jimdempsey at 2010-08-01 07:20:42:

I've been following GITS for quite a while now, but rarely take the time to comment.

I do, however, often scribble down little notes of advice or inspiration I see here for my own writing - novels, screenplays, short stories.

Haven't had anything sold or published yet, outside my own blog http://jimdempsey.wordpress.com, but I've only really been working at this seriously for the past two or three years. And one thing I have taken from this site is that success rarely comes quickly.

Back to the hard work then, and all the best of luck to the many other GITS readers.

Nuff McGreevey at 2010-08-01 08:09:02:

Hi all. I'm Brendan O'Neill. Have been following GITS for a few months now, and really love all the valuable information and sources of inspiration.

Currently working on a historical fiction epic, but would really love to start working in the mystery/detective genre. It's my favorite things to read, and when done right, my favorite films to watch.

Thanks Scott, and to all those that contribute their time and effort on this site!!

B.O'Neill

Scott at 2010-08-01 08:35:21:

@Escarondito: Two feature length screenplays by the time you are 22. That's a great start with your writing.

@nmegan: GITS has a lot of followers from Australia. Re your thriller becoming a dark comedy: Funny how our stories evolve, sometimes changing genres. Did you know that "Good Will Hunting" started out as a thriller?

@jimdempsey: Checked out your blog. Nice. I've added it to the Friends blogroll.

@Nuff McGreevey: Brendan, it's good to have the self-awareness to know what genre about which you're passionate. Much more likely to find satisfaction in your writing and even (hopefully) success if you're really excited / into a certain kind of storytelling.

Best of luck to all of you and thanks for making GITS a part of your writing and creative life!

Garrett at 2010-08-01 10:20:19:

Hey guys, I'm Garrett from San Diego. First of all, it's really cool to see what people are up to, and how different their backgrounds are.

I'm 23, just graduated SDSU Biology in December and I work in biochemical research on campus. I've been writing screenplays for four years now. I've got several shorts hidden in a folder somewhere and I'm now working on my third and fourth screenplays. I'm 35pgs into a sci-fi adventure and 65pgs into a crime thriller.

I don't really care about the money associated with Hollywood, I just want to make enough so I can have a house, take vacations, WORK AT HOME, and not worry too much.

I'm starting to learn about graphic novels as well just to expand my reach, so we'll see how that goes. I'd like to write an epic novel about my grandfather, but it's coming along slowly because of the screenwriting focus. One day...

Thanks Scott, this place keeps me going. Thanks to everyone for your awesomeness and please keep writing.

-G

Mido's Mom at 2010-08-01 12:50:25:

Hi all, I'm Christine, aka Mido's Mom (my Twitter moniker).

I've wanted to be a writer all of my life, but the big question was: what did I want to write? I dabbled in magazine writing, copy-writing, memoirs, travel writing, short fiction, but when I hit screenwriting a few years back, I knew I had found my "home."

I've written two feature length scripts that are coming-of-age sports dramas (with heavy comedic undertones) and I'm taking the summer off to read as much as I can about screenwriting before I delve into the next project (or re-write). I take classes and workshops in NYC, online courses, attend meet-ups and pitchfests, anything to help bring my screenwriting to the next level and mingle with other screenwriters.

Until now I've paid the bills doing marketing and public relations. I currently freelance, which allows me to spend about 1/2 my time on the stuff that pays the bills, and the other half screenwriting, which thoroughly feeds the soul.

This site has proven to be a great resource and while I won't be able to read 40 scripts in 40 days, I'm aiming for 20 in 40 (with the other 20 by the end of the year). I think it's already changed how I look at screenplays and will certainly affect how I approach my writing in the future.

Chris Drzewiecki at 2010-08-01 13:36:34:

Hey whats up GITS? My name is Chris Drzewiecki and I have been checking out GITS for about 4 months now daily. I"m 25 and am about to graduate with an MBA in Entertainment Business. My first feature screenplay is a horror/thriller named Tissue(s). I have blogged about the writing process here...

www.writesomehorror.blogspot.com

Im looking forward to getting any feed back on my work and have entered it in about 8 different competitions so far. Best of writing to all of you!!

Chris

Scott at 2010-08-01 15:13:41:

@nathanieltapley.com: I did stand-up for two years and I have nothing but respect for people such as yourself. Was it Olivier who said, "Dying is easy, comedy is hard?" I'll add your website to my Friends blogroll.

@Garrett: Another 'youngster' with a number of feature length screenplays under their belt. Good for you! Was your grandfather famous? Whatever he did, you've got me intrigued...

@Adaddinsane: Another UK TV writer. The web series sounds cool. If you do a search on GITS for "web series," you'll see a bunch of posts. Hope the economics of that work sooner rather than later, as another option for writers. Please keep me informed about how the series goes. Happy to promote it.

@Mido's Mom: Ah, so it's Christine behind your moniker! Have enjoyed your comments on 40 Days scripts. and your note -- "I think it's already changed how I look at screenplays and will certainly affect how I approach my writing in the future." -- is precisely the type of thing I was hoping to hear from participants. Good for you!

@Chris Drzewiecki: Horror is always a strong genre, much more so nowadays in that where it used to be primarily a male-driven audience (say back in the 70s and 80s), now the split is about 50-50, male and female, thus a bigger potential audience. I'll add your site to my Friends blogroll.

Again welcome all!

AlBaraa at 2010-08-01 16:23:25:

My name is Belal Khan. I'm 25 from New Jersey.

I work in marketing and business strategy consultation. I started a marketing and film production company, Leechon Inc, in 2006. Made mostly commercials, video content for social media distribution and short documentaries for clients.

Have a blog that I keep updated regularly reflecting on projects I've worked on.

As a marketer I've always been facinated with methods of storytelling as a means of influence, connection and communicationwith a target market.

I was introduced to you 40 screenplays in 40 days only a couple days ago. I've been keeping a regular video blog of the screenplays I've read so far here: http://www.leechon.com

I don't have any particular genre that I favor. I'm hoping to use my training and education of marketing and storytelling to give Muslim a voice in the current media climate.

Courtney at 2010-08-01 19:41:03:

Courtney here from Memphis Tennessee ...

Home of the Blues ... Birthplace of Rock 'N Roll.

Population ... 650,000

Saaaaa-lute!

And I'm a guy before anyone refers to me as "her" or "she" ...

But I digress.

Love a cold adult beverage and a member of a competitive barbecue cooking team.

Now forty. I hope life experiences will guide me through the process of bringing my new southern friends to life on the page.

And I'm not in it for the house.

I'm in it for ... the car!

The sweet smell of leather in that black 911 is just around the corner.

Then ... I will drive to my parents house and cut them a check for all that they have done for me!

Love the blog and love the comments ... more than any book can teach.

So Scott, if you ever make it to Memphis, BBQ and drinks are on --

Wait ... you're the one that's sold a spec, right? : )

Simon at 2010-08-01 21:58:00:

Hey Scott, thank you for already including my blog on your blogroll, you were kind enough to do so without much of an introduction from myself!

Tim to rectify the situation, I'm Simon Van Der Spoel, an indie film maker based in Australia.

I am a Camera operator and Editor for one of Australia's main TV networks, six years in news, two years in Commercials, and now doing both plus network promos. Answering to three departments helps refine the multitasking skills.

After seeing the full range of human emotion in my line of work, being subjected to intense situations, I wanted to encapsulate it on screen.

My first project was a Doco on WWII Spitfire pilots. I was 22 when I started, 27 when I finished it, and it was picked up by the History Channel. Written/Directed/Produced/Cut/Shot by me and I got a broadcast credit!

I've written 4 feature scripts, training wheels though, only one recently that I can put into production (may come back to the others in future years)

So right now, writing, rewriting, polishing that particular feature, shooting the concept trailer for that feature idea, shooting a short film to showcase my fictional skills, and I just landed the license to one of Australia's most popular rock songs to cut my concept to. Blogging the experience at www.redeemedfilm.blogspot.com

Still working my day job in TV land, fighting toward graduating to film world and the business of the craft.

Love reading your site for daily inspiration, and thank you for helping those who want a chance to get in the ring with the heavyweights!

Cheers

Simon VDS

Steve Bedford at 2010-08-02 06:26:17:

Gotta love these ice-breaker type questions.

My name is Steve Bedford. I'm 22 years old and just graduated from the University of Michigan as a film studies major with a focus in screenwriting. While at school, I met my wonderful wife, who just got a faculty postion at another state university, which affords me a bit of time and freedom to stay at home and just write.

During my undergrad, I wrote 2 screenplays (including one full rewrite). One was a drama, the other a sci-fi. Since school let out I've been trying to find my muse again. I've discovered that I was always very motivated by deadlines. I was able to write consistently, almost every single day (when other homework allowed), so I know the importance of routine in writing. Now there I don't have any tangible deadlines, it has become hard to get moving on these rewrites.

Any suggestions on how to motivate oneself?

iban at 2010-08-02 08:16:09:

Halloo! I'm John, and this is my first comment. I follow this site (which rocks!) via daily emails from feedmyinbox.com.

This was a good idea! It's fun seeing some commonalities. Similar to Garrett, my highest financial aspirations are to work from home and pay off the house I already have (in Portland, OR).

And like Christine, I've been writing my whole life (short poetry, long poetry, short stories, a novella, non-fiction), but when I tried screenwriting for Script Frenzy, I felt instantly at home. Looking back, I notice that the first short story I wrote, in high school, I wrote by imagining it as a movie.

I just submitted a sci-fi horror thriller script to Slamdance, and have two other horror scripts in progress. I chose horror as a starting place because it doesn't take much research, horror's a Hollywood staple, and there seems to be more room for spec scripts in horror. I also love sci-fi, but my ideas are all over the place. I think for me it's all about a great story, regardless of genre.

Now if only I could quit my full-time job...

Atlanta at 2010-08-02 09:01:21:

Avid lurker, and so grateful for your site, Scott (what a generous contribution to the art and craft of the medium!). I'm even grateful for your UCLA teaching (watched fabulous Burn Notice last night, discovered was written by one of your students, Lisa Joy: http://www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/success.php?recordID=3 ).

Mate and I want to work together all the time, goal comic books and scripts, right now, cat burglar vengeance tale, after that, grim reaper tale, bunny heist, and many others. Background, both, dose of science, whole lot of art, whole lot of design (what we do professionally), and we are both insatiably curious with big brains and want to make stories that wring people's hearts, make them jump in their seats, and thoroughly entertain them.

In design land, 10% of designers are good (amazing work that takes things to the next level), about half are just adequate (couldn't say they were cheating clients, but none of their work is fabulous), rest includes posers and well-intended folks who lack any semblance of craft. That 10% rate seems typical across mediums, including screenwriting, and if we can hit that mark (with sublime construction and characters, and story that packs heart and punch), and find a way to distribute it (our goal to first approach comic book publishers), just maybe....

All my very best to all you writers! Lessons I can share from design, less is more (distill, distill, distill), never lose sight of the heart of it all, and make sure every word and sentence relates to the whole and is absolutely necessary. Things I'm learning from screenwriting, anything that could be predicted, cut, make your protag suffer, be savvy to the transitions between scenes and overall emotional journey for the audience, and don't forget that art's primary function is to emote, so grab your audience and take them on a fun ride.

Scott at 2010-08-02 14:20:57:

@AlBaraa: I think your instincts are solid ones -- storytelling and marketing go hand-in-hand. Checked out your website and your reactions to "Memento." Cool. I'll add your site to my Friends blogroll. Best of luck with your endeavors!

@Courtney: I've been to Memphis once, but just passing through. Some BBQ sounds good just about now. Instead of a Porsche 911, how about a Tesla Roadster? 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. It's an electric car!

@Simon: Whenever I meet someone such as yourself -- someone who can write, shoot, and edit -- I think, "Why didn't I learn to do all that?" We're on the front edge of a revolution for indie films with digital filmmaking, distribution, and marketing. It's a good place for you to be!

@Steve Bedford: By any chance did you take any screenwriting courses with Tom Benedek? He's a good friend and a terrific writer and educator. Re motivation? Here's the easiest thing to do: Tell all your friends that you're going to have a spec script done by [pick a date]. The threat of public humiliation should you not meet that date is always a good motivator.

@iban: Portland, OR is one of my favorite cities. I love the way you describe your sense when you discovered screenwriting: feeling instantly "at home." Feeling is mutual. Good luck with those Slamdance submissions.

@Atlanta: Like my comments to Simon above, when I meet people who can write, design, draw characters, and create comic books / graphic novels, I say, "Why didn't I learn to do that?" One drawback: I'm horrible at drawing! Also like Simon, you and your mate are in a good place because Hwood is totally turned on by comic books and graphic novels. Good luck on that!

And thanks to all who took the time to introduce yourselves. Enjoy that virtual Cosmopolitan! See you around the blog!

fracturedsynapse at 2010-08-02 18:31:14:

Greetings.
I am known anonymously as "Mr. A." Something I currently hold on to dearly.

I have a great love of film and filmmaking. From the family business (reading scipts and exposure to independent filmmaking), to film school to the desire to be behind the camera.

The start for me is writing, hopefully on to directing and eventually (and I shy from admitting) revolutionizing the game as much as possible through producing. (I don't care much for the current state)

I have found Scott to be tremendously helpful in honing the craft and owe him a great deal of thanks.

Again, greetings to you all and best wishes.

Kristy @ MSP at 2010-08-02 18:56:44:

I've introduced myself many times before but I'm glad I came back to this. I see some other young people my age, yay.

I'm Kristy, I'm 21, managed at Circle of Confusion. I'm working on my 7th script while waiting on my spec to go out sometime this year.

I'm from the south, country born and raised lol but I just went out to LA for a few meetings in June and really liked it. The weather is amazing out there, I'm so jealous.

Anyways, I love making new screenwriting friends. Not many people know I write -- even after placing 2nd in Tracking B and being managed, just something I'm working on telling people.

I have a blog called Matriarchal Script Paradigm aka MSP. It used to be more popular when I was obsessed with it but it's hard to do that and write. http://www.mscriptparadigm.blogspot.com I blog on my screenwriting journey and do some advice articles here and there for new writers.

Nice to meet everyone :)

Patrick at 2010-08-02 22:12:26:

Hey team,

My name is Patrick from Sydney, Australia. Im a 28 year old Banker with no history in screenwriting.

I began my one and only script last year because I wanted to have a go at the great art of comedy writing. Through the process I fell in love with story/craft which, in turn, made me obsessed with sites like Go Into Story! (What an awesome blog!).

With no real idea or understanding of the industry (my only �formal training� is this blog) I decided to submit my script into Bluecat and Scriptapolooza (thank you google). I've made the finals which has formally inspired me to keep writing!

I'd love to know how all of you manage writing with a full time job, how tough is it!!

RonC at 2010-08-03 10:39:06:

I'm a software dweeb in Boston.

I never really aspired to be a writer. (Except for a short stint in college when, after discovering Stephen King in '87, I started writing some horror short stories and took a creative writing class. But it was just a phase...)

Up until about 15 years ago, all I read was mystery, horror and some sci-fi. But after some "life changes", that changed to mostly all nonfiction: science, philosophy, theology and all things paranormal.

I love movies probably more than the average person, but not enough to be called a "buff". Anyway, I had a vague notion of "screenwriting" and - because I had something burning in me that I wanted to say - I started studying the form. Fairly obsessively. In fact, I did more studying and romanticizing of screenwriting than actual writing.

But finally I did put "butt in chair" and now my first script (several drafts removed) is currently a semi-finalist in the Silver (keeping my fingers crossed!) and a QF in the PAGE. I've already received another round of professional feedback and know what I need to do for the next relatively short (thank God!) pass. I plan to also enter the Champion, Expo and Zoetrope competitions and hopefully get some exposure and read requests.

I love screenwriting precisely because there is a *form* to it. It appeals to my analytical side. There are *boundaries* within with I can be infinitely creative. Novel-writing and its boundlessness scares the crap out of me and I would never attempt it.

Oh, and a few words about my story, BLUE LADY. It's a paranormal mystery thriller in the vein of ANGEL HEART - with a good touch of THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES and EDGE OF DARKNESS thrown in. It's very graphic novel friendly (been thinking about finding someone to team up with to create a graphic novelization of the script - but I'll wait until after this round of contests) and, so far, has appealed to men and women, young and old. So I'm really psyched.

I'm drawn to thrillers in general, but before I tackle the sequels to BLUE LADY (I have 2 in my head - but I think I'll wait until I'm getting paid to write them) I have a *rom-com* - of all freakin' things - *eating* at the insides of my skull. Commercially, that's probably a better way to break in (rom-coms always do better than thrillers).

Ok, I'll stop rambling...

ascribe at 2010-08-03 12:38:12:

Hi Scott I've been a student of yours through UCLA online classes. I grew up with a library of books left to my family by my grandmother, who I loved but who died when I was still a young child. She had moved to Zurich from the USA to work with Carl Jung and is mentioned as the "most mysterious" of women in Jung's inner circle. She is mentioned in the introduction to the Wilhelm Baynes translation of the I Ching.

I have been making a living as a writer for quite a while--first as a grant proposal writer and then as a technical writer, specializing in writing manuals for software developers. I pay attention to structure, so when I decided to try my hand at something "more creative," I discovered that I really like screen writing. Maybe it's a form of masochism. :-) However screen writing does combine interests for me in that there are a lot of concepts in use from Jungian though via Joseph Campbell, and there is a technical aspect to the craft.

Scott at 2010-08-03 12:54:47:

@fracturedsynapse: Mr. A from a family involved in independent filmmaking. Well, your anonymity is welcome here, as well as an insights you have to offer in comments. Best of luck to you in your creative endeavors!

@Kristy @ MSP: I know you were out in L.A. recently. How did that go? And your new spec?

@Alex: As we've discussed before, the U.T.-Austin film program has an outstanding reputation. Are they still doing Burnt Orange Productions, that joint venture with, I believe, WME agency?

@Patrick: Yet another GITS reader in Australia. I have half a mind to do some sort of week-long screenwriting seminar down your way. Congrats on discovering the joy of screenwriting.

@wafflehousel: By "director," you mean film director (as opposed to theater director, commercial director)? I'm over in Chapel Hill. Can you do us both a favor: Turn down the thermostat? This heat wave has been nasty!

@RonC: Another soul who has discovered the joy of screenwriting. It really is a special form of narrative - glad you found it. Love Boston. Great city.

@ascribe: Hey, you! So cool you have that inside connection with Jung. I keep reading him and finding connections between his ideas and storytelling. Inspiring!

Look forward to seeing you all in comments on the blog!

Matt Nefarious at 2010-08-04 04:18:16:

Hi Scott and all your wonderful readers,

It may not be the first of the month anymore but I thought I'd post and say hi anyway.

My name's Matt Compton, I'm a screenwriter with only shorts produced so far (I produced them) but hoping to break into the feature market. Big fan of the site though I probably spend more time reading it when I should be writing!

I love the horror genre and I run my own writing blog over here: http://nefariousfilmsscreenwriting.blogspot.com/

The Hakk at 2010-08-04 07:13:53:

Hi,

this is such a great site, and my fingers were always itchy to type a comment on several entries on the blog. So I took this oportunity and joined GITS.

I love movies and screenwriting, obviously. But I tend to do more 'Romancing The Script' rather than some actual ass-in-chair-writing.
I suffer from every affliction a writer can possibly get. I'm lazy, self-concious, massively procrastinating, a hack, working on too many ideas, anxious, blocked and constantly constipated... well...

My scripts usually start out as ambitious social dramas, slowly fade into comedies and end up as Dolph Lundgren actioners.

So, you see there is a lot of work to do, probably all hope is lost anyway (please don't tell me, I like to live in my own built castle of fluffy dreams and miracles ;).

I really appreciate this blog, it inspires and entertains me.

Thanks, Scott and everyone else who keeps GITS running.

Lise at 2010-08-04 10:09:33:

Bonjour from Canada,

I'm Lise, a french-canadian film buff-woodworker-technical writer with a grad degree in philosophy.
I won a province-wide poetry contest when I was 17. (What, no high fives?)
I bring this up to highlight how depressing it is that I am 45 and it remains my crowning achievement.
But more important, it was the first time I got "the jolt" for writing. I would get it when solving a math problem, when finally understanding a philosophical problem, but I never got it for writing until that moment. You know "the jolt". It's when the words evoke exactly what they were meant to evoke. When no word or phrase could be added or taken away.
I want that "jolt" again.
The fact that I'm choosing screen writing as the medium for it has to be the stupidest thing I have ever done. I'm referring to that bit about "no word or phrase could be added or taken away". I should choose theatre. At least there the word is golden-ish.
Unfortunately, I close my eyes and it is the moving pictures that I see. Scenes through a lens, not from a chair in the 6th row.
I probably wouldn't be writing if I could see the whole movie in my head. But I only get glimpses. I need to write to create the missing pieces.
And in my head, I have a few killer scenes from a film on Socrates. Of course, that's not the one I'm going to write. That one is too special. I'm keeping that for my third. So I'm writing my first screenplay--a romantic comedy that will never get made but one which I will write and re-write, using all the tips and tricks I find from the GITS community, until I can close my eyes, see the film, and get "the jolt". After that, who knows.

Simon at 2010-08-04 20:10:22:

Hi Scott, if you did come to Australia, you'd definitely need a week here, due to the size of the country and getting between capital cities (Australia is 10 times the size of Texas). And even then, what cities would you hold your seminars in? I saw Michael Hague did Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane one year, and then the next year dropped Brisbane...too small a city perhaps? McKee only did Sydney. I'd be keen to attend your seminar if you did come down under to OZ, whatever city you made it to.