] is probably biochemical, but I think it is also in my family tree. I didn’t do anything about it for a long time, because, like many people, I worried about altering my psyche with drugs.

“As a writer, I was especially concerned with that. … [She used Zoloft.] I needed help… I don’t believe that good writers are born through unhappiness.”

From Amy Tan – a brief profile.
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writing and depression, Amy Tan, depression and creativity, creative experience characteristics

“Each year hundreds of screenplays become feature films. And each year thousands of teleplays become television episodes.

“Opportunity-wise, television’s got feature films beat. TV’s got the heat. The magic. The glitz. All that’s missing is you. How do you change that?

It’s about YOU first and your talent and ability second

“Well, first you’ve got to dedicate yourself to the Game. Accept the fact that TV is a personal business. It’s about YOU first and your talent and ability second.

“Your next step is to adopt the ‘career’ mindset. In television almost no one hits the jackpot with one script. In television we make a reputation for ourselves, amass credits and contacts, and get to a place where we can go to work everyday. Staff writing jobs are what TV is all about.

It’s easy to learn what the execs want

“Like most managers, TV execs want to work with people who are just like them. For many that means YOUNG. For almost as many that means NEW. But most of all it means you’ve got to be THEIR KIND OF PERSON.

“In all likelihood, you’re already leaning in that direction. It helps, though, to learn as much as you can about what captivates the hearts and minds of the execs, and, fortunately, it’s relatively easy to do so…”

Continued in article: Getting Started in L.A. – by Larry Brody
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Larry Brody, writing for tv, writing ambition, writing resources

Getting the needed meetings to get his script for “American Beauty” actually produced [by DreamWorks] only happened some years after Alan Ball [photo] was discovered by a talent scout at Carsey-Werner Television who had seen his play, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress.

Never schlep coffee again

In a Writers Store interview, Steven Prigge [author of Created By: Inside the Minds of TV's Top Show Creators] notes, “There are many different ways to get a writing job that doesn’t include fetching co-workers’ lattés, Frappuccinos or any other coffee oriented beverage.

Stand-up

“Many sitcom writers have been discovered as stand-up comedians. For instance, Larry David (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) was discovered while performing stand-up comedy at Catch a Rising Star in New York City.

Theater

“Shawn Ryan (The Shield) won a playwriting contest in college, and one of his plays was entered into the American College Theater Festival. … Because of the acclaim of his play, Shawn was rewarded by being brought to L.A. to spend a few weeks hanging out in the writer’s room of My Two Dads. He eventually sold a story idea to the producers and his TV writing career began.

Find your platform

“It essentially comes down to finding a platform where your voice can be heard by others who are in the position to hire you, or can get you hired. The bottom line is that you have to get yourself out there and get noticed.”

There are a number of ideas and resources about promoting yourself and your creative projects on the page promoting creative talent & entrepreneurial projects – including the service Get Known Now.

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Technorati tags: .. gifted adults .. writing .. screenwriting .. writers
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entrepreneur writers, writing for tv, tips for writers, writing book

We live with a lot of mythologies and concepts about the “inspiration” and “craft” aspects of expression that influence how we approach doing something creative. One of those ideas is that anything so complex as a film script must necessarily take a long time to develop.

But screenwriter James Lamberg recalls a meeting in 1992 with Sylvester Stallone:

Stallone’s bombshell

“I was working for a national radio station at the time and managed to spend thirty minutes interviewing him. And it changed my life. Why?

“I asked him about his screenwriting career. I wanted to verify something I’d heard. ‘Let’s talk about Rocky,’ I said. ‘The film grossed over $250 million – and turned you into an overnight superstar. What a script!

“I paused nervously and waited for a response. You know what he said?

“He laughed. Then added: ‘And you know what? It took me three days to write. I locked myself in my room after watching the Ali fight and just wrote it!’

“I was stunned. Genuinely. I didn’t know what to say. After the longest ten seconds of my career, I repeated to him: ‘You wrote it – in just three days? Screenplays take months, even years…!’

“He gave a friendly sneer and stared deep at me: Listen. Everyone thinks that. That’s the problem. Writing quickly means writing success!’”

~ ~

From a 3-day script to 10 Oscar nominations

From Wikipedia: Rocky (1976) was awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture. On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Ali-Chuck Wepner fight which inspired the foundation idea of Rocky. That night Stallone went home, and in three days he had written the script for Rocky – which was nominated for ten Academy Awards in all, including two for Stallone himself, for Best Actor and for Best Original Screenplay.

Screenwriter James Lamberg is coauthor of the “Movie in a Month” course.
~~~

Here are two other writing programs:

Million-Dollar Screenwriting

and WriteABookNow – How To Write A Book On Anything in 14 Days or Less – A Guide for Professionals
~~

learning screenwriting, tips for writers, writing fast, screenplays by actors

The birth of an artist

Screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson says of her script for “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus”: “What I wanted to do was to make a portrait of her from my perspective as an artist. This is my interpretation of her birth as an artist.”

Lionel – more than meets the eye

Though Wilson used many basic facts culled from Patricia Bosworth’s “Diane Arbus: A Biography,” [the character of] Lionel was wholly invented. Afflicted by a rare condition that causes his body to be covered by hair, the charming former circus attraction is more than just a writer’s construct ripe with symbolism.

To Wilson, he contains the DNA of Arbus’ real-life inspirations — not just an amalgam of all her unusual subjects (transvestites, little people, so-called circus freaks), but also a representation of her lover and mentor Marvin Israel, a married painter who pushed and promoted her art.

“I wanted [Lionel] to be her imagination, herself, her muse,” Wilson says. “I wanted her to develop a relationship with the beast inside of her that haunts her. That was very much a part of Diane Arbus, the thrill of fear.”

Wilson and Arbus parallels

As an adventurous teen-ager, Wilson was an avid photographer very much influenced by Arbus, who killed herself in 1971. In an uncanny parallel, when Wilson was 16 she was photographing some gay female friends as they were naked and decided to disrobe herself to more fully engage the artistic process. “It wasn’t salacious,” she says. “It was naive – and sweet. I grew up in the world of ‘Last Tango in Paris,’ of ‘Hair.’ I grew up in a world that already housed [Arbus'] imagination.”

This episode mirrors Arbus’ own famous foray into a nudist colony in 1958 to photograph the residents. “Fur” is bookended by the significance of this moment in the artist’s evolution.

“For Diane Arbus — and for myself — art was intimately connected with eroticism, with trespassing, with romantic relationships, with the Other,” Wilson says.

Related page on her life and work: Diane Arbus

Also see quotes by Erin Cressida Wilson about her earlier film “Secretary” on the page sexuality: page 4

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Erin Cressida Wilson, screenplays by women, Diane Arbus, sexuality and screenwriting