Musings from a young Hollywood professional

Photo

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:57:36 -0700

WriterLyn hit over 300 followers giveaway!

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:43:17 -0700

So, I hit 300 followers (actually 307), so I’m doing the only type of giveaway I can really afford.

I have been a television and movie script reader with a few different companies. I have done tons of different type of coverage and treatment writing.

So here’s the giveaway:

I WILL READ YOUR SCRIPT AND GIVE HOLLYWOOD LEVEL COVERAGE and A FULL TREATMENT OF IT.

This includes:

A hollywood style quality grid
A summary of the script
Commentary
notes on characters, plot, and theme, and how to improve them.

NOW, this might be harsh, but it can DEFINITELY be useful, especially for someone who has written a few scripts but haven’t had them read by a Hollywood professional yet.

I will not candy coat it. It will be as if I’m recommending it to a producer or not.

THE RULES:

One reblog and One like per person. Multiple reblogs will not count.
The deadline to like and reblog is May 28th, a week from today.
You do not need to be following me. Though it’d be nice.
The script has to be either an a) drama pilot, b) feature length film, or c) sitcom pilot.
I will do a random number generator to pick the person. You then have 1 week to send me the script for me to read. (If you’re reblogging it for your followers, just let me know and I’ll do the number thingie again.)
I will get the coverage done within the week.

(If you’re worried about theft, register your script with the WGA. Also, rest assured that I have enough ideas of mine own, and I won’t be looking at yours.)

rampant-noodle: galleonsofgold: jathis: sachehund: danielledi...

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:56:06 -0700

rampant-noodle:

galleonsofgold:

jathis:

sachehund:

daniellediegue:

U.S. Military’s remake of the - Call Me Maybe

For anyone unfortunate enough to have not seen this yet.

I needed this in my life

THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER HOW ARE PEOPLE NOT MORE EXCITED FOR THIS

WATCH IT JUST WATCH IT

I believed it more from the military guys. You cheerleaders need to step up your game!

Reblogging this for my sister.

jmkitsune: steven moffat and mark gatiss at their first jobs!

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:44:47 -0700

jmkitsune:

steven moffat and mark gatiss at their first jobs!

witchlingfumbles: theoneandonlywez: sellyourselfshort: m0difie...

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:25:49 -0700

witchlingfumbles:

theoneandonlywez:

sellyourselfshort:

m0difiedlife:

makeupbag:

bloodstainedbikinis:

galactic-gal:

princessleathercock:

acceptmyawkwardness:

superspecialawesomeattack:

makeupbyjanny:

onlymakesusstronger:

jamesxfc:

As a guy, I think the top one looks way better. Just sayin’.

yeah, guy here, top looks way better

You know what’s crazy?! That some women don’t wear makeup to impress men. Some women do it because they like it. When I wear 5 different colors on my eyes with bright ass pink lipstick I KNOW that shit ain’t cute. But you know why I do it? Because makeup is about having fun and being artistic. So if you don’t like my fabulously defined eyebrows I’m okay with that, I didn’t need your approval anyways. I just think some men really need to put their egos to the side and STOP thinking that everything women do is to impress you guys.

Yeah, because women wear high-heels because they’re SO comfortable, right?

No, women (at least me and my friends) wear heels because they’re fun to wear. Sure, they get uncomfortable, but we’re not wearing them for comfort, we’re wearing them to feel good and because we feel sexy in them.

And you’re probably gonna be like “but why do you want to look sexy? For men.”

But no. I like feeling sexy because it helps with MY confidence. It’s not about other guys, i’m already in a committed relationship, but I like feeling good about how I look. Also, even before my relationship I would wear sexy lacy underwear and bras, but NO ONE were seeing them, so why did I wear them? Certainly not because they’re comfortable. Because I feel great about myself when I’m wearing them.

This^

Here’s my two cents for the beta males that have a problem with the high heel makeup wearing ladies. Don’t date them.

Go date a girl who doesn’t wear makeup or high heels.

Write to your favorite nudie magazine and ask for less airbrushed no makeup wearing models for you to wank to

Stop telling other women what to do with their bodies

And stop believing that any expression of a women’s self is directly meant to please your prick

^ BOOM!!

Important commentary bolded.

yes. finally. for fucks sake.

YES.

They both look fine.

YES YES YES. I like dressing up. Nice dresses, style my hair, makeup, the highest heels I own. And I don’t get comments from guys because I very rarely interact with guys of an appropriate age to comment, but my family will ask “What’s the occasion?” THE OCCASION IS ME, FUCKERS. THE OCCASION IS THAT I FEEL PRETTY AND I WANT TO LOOK PRETTY AND I DON’T NEED A SINGLE FUCKING EXCUSE BETTER THAN THAT.

*ahem*

I like this post.

What would you say are some of the biggest problems/issues with trying to be a tv writer?

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:51:00 -0700

Competition. It’s so damn competitive, and people who have been doing it for much longer and much better are also unemployed.

And then, you know, discrimination and fickle audiences.

Two more followers until I do a nifty sort of film industry givaway.

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:03:45 -0700

Two more followers until I do a nifty sort of film industry givaway.

splicket: Video Game Logic (2)

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:34:11 -0700

splicket:

Video Game Logic (2)

thebiochemedian: The most heartbreaking line in all of...

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:52:32 -0700

thebiochemedian:

The most heartbreaking line in all of science-fiction-musical fandom.

yeahwriters: erinbowman: Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot...

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:46:11 -0700

yeahwriters:

erinbowman:

Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure. (Or: infographics I want to hug.)

Graphic by Eduardo L. Lozano

Ugh so pretty

Another way of outlining.

Close to the sequence mapping I do, but not quite. Still a really good source.

"Never confuse not being able to do EVERYTHING with not being able to do ANYTHING. No one can do..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:54:07 -0700

“Never confuse not being able to do EVERYTHING with not being able to do ANYTHING. No one can do everything; but likewise no one can’t do anything.”

- My Queen, once again showing up when I’m freaking out and making everything better. (via witchlingfumbles)

My ren faire dance group! Picture courtesy of the most excellent...

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:34:00 -0700

My ren faire dance group!

Picture courtesy of the most excellent Gar Travis

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:50:09 -0700

pcro: inubunny: bluedogeyes: Inspidered (via Loading...

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:38:27 -0700

pcro:

inubunny:

bluedogeyes:

Inspidered (via Loading Artist)

Artist website / twitter / facebook

<3

This is beautiful

ACTORS, TAKE NOTE!

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:57:09 -0700

If you have swearing in your audition monologue, make sure you can swear!

Most people can’t swear properly.

And it shows.

Notes on writing action.

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:50:13 -0700

scriptpeer:

I don’t personally write action films but if I were going to there are certain steps I would take to really make each sequence pop:

First off it doesn’t matter how amazing a sequence is, if it’s six to eight lines back to back it’s going to turn the person reading your script off. Especially if they pop open your script hoping to read an action film.

With action scenes you really want to utilize separation and a great way to do that would be tossing in slugs. When it comes to action sequences slugs will be your best friend.

I’ve said this before and I’m sure I’ll say it a thousand times more, you ideally want no more than three to four lines per space break. I know that can seem a bit constraining but it really isn’t. When it comes to action sequences space breaks will be your relationship partner.

See, when you watch an action film you’ll notice how fast paced things are. Tense and swift. When you’re writing action you absolutely have to mimic that understanding and using space breaks really helps with that. It makes things easier for you.

Make your sentences short and to the point. A lot of times you’ll hear it’s best to describe everything going on in a scene but with action sequences you want to paint with a broader brush. Instead of explaining every little thing that occurs give an action scene some room to flesh itself out. When it comes to action sequences general understanding will be your lover on the side.

Say you’ve got a fist fight between the scripts hero and a Russian terrorist:

We don’t need to know how many times the Russian terrorist gets hit necessarily, we just need to understand what is going on, who is in control and where the tension lies and transfers.

With the right creativity, patience and polish I feel like scripts that deal heavy in action are the cleanest scripts one can stumble onto.

I’d definitely recommend applying an outline to an action script before you actually pop open Final Draft and get started because with action films you really have to establish in your head the major events that take place before you even think about typing the words “FADE IN:”.

There are so many things in action films that have been done to death so staying original and creative from the start to finish can really make it or break it for you.

Like I stated at the beginning of this article I don’t particularly write action so throughout the day today I will be gathering different useful resources on the subject for a post later on tonight. Thanks for reading.

Another idea, to help with the writing:

If you have access to someone who does stunt work, or a friend who wants to be a stunt choreographer, or someone who does stage fights, ect, work with them on designing the scene. They might have ideas, and seeing them work on the scene might help you get ideas on how to best translate it to paper.

Some of my best action scenes came from sitting around with my martial artist friend/former roommate and discussing what can happen.

amandaonwriting: 15 Writers - The Best Writing Advice They...

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:28:41 -0700

amandaonwriting:

15 Writers - The Best Writing Advice They Received

Alice Kahn: The best writing advice I’ve ever heard: Don’t write like you went to college.

Andrei Codrescu: Best advice I ever got was from the Romanian poet Nichita Stanescu, who told me in Bucharest, before I emigrated: ‘Learn English. French is dead.’

Christopher Buckley: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received was from William Zinsser: ‘Be grateful for every word you can cut.’

Cynthia Ozick: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received is: Write with authority.

David Guterson: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received is to take it seriously, because to do it well is all-consuming.

George Plimpton: I think the best advice on writing I’ve received was from John Steinbeck, who suggested that one way to get around writer’s block (which I was suffering hideously at the time) was to pretend to be writing to an aunt, or a girlfriend. I did this, writing to an actress friend I knew, Jean Seberg. The editors of Harpers forgot to take off the salutation and that’s how the article begins in the magazine: Dear Jean….

James Atlas: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received was from Dwight Macdonald: ‘Everything about the same subject in the same place.’

Margaret Carlson: Best writing advice I’ve ever received: Sell everything three times.

Nick Tosches: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received was given to me, like so much else, by Hubert Selby, Jr.: to learn and to know that writing is not an act of the self, except perhaps as exorcism; that, in writing what is worth being written, one serves, as vessel and voice, a power greater than vessel and voice.

Patsy Garlan: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received is: Don’t answer the phone.

Peter Mayle: Best advice on writing I’ve ever received: Finish.

Richard Ford: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received: ‘Don’t have children.’ I gave it to myself.

Robert Lipsyte: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received was, ‘Rewrite it!’ A lot of editors said that. They were all right. Writing is really rewriting—making the story better, clearer, truer.

Russell Banks: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received was probably something Ted Solotaroff told me years ago when he was my editor. Going over a manuscript line by line again and again he kept reminding me, ‘Remember, this is your book, not my book. You’re the one who’s going to have to live with it the rest of your life. I might publish 30 or 40 books this year, you’re only going to publish one, and probably the only one you’re going to publish in two or three years.’

Whitney Balliett: The best advice on writing I’ve ever received is, ‘Knock ‘em dead with that lead sentence.’

From Writers Write

WHEN PLAYWRIGHTS ARE BORED IN REHEARSALS

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:18:58 -0700

whatshouldwecallplaywrights:

I may totally be sitting alone at my apartment drinking wine and watching tv

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:21:14 -0700

but at least I can call it “work”

One of my former classmates just got internet famous

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:44:45 -0700

It’s kinda awesome.