As High As The Sky

No, not me. It's the title of a little film that needs to get attention. I happen to know the writer, director, Nikki Braendlin, but hadn't been in touch in years. I saw on her Facebook that she started to film said movie and was excited for her and wondered what kind of movie it would be. Well as luck would have it, she posted this week that it was free on Hulu, with commercials. So I thought, sure, why not! I thought I'd watch it in two days because what writer has time to watch a movie in one sitting. Not me at least because I'm always writing something.

Well, I loved it so darn much I sat and watched the whole thing all the way through. I didn't just love it a little, or love it because I knew her. I looooved it! It was really well written, the characters were done so wonderfully, the story was heart-warming and sweet. From start to finish, Nikki just hit it out of the park. I have since gotten back in touch with her and we're going to catch up, because I was so darn impressed. But now it's your turn. You must watch this great little film. The message was great. I loved the casting. Really could have watched more of these characters even beyond this movie, and that's a rare thing to say. I won't give away any plot points or ending, but I'll just say it really touched me. I had never been more proud to say I know a fellow writer.

Just as I was writing this blog, I opened an email from Sundance touting "4 movies you must watch online right now". Well, I'm going to make it 5. Add As High As The Sky to your list. You'll be happy you did.

My favorite writing trick

Every so often writers get "stuck". Whether it's on a new idea, in the middle of a first draft, a huge rewrite or writing a bit of dialogue. And if a writer is stuck, how is that writer to become unstuck? Well one of my favorite techniques, always seems to be the perfect trick. What I do is I write down all my thoughts as if I'm speaking to a friend.

For instance, let's say you're writing a script about a Clown that wants to tell his parents he's not going to finish clown school. His parents are clowns too of course, so this is a big tragic moment in the clown family. So what if you're not sure how to begin the clown scene? So what I do is write down every possibility I could possibly think of. "So child clown tells his parents in a letter, because he's too afraid. But maybe that's not cinematic enough, so what if child clown brings in all his clown friends and they do a clown act, and they crack the parents up and at the end, child clown says, yeah, not going to clown school. Or what if he crashes his clown car on purpose and now tells his parents he has no way to get to clown school." 

But as you see I literally throw out every idea that's in my head. By getting out my thoughts, I actually keep myself from being stuck. It's a great technique that I use over and over and always seems to help me out of a jam. I think the hardest part of being a writer is that we live in our head. So if we can just put our thoughts on the page, we can keep our story moving forward.  

The scene you get on the page doesn't have to be perfect. But at least if it's on the page then it gives you a place to start and somewhere to go. So try it next time you find yourself stuck. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. And if you write a clown script based on my idea, please put me in the "special thanks to" at the end of your movie. :) 

You can take a hit

In the boxing world, if a guy gets hit, he gets back up. That's his(her) job. He gets hit, he gets back up. He gets hit, he gets back up. Well, writing is no different. I mean, metaphorically of course. Hopefully we aren't really getting hit. But each step we take in screenwriting has so many chances for us to feel like we got knocked down. But we can't stay down. We have to get back up. And each time we do, it moves us closer and closer to seeing our dreams of being a paid screenwriter come to fruition.

I remember my first time I had to print out a script at Kinko's. I was so scared to take it there. I know, silly. But I was! I lived in Hollywood and was so afraid that only "real" screenwriters printed scripts. And that if I went there, they'd laugh at me and tell everyone there, "Get a load of this girl who thinks she's a writer!" Okay, little did I know that there were thousands of other people trying to be screenwriters too and they didn't give it so much as a glance. But for me, that was a hit. I had to take that chance that I'd get knocked down. And it didn't happen that time, I dodged that hit and that allowed me to go in for the next possible hit. Taking more screenwriting classes. Joining writing groups and getting critiqued. Entering contests! Sending out queries! There were rejections upon rejections. There have been many. But they have also opened me up to "yeses" too. So you have to take those hits. Because without the hits, we wouldn't have the success. And each hit makes us stronger and stronger.

So do it. Go for it. You have to at least try or you'll never know if you could have one day been the champ. Okay, that's really corny. But hey, I had to go for the whole boxing thing, didn't I? But you get what I'm saying. Keep trying. The bell hasn't run yet!

Put a ring on it

So when it comes to Hollywood, people in this biz want what others want too. It's like most men when it comes to dating, they all want the girl everyone lusts after. And as far as screenwriter goes, if Producers, Directors, agents and managers see that you're loved by many, they'll love you too. I'm sure you've heard when you have a script that you can get to a big wig to read, then it's time to reach out to other people of value to read it. If enough people with clout in this business can read it, it could pick up steam and momentum, and before you know, end up a sale. Maybe even a big sale! So don't be afraid to reach out to people once you get your script into the hands of at least one biggie.

For instance, the script my partner and I have finished recently we are able to get to some really worthy folks. It's exciting to say the least and we hope it means it will be a sale shortly. But now we're using that to reach out to as many people we can who could do something with it. So the more names we add to the list of people reading it, the better. It's almost like those huge snow balls you see in those animation movies that at first starts out as a teeny rock pebble at the start of the hill and by the end of the hill it has skiers, snowmen, rabbits, and so much more! Then blam! It explodes into teeny bits. Which in the screenwriting world is big sale.

If you don't feel like you have those kind of contacts right now, don't worry. Keep trying. What is a no yesterday, could turn into a sale along the way a few years later. Keep building your network! You just never know what it could turn into.

Tell YOUR story

When it comes to writing your screenplay there are a million ways it could go. A love story could be Romeo and Juliet or Casablanca or Wedding Crashers. Each story is so different and each writer is very different. So when you get the chance to write a story, tell the story that YOU want. That's why when you get hired to write a story, you have to trust your own instincts. It can be scary when you know someone has the power to say yes or no to what you just wrote. But you have to trust there's a reason you want to tell this exact story. It came to you for a reason! So write that story. One of the worst things you could do is doubt yourself and then end up with a mediocre story. Go out with a bang! Write the story that's speaking to you. And if all goes well, the producer that hires you will see your vision and agree with it and want to get it made.

I read somewhere recently that Arthur Miller was given notes about Death of a Saleman and was told what an awful play it was. He used those notes and changed it so much that he hated it! That's when he realized he wasn't going to listen to anyone. He said something along the lines of, "I'm going to do what I want. And if it's no good, at least I wrote what I wanted." Then of course it went on to being the longest performing piece and most acted piece ever.

So that's what you have to do too! Trust that your vision of your story is what needs to be told. Sure take notes, listen to trusted friends. But if they don't see the vision that you are wanting to tell for your story, then ignore it all. How's a new writer to know when to listen to friends and when not? That only comes with experience. But as time goes on, you'll know who to listen to and what notes to listen to. In the end, it's your story and when a producer hires you, they're going to hire you for your style and story telling. So be sure that's what ends up on the page.

When it finally all clicks

I was reading an article by a writer who's finally getting noticed by Hollywood. And she said how all of a sudden she knew her scripts were ready when it just all clicked. I know that feeling and maybe you do too. But if you don't, that's okay too. It just means you're still at the learning point of your writing career. It's not something you can force. It's not something you can rush. Developing the tools to become a writer that will get you hired and sell your scripts is like a fine wine, it takes time. It takes studying the craft, learning as much as you can, and getting comfortable with breaking the rules you've learned.

I always wondered if I'd know when I finally "got it". Believe me, I felt many times before that I was there. But most recently I've rewritten two scripts, one for a producer and one with a writing partner. And both scripts, I just could tell I'd be able to figure out how to fix these rewrites. I could see it clearly. I'm not saying it came easy. Oh no. Especially the one for the producer. Since that was a page 1 rewrite, I was basically starting from scratch. But once I knew the new story, then I knew what had to be done. And I could tell what beats to hit and what would make the story flow in the best way it could.

And the rewrite with the writing partner, I could see it as clear as day what had to happen to make it a strong enough script to be ready to go out. I could just tell that something had changed in my writing. Maybe it's like hiting puberty. You don't really know you're in it while you are. But when you get to the other side of it, and you've got boobs or a hairy chest (hopefully not both!) then you realize, wow, I've blossomed!

So keep at it if you're not there. There's no waste of studying your craft, no waste of reading scripts, analyzing movies. It all helps you get to where hopefully you will be having meetings and selling scripts and seeing your ideas on the big or little screen. We can all hope it's sooner than later!

Who reads the rewrite?

So I mentioned at some point that I was doing a  huge page 1 rewrite for a big production company. It's very exciting and with their ability to get it to anyone, this could be a great opportunity to see something produced with big names staring in it. So when I finished the rewrite, I was very happy with it. But then I realized, wait, no one else has seen it! So how do I know the producers will agree? I emailed my agent friend at ICM and said, what do I do? If I send it to writers for notes, they'll give me notes that could be completely opposite of what the producers want! That would be so counterproductive. He agreed with me and said only send it to someone that's checking to see if you missed anything and to give you an idea of the read. No notes! So that's what I did. I have two writer friends that I know can read it constructively but also are not looking to rip apart every thing I created. So if you have someone like that too, cherish them!

So I got my script to these two friends. They gave me raving thumbs ups, and then off to the producers it went. Now for the hard part, waiting! And here I thought the writing it would be the hard part! Guess it's good that I'm finishing up a rewrite with a writing partner to keep me busy!