What Hollywood Will Tell You

by Stina Lindenblatt @StinaLL

@Stina Lindenblatt

Last month, I attended the Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference in Anaheim. What were the most popular sessions? Those conducted by screenwriters. No, writers weren’t attending the sessions because they hoped to write an academy winning screenplay or because they want to turn their novels into movies. They knew these individuals had the knowledge that could take the writers’ stories to a new level, when they applied the successful techniques employed by Hollywood. 

Most novelists study their craft by reading books on writing fiction. But don’t ignore books written for screenwriters. A popular one for both screenwriters and novelists is Save the Cat by Blake Synder. Not only does it provide a solid framework for structuring your story, the publisher (Michael Wise Productions) has an impressive list of books that will appeal to novelists, too. Topics range from story structure, subtext, symbolism, characterization, story lines. The best part is, they use examples from well known movies and TV shows. You don’t have to suffer through an excerpt taken out of context or spend hours reading the novel. You can easily watch the show or movie in a fraction of the time. Warning: after reading these screenwriting books, you’ll never watch a movie or TV show the same way again. And for that, I apologize. 

I’ve attended a number of workshops for fiction writers. Some are by novelists, others by screenwriters. The ones that had the most impact on me were those conducted by screenwriters, or those involved in making movies. Why? Because I’m a visual person. Novelists tend to read examples from their novels, and being the ADHD person that I am, my brain tends to wander. The author’s point is then lost on me. But with the screenwriters, they show clips from movies to prove their point. At the RWA nationals, I attended a session on The Six Layers of Characterization. The instructor explained the character-trait diamond for Helen Hunt’s character in As Good As It Gets. He then played a clip from the movie, while pointing out how she demonstrated those traits through dialogue, action, body language. It was a powerful example of characterization. 

As writers, we need to read. A lot. We read both in and out of our genre. We analyze stories, and figure out what we liked and didn’t like about them. You can do the same with movies and TV shows, and apply what you learned to your story. Fiction writers don’t have the benefit of music to create mood. Study other techniques used in a movie, in a similar vein to your story, which conveyed mood. Find a way to incorporate them into your writing. What kinds of symbols were used to reveal characterization and plot? Study how the actors portrays the characters. What kinds of physical details relating to the character or setting does the director zoom in on that adds power to the scene? Can you use some of those techniques in your story? 

In movies, the story is revealed through action and dialogue. There are no inner thoughts—most of the time. So how does the viewer get inside the actor’s head? Subtext. What do readers love? Subtext. Want to know how to do subtext well, then study movies. Analyze the difference between the great actors and the B-grade ones, then apply it your story to make it and your characters come to life. 

Don’t just watch a movie for its entertainment value. Watch it. Study it. Dissect it. Just like screenwriters do. 

Have you read any screenwriting books you recommend? Have you attended any screenwriting workshops even though you don’t plan to write a screenplay?

Stina Lindenblatt @StinaLL writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative.  

Making the Most of Writers' Workshops

Michael Hauge

Like most professionals, writers should always be seeking ways to expand their knowledge. This might be achieved through reading craft books that delve into your weakness (grammar, characterization, emotions), through feedback from your critique partner or group, or through workshops. The first two options are cheap (free), but workshops provide you with an experience that will raise your manuscript to a level beyond what the other two might provide—if you find the right workshops.

When searching for a workshop, there are several things you should consider:

1. Your goals

Before you select a course, you need to know what your goals are. It could be craft related, such as story structure. It could deal with social networking or marketing. Or it could pertain to research, such as a behavioral analysis of serial killers. Do you want a course that will provide feedback on excerpt from your novel? Most don’t do this, so if this is something of interest, contact the course provider and find out if the instructor is only providing lectures and an opportunity to ask questions, or if you will be asked to submit assignments for feedback. 

2. Location 

If you can’t travel or your schedule doesn’t permit you to attend a live workshop, online courses are a perfect solution. Some conferences (e.g. Romance Writers of America and Thrillfest) enable you to download for a minimal fee the audio from workshops. Not all workshops are available, but it’s a perfect option if you can’t attend the conference, or if two workshops you want to attend are offered at the same time.

3. Time

If you’re busy, you might want to select a course that is online, as previously mentioned, and allows you to be a lurker. Be realistic if you are expected hand in assignments. If you don’t have the time to do them, you might want to skip the class, unless you know you’ll still benefit as a lurker. 

Try not to get behind on the reading of the lecture material; otherwise, you’ll miss out on your chance to ask questions. There is nothing worse than finally reading the material two weeks after the course ends, only to discover you have tons of unanswered questions. If you’re going to be a lurker and there are assignments that get instructor feedback, DO read what the instructor had to say about each one. You’ll learn a lot from studying the comments. Even if you’re not lurking, check out the instructor’s feedback and comments on the other students’ assignments. It’s worth the effort. You might discover errors you constantly make, but which didn’t show up in the excerpts you submitted for feedback.

4. Reputation of the Instructor

This is where a little investigative research is required. If the instructor is Stephen King and he’s offering a workshop on writing horror and thrillers, well, what are you waiting for? Sign up now. If he’s instructing on writing erotica, you might want to pass. It could be an instructor has seen a boom with a certain genre and decided to offer a course on it. However, she might not have the necessary background, other than she’s read a few bestselling novels from the genre. If she’s published in the genre, then you can be assured she knows what she’s talking about. Better yet, read at least one of her novels to make sure she does know the subject. No point spending money on a course on characterization when you find her characters to be no thicker than cardboard. 

Another reason to do the investigation is to make sure you don’t end up with an instructor who doesn’t follow through on the course expectations. I was recently in a course in which the instructor constantly promised to post the latest lecture or provide feedback on assignments, but more often than not, it didn’t happen. Her feedback was brilliant, when she bothered to give it. Turns out, the instructor was notorious for not living up to her promises. 

Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to find out about an instructor’s reputation, even with the popularity of social networking. While bloggers gush about awesome instructors, they tend to avoid talking about the duds. If you belong to a writing organization, you might be able to post the question on a forum, and give individuals the opinion of contacting you offline. 

5. Cost

Cost does not equate to quality. I’ve spent over $250 for a course that was a major disappointment (not the aforementioned one), and $30 for one that was amazing. Both offered critiques, but the latter resulted in editor-quality line edits. The other didn’t. The latter had course material not found in a craft book. The former had course material that could be found in any book on writing young adult stories. 

Have you participated in any workshops? Did you find them to be of value? Do you have any other suggestions for getting the most out of your workshop experience?

Stina Lindenblatt writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative.  @stinall