{"id":2375,"date":"2019-02-12T21:24:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T05:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2019-02-12T21:24:34","modified_gmt":"2019-02-13T05:24:34","slug":"writers-rules-for-screenwriters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/blog\/2019\/02\/12\/writers-rules-for-screenwriters\/","title":{"rendered":"Writers: rules for screenwriters"},"content":{"rendered":"

This posting is somewhat of an industry-insider “column”. It’s meant for anyone<\/em> to read though, who might be interested in knowing how best to preserve relevance and enjoyment in this creative art of writing for actors and audiences.<\/p>\n

Why should screenwriters not attend speaking engagements or interviews – especially televised ones which traditionally garner the largest audience at once? This post will explain why.<\/p>\n

Screenwriting is a behind the scenes job, among the jobs that together create imaginative product for the screen and stage.<\/p>\n

Actors and directors are often heralded for their contributions to the film product. Being most visible on the sets also (in front of and behind the lens respectively), they are sometimes interviewed for promotional purposes. We know of this practice as drawing on bankable star power, as it often attracts a viewing audience which is loyal to that star actor or director. Hollywood likes to combine certain stars with certain literary themes or subject matter, that have proven bankable in the past.<\/p>\n

Excluding the professionals who teach their craft to students (as teacher or mentor), the behind the scenes crew member should let their work speak to ticket payer, mostly in and through the film. The public should carefully judge the artistic merits not based upon a crew members\u2019 personality, his cult status praises, notorious reputation, appearance, associations based on rumor, or any such criterion. The art, is what the public should be interested in paying to see. But, this endeavor becomes more challenging for the industry exactly when the artistic merits become diminished by means just described.<\/p>\n

Screenwriting, especially, is a rather solitary craft which fosters pertinent and valuable story. The written page comes from a mind that is reflecting on story, action, and dialogue (to name the few basic elements). Some writers really enjoy working within a team of writers\u2026 bouncing ideas back and forth. The aim is to socially network, share name credit, rely on what a writer alone is perhaps unable to, and\/or to craft according to a market driven boss. There are also \u201cround-table reads\u201d which foster collaboration. And, there are \u201cactor reads\u201d, which can involve testing text in a live action method. But, too much more than old fashioned word typed to paper, can damage the thought processes of an otherwise undisturbed, professional, writer. And scam organizations that plunder writers, demanding edit upon edit, similarly diminish the honest craft. Writers write best, when they have an agent doing the rest.<\/p>\n

All writers should be self respecting enough, to limit their duties to writing, re-writing, having basic understandings of standard and legit contractual agreement, and investing time in meeting(s) with their agent. Now I also must mention, that this “column” is referencing film screenwriting. Television and stage, and radio too, enlist differing attributes. Generally, this column is most applicable to theatrical release, movie scripting.<\/p>\n

Aside from that, would some promoters wish to cast a public light onto writers as though they were actors? Well this is one more example of assault against the individual nature of a well defined and unique artistic voice. The actor can manage celebrity status; which he or she by nature does – act. Evermore he is required to image promote – but accepting also recognition and pay. But, screenwriters should never be seeking celebrity, or be promoted to become one (mini celebrities, at most). They can be known to others for their work, but they should not ever be celebrated as star like figures. That is one reason why writers throughout the ages, have at times turned to \u201cghost writers\u201d. This, to avoid the very forces that diminish original and exceptional texts for the screen actors.<\/p>\n

So why do we occasionally hear about screenwriters by name and face? Well, in awards shows, most of the viewing public (if they tune in) do not know most writers by name and face. That is good. And, many of us prefer being hidden away, our tight knit circles, and writing.<\/p>\n

Making a screenwriter into “a star”, is not only a strategy which can result in a schlock product; it is vain promotion of a crew member, which has no basis in quality, spirit, and character of the story. Putting the writer into interviews and other forms of promotion, invades the anonymous marriage of ideas to an engaged viewing public. In American history, there have been exceptions to this rule. But, beware.<\/p>\n

The viewing public should never judge or form any sort of bias of the writer \u2013 especially before seeing her film. If the writer has such<\/em> a unique style, that he or she is recognized in every one of his or her works? Well, that is promotion without any overt efforts.<\/p>\n

Generally, writers should shy away from high exposure and not agree to interviews. Perhaps once well established, he or she can agree to a small newspaper feature article, or an industry column that is in published circulation amidst the industry.<\/p>\n

Movie audience opinions that are shaped and impressed upon the screenwriters (by promoters) through her age, gender, personality, religion, political party (and so forth), are off mark when it come to the range of writings that a professional writer can produce in his or her entire career. Put more simply, a good writer may have a trademark style, but can write many works more than just what the public might expect from him or her – we should hope.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t follow screenwriters. I try not to emulate any of them. All of my favorite films are written by people I don\u2019t know anything about. This is what preserves the symbiotic relationship between movie viewer and screenwriter. The anonymity, is a strength in one of the last frontiers. I also think that nearly every crew member that works on a film, should be humble by remaining in the background – from the public’s vantage. Screenwriter is not a career for those in search of star level celebrity – generally.<\/p>\n

I guess you\u2019re thinking by now: What about authors, columnists, journalists, or novelists? Do I think the rule applies to them too? Surely many of these have reached celebrity status. But, like a screenwriter, journalists do the journal \u2013 and not as the<\/em> subject with the answers for the interviewer(s). Columnists do the writing; also are not the subject of interviews. Novelists should remain obscure, alienated, downright creepy, shy, or sometimes lonesome.<\/p>\n

Some authors and novelists have reached celebrity status, because of so much success that they simply cannot hide. In that case, they might choose to embark away from comparative seclusion; they might choose to speak publicly to promote their works and ideas. Maybe they quest to reclaim readers. I guess that\u2019s okay, after having reached the highest peak there might be. After writing so many works (ie. Mr. Steven King) that the author’s loyal fan-base knows the body of work quite intensely, there may be no avoiding celebrity status. And\/Or, when that public is now interested in the actual person, more so than any subsequent work they might produce? Well there’s not any way to avoid that, granted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This posting is somewhat of an industry-insider “column”. It’s meant for anyone to read though, who might be interested in knowing how best to preserve relevance and enjoyment in this creative art of writing for actors and audiences. Why should …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2375"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2379,"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions\/2379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.film-shorts.tv\/wpress.cfonseca160\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}