A new article over on the Final Draft blog with five screenwriting takeaways from 2067 to draw on as you craft your own sci-fi scripts.
1. A compelling “what if” premise
2. A hook that keeps your audience wondering
3. Global and personal stakes tied together
4. A time travel explainer moment
5. An inevitable but surprising and satisfying conclusion
[read more on the Final Draft blog]
Image courtesy of RLJE Films
To give you a taste of what we’ll be working on (and give you a jump-start!) here’s the first step of the Make This Your Year to Write process:
We start first with reflection to establish the foundation of where you are right now.
This is important because most of us have a tendency to focus purely on the goals and resolutions we’re setting for the new year and what’s next, but skip over the realities of what’s happened for us over the last year and what our current writing life looks like. (And yes, this HAS been a highly unusual year, but there are still insights to be gained from what worked and what didn’t.)
Without learning from what is, we create a recipe for pie-in-the-sky goals we are less-than-likely to succeed with. And we want you to succeed, right?😉
So first, to begin this process, we’ll look at where you are right now, and where you’ve been, before we move on to what’s next.
I call this completing the year.
We’ll do this by answering a series of three simple questions:
First, we’ll start by having you look at what your writing has given you. What gifts has it brought to your life, and what opportunities?
While you consider this, think back over the preceding year, and also your writing career as a whole.
For example, when you think about the trajectory your writing career has taken, are you enjoying it? Are you happy with the track you’re on or feeling dissatisfied? What has being a writer brought to your life that you would not have otherwise had the opportunity to experience?
While you’re contemplating your relationship with your writing, also ask yourself, what are you most proud of?
Here again, look at both this current year and your writing career so far.
And please don’t be hard on yourself. If you have a hard time coming up with something you feel proud of, see where you can stretch your awareness. There is always something to be proud of, even if it’s something like, “I always kept my goal to be writing at the forefront of my mind.” Or, “I am crystal clear that writing must be a high priority for me in the next year.”
One of the biggest mistakes we tend to make as writers is to keep our eyes only on how much further there is to go, without remembering to take stock of what we have accomplished and completed.
We want you to examine what you accomplished, regardless of how big or small.
How many words, pages, books, scripts, blog posts, days of morning pages, queries, etc., did you write? What did you put out into the world with your writing? Are there intangible things you accomplished with your writing?
Take the time to look back over the last year and make notes about what you’ve accomplished.
If you don’t have any tangible progress, make some notes for yourself about what you DID do this year you feel proud of.
Here are your writing prompts for Step One, assembled in one place for your writerly convenience. Remember, you can write out your answers privately in a notebook or journal, or on this page in the comments section below — whatever feels and works best for you.
What has your writing given you over the last year? And in your writing career so far?
What are you most proud of? (This year and career, both.)
What did you accomplish with your writing over the last year? Make an inventory of your writing accomplishments.
A new article over on the Final Draft blog with five takeaways sci-fi screenwriters can draw on in their own scripts from Breach, a sci-fi space thriller in the vein of the original Alien and The Thing — but with a twist.
1. Sci-fi is a flexible ‘reality’ genre
2. Ordinary characters in extraordinary circumstances come with a built-in character arc
3. A-list actors lend credibility to a film
4. Tie the global stakes to personal stakes
5. Your title makes a promise to the audience
[read more on the Final Draft blog]
Photo courtesy of Saban Films
An article over on the Final Draft blog with writer-director Liam O’Donnell about how his film Skylines breaks barriers when it comes to writing sci-fi with heavy special effects for the big screen, and also bends a few trilogy story conventions as well. [read more on the Final Draft blog]
Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment
This week I’ve rounded up a collection of my favorite Called to Write articles for you, designed to inspire your writing life, offer guidance and support for times you might be feeling stuck or overwhelmed, and even help you stay on track with your writing during the coming holidays.
Enjoy!
“Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things”
While you might feel like you “should” be rested from staying at home so much this year, the truth is, this has been an exhausting, tumultuous, and difficult time, so giving yourself time to recover is important.
Here are two of my past favorite articles with suggestions about how to recover.
Here’s one of my favorite articles about when to write, and when to take it easy:
On a lighter note, when it comes to writing regularly, sometimes writers twist themselves into knots thinking they have to be writing “new words” every single day of the year.
My opinion? Not so.
Hint: This article will help you adjust your mindset about what “counts” as “real writing,” and is critical when it comes to setting goals and resolutions for the coming year.
Here are two articles designed to help you navigate these choppy waters and keep writing.
7 Mindset Perspectives to Motivate Your Writing — On the Final Draft Blog
Here are articles to bring holiday cheer and practical strategies to help you keep writing.
I hope you enjoyed this collection of articles and I’m wishing all the best to you and your writing in the coming days and weeks.