Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is there. I'd love to answer questions and offer my help. It doesn't hurt to ask. Give me a try. If you don't care for my answers or help... there's no harm.
Have happy writing New Year and...just tell the story!
Oops! I've just learned that there's been a problem with my web page. It seems I can't receive comments or questions. What a bummer. The good news is that the issue should be resolved shortly so, if you have any thoughts please fire away.
In the mean time, someone recently asked me an excellent question about writing dialogue: When writing a character's dialogue what kinds of factors should be considered? There's not a simple answer to this question but (personally) I like to incorporate as many factors as I can when writing how a character might speak. Here are some things to consider: dialect, social class, ethnicity, sex, education, age, the time period you're writing in, physical or psychological issues, and personality. The list could be extended even further, but these are the factors I begin with.
DIALECT - This may be one of the most difficult elements to tackle when writing character dialogue. We have become such a mobile society that oftentimes our speech will vary simply because we've lived in so many different places. I'm also amused when someone tells me they have no accent. We ALL have accents, some are just a bit more subtle than others. I grew up in Kansas and was certain I spoke without an accent, but it wasn't true. And, by the way, someone from rural Kansas has a different speech pattern than someone raised in an urban setting in Kansas. (Yes, there are cities in Kansas.) Depending on what you're writing you don't need to be preoccupied with getting a dialect exactly correct, but a hint of a specific speech pattern can go a long way toward making a character sound more authentic.
SOCIAL CLASS - I should begin by saying I hate stereotypes; however, they exist. In my every day life I try to look at the individual. I don't always have that luxury when I'm writing. Unfortunately someone raised in poverty may not have been given the same educational opportunities as someone who comes from great wealth, and education can (and does) influence our speech. What I do like to do is to tweak this a bit to contradict the stereotype.
ETHNICITY - This can also be a sensitive area and stereotypes can again pop up. I suppose I consider myself a liberal or progressive (politically), but I try not to allow my personal values to influence my writing. My goal is to stay as true to my characters as possible and if that means a character speaks almost as a stereotype...so be it.
SEX - Yes, it's true, men and women speak differently. AND they speak differently when they're among one another than they might when they are amongst themselves. So, can men write for women and can women write for men? Absolutely. But be careful, guys...you might end up shaving your legs before you go to bed tonight.
EDUCATION - Our education clearly affects how we speak. Even what we've studied may influence how we talk. During my years of acting I took speech classes in an attempt to rid myself of my Kansas accent. I was relatively successful. Of course whenever I go back to visit family or friends I will often slip back into old speech patterns when I'm surrounded by the sounds of my youth.
AGE - This is definitely a huge factor in speech. Jargon changes with the times. Back in the sixties you could be "feelin' groovy". Say that today and you'll just sound like an old timer. There's a lyric to an old song where a group of women get together to gossip and the phrase used was..."dish with the girls." When I heard a young teenager confront a friend with..."don't you dis me." I was totally confused until I learned that "dis" was short for disrespect. There is one element of speech in our modern age of communication that I find distressing--text messaging. I'm terrified that language is being slowly and sadly eroded. Even my friends use it and I have to ask them not to. It simply takes me too long to decode all of the initials...OMG.
TIME PERIOD - When someone reads Shakespeare they often complain that he doesn't seem to be writing in English. Ah, but he was...it's just that English was spoken differently back in his day. And there was a time when contractions were not used that often. If you're writing a "period piece", do your research. How we speak constantly changes with the times.
PHYSICAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS - Does a character speak with a lisp? Do you want to write a character who has Tourette's Syndrome? Does your character hear voices or speak in tongues? Does your character stutter? One of the most fascinating things I ever heard was country/western singer Mel Tillis. When he spoke he had a distinct stutter. When he sang he had NO stutter. No there's an interesting character!
PERSONALITY - Someone who is incredibly shy might speak differently than someone who is outgoing. Our personality can be a major factor in how we speak.
I'm not suggesting you need be totally accurate when writing dialogue, but the more specific you are the stronger your material will be and it's more likely to pop off the page. Of course the most important element IS the story so, remember...just tell the story.
I've recently taken note of the fact that I've had approximately 150 visitors to my site. One of the reasons I wanted to have a blog on my web site was to allow for comments and questions. I didn't establish my web page solely for the purpose of making money. My biggest desire is to offer possible insights and suggestions that might help others with their writing.
I have been fortunate enough in my career to have had some wonderful mentors. I was able to renew one of those relationships this past week when I met with Larry Moss in San Francisco for dinner. Larry was in the city to conduct one of his wonderful acting seminars. Meeting with Larry reminded me of just how valuable getting great advice can be.
With the above in mind I want to encourage anyone who might visit my web page to share your thoughts, ideas, and questions with me. You may not agree with all of my suggestions and that's fine...even healthy, but don't be afraid to ask me anything you like regarding writing. Once I've shared my thoughts, feel free to use what you can and discard the rest.
Whether you ask for MY advice or not is really not relevant. What is important is that you not make the mistake I made early in my career. Out of the arrogance of youth I either refused advice or assumed I had all the answers. I was wrong. There was so much I had to learn and that I continue to learn. So, allow me to help you if I can or seek out the advice and council of someone you respect. You won't be sorry.
P.S. If you have the chance, go see the film "Everybody's Fine." It was a wonderful film, with some delightful surprises. It was also VERY smartly written. It could have easily become overly sentimental, but the writer didn't allow that to happen. There is one clever ploy in the script that I found very insightful regarding a certain kind of parent/child relationship. Rather than tell you what it was...go see the film yourself and tell me if you notice what I'm referring to. In the meantime...just tell the story.
Here's a quick tip for writing dialogue. Once you've completed a scene, go back through the scene and see how many of the questions can be turned into statements. This will do two very important things. First, it should create more conflict in the scene and, secondly, your scene should become more active. Oftentimes a scene with a lot of questions in it is just a lazy way for a writer to get information across to an audience. Unless you're writing some kind of court room drama or interrogation scene try to stay away from all of the questions. Try this little trick. I hope you'll be pleasantly surprised.
P.S. I received a little surprise of my own yesterday. One of my screenplays has been optioned so, there's always reason to hope...just tell the story.
Before diving into the topic of what medium your material might best be suited for a few words of caution. The question to ask yourself is: "How important is it that my material be honored?" If your answer is that you want what you've written to be respected and reproduced just as you've envisioned it then film is probably NOT where you want to take your work.
The temptation is to be drawn to film writing because of the stories of large sums of money waiting at the end of the rainbow. While it's undoubtedly true that film writing can be financially rewarding it's also important to be reminded that the odds of "hitting it big" in this part of the industry are almost as long as buying a lottery ticket and expecting to retire on your winnings. An old rule of thumb for actors used to be, for every one hundred auditions you went on, if you got one job, you were doing well. Those odds are probably even greater in terms of selling a script to a studio or production company.
So...should you write a screenplay? Yes, if it's what you have a passion to do and if you're willing to give up your vision once your script is bought. And, you might get lucky. A smart producer or director would probably be well served to honor the writer's initial concept, but that happens on rare occasions. A legendary example of a producer/director sticking with the script he first read and fell in love with is Clint Eastwood. The story has it that Eastwood did not change a comma in the script for "Million Dollar Baby"--an academy award winning film.
What's the value of writing for the theatre? It's simple (if this sort of thing matters to you): In the theatre the writer is king. Most theatres WANT writers present, and actors or directors will not change an "and" to an "or" without first getting the writer's approval. Certainly rewrites may be required and requested, but the writer almost always has the final say on what is put on the stage. You'll probably never get rich writing for the theatre, but if you're writing just to make money there are faster and easier ways to make your fortune. Robbery comes to mind. Or perhaps working on Wall Street. (Oops, aren't those two things synonymous?)
Okay, you've got this terrific story, but you're not sure if it's best suited for stage or film. How do you decide? Ask and answer the following set of questions.
1. Is my idea primarily character driven or mostly story driven? While these two elements are obviously intertwined, oftentimes one will be more important than the other. If you think your piece is primarily written to tell character stories, it's probably a good indication that you may have a play in mind.
2. Do my characters want to talk (A LOT) to one another? Generally speaking, a scene in a film is only about three to four pages in length. In other words, there's not a great deal of talking or (if there is) the characters are on the move. There is a movie ("Before Sunset") in which two characters spend the entire film talking. But, while the characters talk, they move through the streets of Paris. Could this film have been a play? Perhaps, but in some way Paris helps tell the story. So, as a general rule, if you want your characters to talk a great deal...put them on the stage.
3. Can my story be told in one place or does it require multiple settings? Multiple settings might also involve time travel. Your piece may follow a character through their life, which means not just multiple set pieces, but also major era changes. Multiple settings and set pieces probably means you've got a screenplay on you hands.
4. Which would be more effective in my story--showing the sun setting or having a character describe the sunset? Sometimes an audience wants to let their imaginations do the work. When I was a child I remember lying in bed at night listening to"The Shadow." It was a joy to let my mind paint all the pictures. When a film version of "The Shadow" was finally made I was very disappointed. It wasn't how I had pictured it. On the other hand, folks who never heard the old radio show might have found the film entertaining. In this case, you decide what you think is best for your story.
5. Are there a lot of action scenes that need to be seen and recreated or could the audience become just as involved hearing a character describe the action? Don't be too quick to assume that an action sequence is most effective when it's seen. One of my favorite moments in the theatre was in a play called: A Trip Back Down. The play is about the life of race car drivers. Even the topic would seem to lend itself to film; yet, it was a wonderful play. One of the most moving (and amusing) moments in the play was when a young man recreated (in a monologue) his neglectful father losing an important car race. The night I saw the play, the audience broke into spontaneous applause when the young man finished describing his father's loss.
6. Does your story demand a live audience? Some stories are richer when presented to a live audience, which can become like an additional character in a play. There is a particular energy that comes in the theatre from performing in front of a live audience. If you want that extra character (the audience) write for the theatre. It can be an exhilarating experience. One which can rarely be recreated at the movies.
A final note: Television writing can be a bit of a hybrid. If you're writing for sit-coms or soap operas it's unlikely that your script will require multiple sets AND your characters will probably do a bit more chatting with one another. The reason is simple--most TV shows are shot on a sound stage, with the exception of night time dramas. And even night time dramas don't stray too far from the studio lot.
Occasionally there can be crossover scripts, but almost always the scripts must be re-configured for the meduim they are meant for. It's more likely that a play can be converted to a screenplay then vice versa. (Another reason to consider starting with the play format.) Whatever choice you make, be true to yourself and just tell the story...everything else will take care of itself.
I hope this will be the beginning of many posts. So...let me begin by saying, I'm not a big fan of the word "expert." I'm not even sure such a person exists. I prefer the term professional. That's what I hope I have become and that I am continuing to grow into. What I have to offer are my opinions, my ideas, and my help--whenever it's sought. I have been fortunate in my life to have had many wonderful mentors and I feel an obligation to pass along what I have learned at the feet of others. I'm sure there will be those who will disagree with some of my suggestions and advice. I WELCOME disagreements. All I hope for is that, when our opinions vary, we try to keep our discourse civil.
One of the most often asked questions I hear is: "What should I write?" Or, more commonly: "What is the market looking for?" I find the second question the most troubling. I truly believe it's dangerous to try to write for "the market," primarily because the market is always fluid and the chances are (by the time you've finished your script) whatever you've written will no longer be "good" for the market. Which takes me to the first question: "What should I write?"
I have two answers: Write what you have a passion to write and write what you know.
Write what you have a passion to write. If you do this you'll find writing to be much more joyous. You won't be consumed with anxiety about making your writing marketable or sellable. And, perhaps the biggest surprise of all may be that when you write about something you care about it will find a market--as long as it's your best wrting.
Write what you know. I recently had a discussion with a fellow writer about this piece of advice. His feeling was that he didn't want to write about "the things he knew." He chose to write in order to escape his experiences and to have the adventure of researching and exploring subjects he knew nothing or little about. There was nothing wrong with my friend's point of view and, after a time, I realized that we were in agreement. First, when I say "write what you know" I'm primarily speaking to first time writers. But, even the seasoned professional, writes what they know in the sense that ALL writing is flavored by our personal opinions and perspectives. Even the news reporter (who is supposed to write objectively) slants his articles from his personal experiences and points of view. As proof of my point, listen to or read the same news story from a variety of sources.
In my next post I hope I can help (those of you interested) answer another big question: Should I be writing a play or a screenplay? Yikes. Now...that's a big one.
I will be posting here from time to time about the craft of writing stage plays and screenplays. Feel free to ask whatever questions you want. We will figure out how to just tell the story.
And it was good.