If you have ever felt discouraged while writing, this panel was for you!
Pen Densham
Pen Densham (Riding the Aligator) led the discussion joined by Will Akers (Your Screenplay Sucks!), Penny Penniston (Talk the Talk), Diane O?Bannon (speaking for her late husband Dan O?Bannon: Dan O?Bannon?s Guide to Screenplay Structure), Eric Edson (The Story Solution) and Jennifer Dornbush (Forensic Speak).
I have to say, I loved how laid back and open this panel was. Everyone was very frank and eager to encourage those of us in the audience.
When honing your skill as a screenwriter an important place to start, as Penny Penniston pointed out, is ??reading submitted scripts.? Dianne O?Bannon added ?read both good and bad screenplays! It will give you so much experience.?? Having taken this advice from others in the past, I can tell you it is so helpful! A great place to find screenplays online is Simply Scripts. Jennifer Dornbush urged us to collaborate, ?be part of a writers group? she said. Read the work of your peers as well as work that has made it onto the screen. The more screenplays you read the more comfortable you will be in that environment.
So, what happens when you aren?t feeling it? ?You can?t wait for your Muse? warned Diane. Eric Edson actually encouraged ?Write badly with pride!? Pen Densham calls a first draft the ?Lewis & Clark draft. Any fucking way to the coast works!? I laughed and silently thanked them for giving me permission to write a crappy first draft. Let?s face it, no one likes their first draft anyway, why not give yourself permission, as they said, to just let it be junk. The key is to finish your first draft.
So, you have a first draft, now what? Will shared his thoughts on writers block and rewrites, ?if you can write yourself into a hole you can write yourself out of the hole.? Eric explained ?approach screenwriting because you can?t help yourself. If that statement is true of you, then you have already won!? I adore that sentiment because you will keep coming back to the story, you will keep tweaking and editing until you have a work you love. ?The films that nagged me had more story ?muscle?.? Pen confided. He had so many wonderful words of wisdom ?Be daring, be dangerous, don?t try guessing what people want you to write!?
(L to R) Will Akers, Penny Penniston, Diane O?Bannon. Eric Edson & Jennifer Dornbush.
When this panel was over it was hard not to grab a laptop and just leap into my work! Although, Will Akers also cautioned ?Don?t give your story to someone before it?s ready.? Sensible words indeed! He said to ask yourself ?What can I do to make this better?? This was about the time writers groups came up again. Get feedback, use script consultants, ask for feedback from people who are likely to tell you the truth versus what they think you want to hear.
In my humble opinion using a professional script consultant is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself. You know that they will be straight up with you and you know they have the experience to back up their words. Each of the authors on this panel came out and directly said that if you reach them via their websites they will answer any reasonable questions you have about screenwriting. Many of them also work as consultants (this is true of most of the authors I have blogged about in the last few days). If the words of one of these authors resonate with you, follow the links I?ve provided and read their blogs, books and other information available to you.
A special thanks to Linda Frothingham from Chicago Hollywood?for helping facilitate this meeting!
Linda Frothingham
Thanks for reading and keep writing!
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?Were you at The Future of Story Chicago? Did I miss anything you felt needed to be shared? What were your impressions? Please feel free to comment. I welcome the dialogue.
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