An old article of mine “The Six Deadly Script Sins” has recently resurfaced,  and some of the comments were that writers wanted less about the do’s and don’ts of “presenting” your script to agents / prod co’s  for consideration, but rather they wanted to know about the do’s and don’ts of writing. So, here are my newest Six Deadly Script Sins, only these are about the craft of screenwriting, not the submission process.

1) Have one ending – Jaws ends beautifully.

The end. There’s no more, just one end. There is no need for a tag, and then a tag’s tag, and then a button on the end of the final tag. Just decide what the end of your movie is and commit to it. It’s exhausting trying to navigate more than one proper conclusion. It also makes you seem indecisive and amateurish as a writer.

2) Have an active protagonist – You character should always be doing something. They have to be the catalyst that propels the story forward. Allowing supplemental characters to cause havoc surrounding the main character is good story development and excellent to add plot complications, but you can’t rest on that alone. Set up your protagonist with a singular goal from the outset and have him work towards achieving it the whole script. It will give your protagonist interesting depth as well as create a built in plot device. Also try a MacGuffin if that better suits your needs.

3) If you don’t outline you’ll die. Well not really, but it is serious. Always. Always. Even if by the end of your first draft you’ve completely gone another direction, write the outline anyway. It’s good homework for you to know what the story is. It’s important that you, the writer, understand the full breadth of your characters and the over arching story. An outline is a horrible, tedious thing, but it’s good for you. It’s the brussel sprouts of writing. Just eat them and shut up.

4) Stop worrying about the writing and start worrying about the content. Yes your script should be well written. It should be properly formatted and in the correct font. But that isn’t the end. Your script needs to be concise, visual and above all convey a complete story. Spend less time worrying about how beautifully your action passages read, and think more about the content. You’ll find that you’ll feel less stressed when you realize pretty prose is for novels.

5) Don’t be vanilla. Yes, 90% of movies have the same beats and structure. I know you’re all “But my script…” yeah yeah, no. Your script is the same basic structure as everyone else’s whether you choose to believe it or not. It’s not that your story isn’t special, it’s just that there’s everyone else in the world with a story in their heart that probably touches on some similar beats. What will make you stand out are the details. A utilitarian scene is often necessary to give information or move the story along. That is the perfect time to add weird, quirky details if it’s a comedy. Throw in extra layers to your joke by building in visual references to complement your dialogue. That way you’re effectively hiding the fact that you need this scene to move from A-B, but at least it was interesting and unexpected. That way you’re getting more bang for your buck. I love when you get more for your money. Add the details. It’s worth your time.

6) You’re not Tarantino. You’re not Diablo Cody. You’re not either Gilmore Girl. I don’t care how cool your friends think you are. I don’t care that you once waited on Jane Lynch while you were a cashier  at a Bookstar. You are you and as such you are special. Quit trying to write preciously clever dialogue that is pervasive throughout your whole script. If you have one mouthy teenager who says the coolest, hippest street ever. Awesome. Give her her own voice. She deserves it. But if mouthy teen’s mom, the green grocer, and an alien from Neptune all have the same patois, it grows immediately tiresome. Find a voice unique to each character. Allow each character to be rich and full. Don’t make them spew semi-cool dialogue out of every pore just so you, as a writer, can seem relevant. It’s just totes, lame peeps.

There’s tons more. As I think of them or as people comment I can certainly write more and expand on this as requested.

The last time I wrote a feature script, it was 5 years ago. I wrote an outline. I sat down and stuck to it. 10 days later I had written exactly the movie I outlined. I had produced 101 brand-spankin’-new script pages. It was cute. I was very pleased with myself.

The logline: An upscale NYC chef returns to Montana to open a restaurant, after she is publicly dumped and fired by her celebrity chef boyfriend.

It was all feelings, and quips, and beautiful food imagery. The characters were a little cloying, but on the whole it was charming. And it got good traction. Good enough traction, in fact, that along with some of my other specs, I started getting serious TV work.

Where’s the drama in this chain of events? Here’s the drame: after writing for television for 5 years, it was super difficult to around and remember how to write a feature script. Television is its own animal. Shows have to maintain consistency. They have to keep your favorite characters occupied for 22 to 44 minutes a week. And don’t forget act breaks, teaser and a tag. But just like Mr. T probably wouldn’t miss an A-Team mission to babysit, you have to make sure you stay true to the show before anything else. (p.s. this episode did not air… but it could’ve on “A-Team: Babies.”)

In TV, you basically have the creative freedom to do what ever you want, provided it fits within the pre-established confines of the show, such as characters, locations, plot points and the world in which they live. The show “mythos” is already establish. You are merely responsible for the machinations of the plot and clever character quips. That’s writing for television. It’s like an open book test.

When I was a kid, I loved to color but while my work was always beautiful and creative and interesting, it was always inside the lines. I wouldn’t cross those thick black lines with my crayons, not even at gun point. Writing for television is getting a coloring book page, and being told “You can be as creative as you like, provided you stay within the lines.”

Take a look at series bibles (here’s a pdf link to the series bible for Batman: The Animated Series) and you’ll see. The show runners have already fleshed out the world in vivid detail. They’ve given you some basic premises to give you a sense of what to pitch. And at the outset, a writer receives the character bios, the plot points they’re looking to hit,  and any other materials required to immerse yourself in a pre-established world.

Back to feature writing. So, 5 years go by and I have no movie ideas, until recently. As it’s not done yet, I still have 18 days to finish 50 pages (I’m feeling good about it) I’m not divulging any of my current Script Frenzy script secrets other than to say, it’s a comedy and well within my skill set. That being said, this has been the hardest “writing assignment” I’ve ever had!

I wrote my outline like I always had. An outline is an outline is an outline. It should always be basically the same, no matter what form or genre you’re writing. It should have broad strokes, and enough detail to keep you writing swiftly, a fully fleshed beginning, middle and end. You outline should cover basically every scene in the script, what happens, what is learned and then on to the next. So, I had one.

Then I started writing. The first 10 pages were like being constipated after eating fondue; uncomfortable! I was rigid and I wrote to the outline but it just laid there, flat and plain. There was no pizzazz, no sparkle, no Xandy. I had left myself no wiggle room to imagine, no creative freedom to try the unexplored. I knew my idea was good, in fact it’s already been pitched and there’s interest. I realized I was doing this all to myself because I was trapped in the boob tube.

This went on for a couple of days, until I found myself with my friend Merrel (he’s my story analyst) and I told him about my problem. He had read the outline already, so he was familiar with the work.

Merrel took one look at what I had written and said, “Quit writing for TV. Get out of the box of TV. You’re allowed to do whatever you want when writing movies. It’s not like you have to do what someone else wants. Do what you want.”

I’m sorry, do what I want what now? It was crazy. No one ever says “Do what you want. If people actually said that, everyone would be eating Oreos for breakfast, and there wouldn’t be a need to legalize marijuana. But in this case, he was exactly right.

Just to be really clear, it’s not like he gave me permission to go rob banks and shoot danger in my arm and completely ignore all the writing rules and regs and allow me to turn into the E.B. White of screenwriting. No. It’s more like he gave me permission to break the walls, within my established framework and construction. He helped me see that while I already had excellent, rigid structure in place, I didn’t need to keep my creativity in check while writing. That was allowed to roam free.

So, thanks largely to my story analyst, I’m now 52 pages along and the script is much funnier! Before it has the dynamism of cardboard, and now, it actually feels like a proper movie. I actively, like a new mantra, have to keep reminding myself that I don’t need to stay within someone else’s arbitrary rules.  I can color outside of the lines. I can create and invent anything. The only limit is me. And that’s a pretty awesome place to be.

While I won’t be eating oreos for breakfast, I am going to bake a lemon cake for dessert. It’s nice being able to do whatever you want!

Something happened to me this year that hasn’t happened in last five; I had a bunch of movie ideas. Up until recently, I was  so focused on television writing, working in television and working with other writers on their movies, that I hadn’t written one myself in five years. I am rusty to say the least. So, when I found myself with six viable movie ideas and a dull instrument I was nervous.

I have spent the better part of the last three months, procrastinating, but then I learned about Script Frenzy. It’s an effort to get screenwriters writing, by giving themselves 30 days to produce 100 original pages of a new movie. And that seemed like the perfect challenge to me.

I am not a joiner. I do not like doing things in packs. But there was something different about this challenge. This wasn’t like Weight Watchers, where everyone had to know all of your business in order to keep you accountable. I’m already accountable. I know when I’m behaving badly. That isn’t necessarily a deterrent. So, I needed something to give me the motivation to go for it, but not the oppressive pressure usually involved in group activities.

Enter Script Frenzy; the solution to what ailed me. It forced me to finish my outline before the April 1st, start date. It has given me a goal to strive for, and a non-self-imposed deadline, which I so terribly needed. But the first 5 days, haven’t been all moonlight and roses. There have been some hurdles.

I didn’t manage to finish my outline in time for the deadline. I know,I know!! I feel terrible about it. However, I’m glad I didn’t start before my outline was done. Because even though I waited until today, I still had some problems with the outline and it’s causing me grief. I felt alone, and like a failure, and like the worst writer in the universe! That’s a big statement, but it’s true. I felt low.

I tweeted about my feelings, and the outpouring of support I’ve received has been unbelievable. Everyone is also feeling insecure, they’re undertaking something as huge as me and they’re also scared. They’re worried about their protagonists as much as me and it was so amazing realizing that I wasn’t alone in my writer’s fear. It’s been fantastic knowing the other #scriptfrenzy participants on Twitter. They have given me the strength I needed to persevere and I managed to write 10 of the 16 pages I needed to write today to get back on track with the time line.

And, instead of hopping on my gerbil wheel and making myself crazy, I am doing as my #scriptfrenzy friends on twitter suggested. Write some extra pages per day and I’ll make up for my slow start in no time. Stay tuned for further updates, as I progress throughout the month.

Yesterday, I had the delightful pleasure of being a guest on #scriptchat’s professional reader’s panel, on Twitter, and my fingers have only just cooled down from all that speed typing!! It was amazing how many questions everyone had and how fast they all came! What an amazingly inquisitive bunch of writers!!

I found that the scriptchatters had a lot of similar questions. These were the most common. What do professional readers look for in a script? How many pages in before I know I want to pass? Why is working with a professional important? / What should I expect to get out of my coverage experience?  I figured I would take the time now, to answer those three questions again in a little more detail than the 140 characters Twitter afforded me. Here are my answers:

Q: What do I look for in a script?: This question could be both literal and metaphorical, so here’s both answers. I check to make sure that the script is properly formatted, that the font is correct, that the cover page appears professional –all sorts of critical minutia. After my “white glove” inspection, I start reading. While I am reading, I look for concise, breezily written action passages. I look for fully realized characters. I look for a complete story filled with appropriate structure and act breaks. And finally, I look for typos.

Q: How many pages in before I know I want to pass?: I know on page one, if this is going to be a script that I will be engaged by or one that is going to be an uphill battle. I’ve read enough scripts in my career to know which writers will tell a compelling story and which ones won’t. Very rarely am I surprised past page 1. But when I am that’s great! That’s why I keep reading.

Q: Why is working with a professional important? / What should I expect to get out of my coverage experience? A story analyst much like a personal trainer or a therapist, is there to tell you what to do to get you healthy, not do the work for you. Why you want a story analyst, is exactly why you want a trainer or a therapist; you have things that are bothering you and you need some help fixing them. Your reader will ideally provide you timely, unbiased notes, which are constructive, a path to resolve whatever problems are found, and an open line of communication to discuss everything. While you might get a lot of those things with a friend, a friend isn’t a pro… unless your friend is a pro and then by all means, enslave them. However, if you are not friends with a professional story analyst, it’s wise to seek out help before you start submitting. A pro will be able to spot industry standards that your friends might overlook. Also, friends and family tend to love or hate whatever you write simply because you wrote it. And while that loyalty is super adorable, a pro is going to tell you like it is, always. And isn’t that really why you’re there to being with?

Ultimately I feel like a reader / writer relationship is one based on trust. Like any therapist or trainer, a reader is privy to the writer’s deepest, most personal feelings of self-consciousness and with that comes great responsibility for your pro. You and your reader should agree to the terms prior to starting to read. You should know exactly what services you’re getting and make sure that your needs are met. If you don’t want a synopsis but they’re included, speak up. If you need your script expedited, speak up. The clearer you are with your needs, the easier it is to have them met.

Should you ever have an issue with your reader, which shouldn’t ever happen since you took such care in selecting them, you should be able to explain your point of view, and allow the reader to work with you to find some sort of solution. We’re writers too, for the most part. We understand how tough it is to get notes. It’s exhausting, but it’s a necessary part of a writer’s growth. So, figure it all out in advance, go into it with an open heart, hear what the reader has to say, and work on a plan of attack together. That’s the best way to make the most of your time with your story analyst.

One of the other panelists from #scriptchat was Merrel Davis, my story analyst. He has the tough job of keeping my writing on the straight and narrow and making sure that I don’t get testy while hearing his notes. Hey, it’s a tough gig, but someone has to do it! He and I have shared clients in the past, someone comes to me and him at the same time, gets two sets of notes, but no way to reconcile them. Merrel and I thought, like so much an infomercial, that there had to be a better way!

I’m so thrilled to announce that I will be partnering up with Merrel Davis, my good friend and colleague, to bring a REVOLUTIONARY NEW SERVICE TO YOU! We’re calling it: “DOUBLE FEATURE.”

We offer two professional story analysts working on your project, at the same time, and then collaborating together to help you get the most out of your development experience. We plan to offer this amazing service to both screenwriters and novelists of every genre. This service is the first of its kind. There are NO OTHER SERVICES QUITE LIKE IT.

Merrel and I share a passion for story development and a keen eye in which to help writers push through to reach their goals. I chose Merrel to partner with for this project, because we share the belief that it’s essential for writers to trust their story analysts, be able to get what they need in order to grow, and he has the same no-nonsense approach that I look for when I hire a reader to review my work. I felt, without question, he was the right person to bring on board.

So, Merrel welcome to CoverMyScript.com! And to all of you, please check out the #scriptchat transcript for the other panelist’s answers. And  I can’t wait to see you, at the “Double Feature.”

Hi everyone,

Just a head’s up, Thursday, March 25th, I am sponsoring Screenwriter Karaoke!!

Screenwriter Karaoke is a free monthly networking event hosted by my friend and colleague Merrel Davis at Sardo’s Bar and Grill. It’s a great chance to come out, have a few drinks, meet some fellow screenwriters and possibly win some prizes. I am donating FREE COVERAGE to one lucky participant; that’s a $175 value all for the price of a song. Other giveaway prizes include offerings from Twin J’s and Ravengloss Studios. If you’ve become a shut-in with your 80th draft, now might be the best time ever, to leave the house and croon the night away with people who get you.

Also, for all of you folks on Twitter, I will be a guest on Sunday, March 28th’s Scriptchat’.

They are having a professional reader’s panel, with several other impressive guests and have asked me to participate. If you have coverage / development / writing questions, that’s the best time to get some free answers from a panel that really knows their stuff! To join in, just log on to Twitter and do a search for #scriptchat. To learn more about Scriptchat go to Facebook, Ning, Google Wave, or Twibe. You can follow me on Twitter @covermyscript for the event, or at #scriptchat. Thanks to @jeannevb, @zacsanford, @yeah_write, and @kageynyc for having me. I’m very excited to participate in some #scriptchat #worlddomination!!

So, that’s what’s going on for the rest of the month. I look forward to meeting you all in person at Screenwriter Karaoke, and hope to see you all on the interwebs for Scriptchat! Until then, xox X

I’ve been watching The Young and the Restless since before I was born. How is that possible, you ask? My mother watched it while pregnant with me. I know that’s a cheap one, but it counts. I’ve been actively watching it since my birth. How many shows, other than the news, can you say that about?

I watched it my entire childhood. I tuned in throughout my teen years, on those rare occasions when I could convince my parents I was indeed bleeding from my eyes, so I could stay home from school.

When I went to college, I started watching every day. I hadn’t missed a single episode until this past November 2009. On November 30^th, Y&R went dark in my house for the first time in my life. It’s been hard on me. Y&R has moved on, but I have not.

I should’ve seen it coming, and even though it was my idea to end our relationship, that doesn’t mean that I’m not grieving. In fact, being apart is almost harder than it was when we were together. I find myself wondering, in the middle of the day, around 11:30am, what Y&R is doing. I wonder if my Genoa City friends are okay, left in the hands of a revolving door writing staff who don’t know the characters past a couple of seasons.

It reminds me of something that happened to me at a WGA function last week. I met a writer staffed on a reboot animation franchise (I can’t say which one, but it was a big one with a flop live action movie.) The offending thing was, while lovely and presumably talented, he didn’t know the history of the show he was working on. He wasn’t a fan. He had never seen or connected to the original incarnation. But like a competent journeyman writer, he cranked out satisfactory scripts regardless of his project knowledge; they had to be good to impress their difficult and demanding Executive Producer.

The thing is this happens. I’m no civilian. I should know better. I know that the turnover a writing staff is. To expect every new staffer to know everything about every character ever in a 35 year history, is fairly ridiculous of me. But in the same way I was so appalled by the TV writer who had never seen the show he was remaking, I was furious with the Y&R staff.

I know who Sharon Newman is, and she is not how the writers have been crafting her. She’s done a total 180 degree turn as a character, and not in a positive, growing sort of way. The writers have lost the real essence of Sharon, what really makes her a character you love, and instead, they’re presenting us a Sharon imposter… which might not have been a bad plotline, but turns out to be the death knell for me as a viewer.

Then about 5 years ago, the show took a strange turn. Concerned that the audience was getting bored with the tried and true Y&R, they decided to make it glamorous, more daring, more like a nighttime soap. That’s the beginning of the end for me.

Y&R has been suffering a snowball effect of bad writing since then. The nighttime soap idea was a disaster. Y&R had their lowest ratings ever. Then there was the writer’s strike. More viewers lost. Then there was the interim staff who just kept things humming, but Y&R was clearly out of tune.

Then, two years ago, like a shining beacon of hope, a Bell was back in charge of Y&R. Maria Arena Bell, the series creators’ granddaughter, was now helming and she was going to reestablish the show and restore it to her grandparents’ legacy. At least that was the hope. CBS was behind her and seeing the Bell name at the top of the show, post credit sequence, was oddly comforting. While we had a bad, mean babysitter looking after us for a while, it almost felt like Mommy had come home from dinner.

And then, things went weird in the writers’ room. The 35 year history of Genoa City was rewritten, character backstory was thrown to the wind. It was like they were bizzaro world clones of their former selves. They did the old plot standards: a murder, a court case, mistaken identity, baby switching, but all the plotlines were ruthlessly dark, bizarre, and seemingly angry without any payoff. There was no pleasure in watching these characters.

My eyes and brain were tired of being assaulted. I have loved these people, the citizens of Genoa City, my entire life. I remember a lot of what’s happened to them over the years. But at some point, when the writing is so bad, when the characters no longer make sense, when everything they do is so improbable that you’re embarrassed for the people who make the thing you love, you have to tap out. And that’s what I did.

On November 30^th, I finally had enough. Wednesdays are usually boring on a soap. Something minor happens, to move towards the exciting Friday cliff hanger, but nothing too noteworthy occurs. On this Wednesday, an art theft case was wrapping up; another murder no one cared about was solved. Amber, a blonde bimbo with a sweet side and a penchant for trouble, was finally united with Daniel, her true love (for that hour anyway), but then she was forced to marry this other guy to save him. Would she, wouldn’t she? It had taken maybe 6 months for me to finally say, no more. Daniel, Amber, I just don’t care anymore.

But like a partner, with whom you shared a deep and profound long-lasting love, you miss the nearness of them, the comfort they provide, even if the relationship is abusive.

I will forever miss The Young and the Restless. But, I’ve moved on to new lovers. I’m seeing some really nice celebrity chefs right now, and I’m hanging out a lot over at with “Horrible People.” I’m pretty sure I’m going to be okay.

I just have one thing left to say.

Young and the Restless: You were my first, and as that, you’ll always have a place in my heart, even if we can’t be together. But just know, Y&R, and all the good people of Genoa City, I miss you now and I’ll miss you forever.

When I was 8, my step-mother, concerned that the 10 hours a day of television I was consuming was probably too many, made a declaration: only 8 hours a day. That meant that I had to choose what to watch, not just watch everything that was on! Well, Godbless her for trying, but it didn’t work. I grew up to be a TV writing TV junkie.

Yes folks, I write television and I watch television and that’s how it should be. Writers should know what is out there, what works, what shows are thriving and why. Also, I haven’t ever had a pitch meeting that didn’t start with “What are you watching, Xandy?” I’m never at a loss for an answer and it always works as an easy ice breaker. When you watch or know something about everything on TV, chances are, you’re watching one show the development exec is watching.

I didn’t watch TV as much as I consumed it, like every book I read (1000’s), and from every episode of Love Boat I watched, I learned a little something about story structure and character development. It’s surprising but true. Think of it as an apprenticeship; TV taught me to write. But, TV was totally in charge; telling me what to watch and when to watch it. Then I discovered that my beloved Tivo was in cahoots with TV; pushing me around telling me stuff was being deleted and that I had to hurry up and watch. I had become a slave to my truest love, and I was growing to resent it.

I, the ambassador to TV Junkie Town, decided I was fed up with how television was treating me…  So I started an experiment; can a TV Junkie not actually watch a television and still view all of their favorite and new shows on the internet? And to begin this 2 month journey I took an unthinkable step. I canceled cable.

How is life without TV during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years? Strangely adequate. Granted, I didn’t get my local programming, or Thanksgiving Day parade, but it turns out, the internet rocks! Who knew?! Everything I ever wanted to see and more from official youtube channels to network websites, is up, available and ready for my compulsive viewing pleasure.

How does this saucy writer fill her internet TV Days? Here’s what I’m watching:

Peep Show

No, it’s not dirty, it’s the best British comedy you’re likely not watching. It’s an “Odd Couple” show with quirky POV camera work and Voice Over. Mark and Jeremy are best mates from college who are still sharing a London flat well into their 30’s and while Mark is stiff, uptight and generally a rule follower, Jeremy is the total opposite: a rock god in his own mind. This comedy is dark, hilarious and altogether the best show you’re probably not watching. Peep Show “I fucking love you!”

Hell’s Kitchen

I love Hell’s Kitchen. Gordo is so totally my boyfriend. He’s only got about 60 shows currently on all over the world so, so between Fox and BBC, they’ve got me covered on all the streaming screaming from his hot kitchens and it’s so wonderful. I have also been able to catch some Kitchen Nightmares, The F Word and some hour-long Cookalong Live deal. Oh Gordo, I just can’t get enough of your furrowed brow, and thanks to the internet, I can order you up for delivery. Ahh,  instant gratification tastes so good.

South Park

Okay, I have a lot of boyfriends. I love Trey Parker too. I told you I’m a junkie; I get around. Truthfully, South Park is simply just excellent TV. Trey Parker knocks out those scripts in a week, then they have like three minutes before it has to air to animate it. I am impressed with what they have accomplished and I revere him as a screenwriter. His episodes are not only topical and timely but also brilliantly well written. At South Park Studios, you can watch all of the new episodes as well as any from the prior 14 seasons. There’s nothing better than going down to South Park, to have myself a time. And now I can do it from anywhere. It’s awesome.

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

The series’ fictional premise: in the 1980s, best-selling horror author Garth Marenghi and his publisher/publicist, Dean Learner, made their own low-budget television series. It was bad, really bad. If you like incredibly quirky and meta shows, check it, Dark Place “from your bean bag chair, if that’s how you choose to live your life,” and watch “the greatest televisual event since Quantum Leap” and I don’t say that lightly.

The Tonight Show

I mentioned that it’s hard sometimes with current events to watch as things are airing live, and that’s true but I managed to see Conan’s last show before it aired in LA. The second the east coast airing was done, Gawker.tv had it up and ready for streaming. The quality was excellent and it was segmented so I could jump around. It wasn’t live, but even if I still had TV, I probably would’ve watched it when I got up or a day later anyway, so this totally worked out. Now the full last episode is up on Hulu.com, where you can watch it in its entirety.

In terms of animation, I’m watching all the same stuff I was watching before, Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, American Dad except I’m now watching them all on Hulu.com. There’s a couple of commercials but nothing egregious, the video quality is excellent and they have the current 5 episodes up there at all times. Some older shows have more. It’s not the greatest, if I want to see something old, but between Hulu.com and AdultSwim.com, they got me covered.

Adult Swim also has their entire Sunday Night Stoner Lineup online for viewing. Metalocolypse, The Venture Brothers, Robot Chicken. They’re all on there, as well as King of the Hill if you’re looking for gentle bedtime programming.

For a blast from the past, I decided to watch all of the Night Gallery episodes. There’s four seasons up on Hulu, but they’re mostly terrible. Rod Serling is my hero and my God and I have to support his work, even if most of it is dreadful. But it’s campy and sometimes cool, so check them out. I also watched all of The Twilight Zone episodes available, but they’re limited on CBS.com. I’ve seen them all 1000 times, but I still love to hear Burgess Meredith scream “But there was time now!”

Just so I don’t loose touch with my reality TV series, I watch The Soup. Joel McHale gives me the best 22 minutes of gut-busting laughter ever. The only bad part of the show is when it’s over. The player is a little buggy, but the show is so funny, it’s totally worth any hassle.

So, here I am, three months with no cable and I have to say, I don’t miss it. I feel satisfied that I’m watching everything I want to be watching and anything I forget about, I’m probably not missing anyway.

Sometimes it’s boring watching movie after movie, and being online doesn’t give off the same energy as watching TV. TV has a repetitive rhythm that I have come to find soothing after all these years, but with all of my favorite series up online, plus a dirth of other video entertainment consumables, there’s enough going on to keep my eyeballs busy until eternity.

Why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free? So long, cable!

Recently, I was interviewed on getting started screenwriting in Hollywood at All Freelance Writing.com. Here is a link to the article where I candidly share how I got my start and helpful tips on how to get started yourself. I sincerely hope you enjoy and find this interview resourceful and a fun read.

At least once a month, I get the same call from my father. It goes basically like this:

Dad: “I was (insert place here) and I saw (insert thing here) and it gave me a great idea for a show (insert high-concept show here). What do you think?”

Me: “Well, that’s great, but what’s the show about? Like what happens from week to week? What am I to expect out of this as a series (or movie)? Who do you see this appealing to? What’s the format you anticipate? Is it a serialized show or is it episodic?”

Dad: “I don’t know. I’m not a writer. Hey, so can you write me up a couple ‘a pages on that? K, thanks. Love you, bye!”

And so of course I mull over his high-concept idea and see if it has legs. Can it stand up week after week? Is there enough action and drama to further the story along to make it consistently compelling? Will the characters be rich enough with multi-dimensional pathos to sustain multiple seasons, if we’re even given such an amazing opportunity? And sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t, but what never changes is that I always have to ask all the questions of his notion to make sure that it will stand up to the inevitable scrutiny.

A notion is really only that, a flicker of an idea. It is the genesis of the story. So, for example, if I suddenly decided I wanted a popsicle, which is a very likely occurrence, that’s a notion. But thinking about the basic steps it’s going to take me to get that delicious popsicle out of its wrapper and into my mouth, is turning it into a concept. Thinking through each step more deeply, thinking of the challenges I might face, what if I’m out of popsicles, what if I die between the bedroom and the kitchen, what if scary ninjas with silver throwing stars, break in and toss them at me, anchoring me, immobile, to a wall mere inches away from the freezer? What then? Well, that’s an idea.

In screenwriting, a fact my father refuses to acknowledge, you need to know where you’re going at all times. You need to know where the character is going, because you’re their tour guide. You wouldn’t follow me with no supplies into the Amazon jungle merely because I said, “I think The Banana Republic Outlet is to the left.” You’d want to know my plan. What is my agenda? How will I accomplish my goal? What are you to expect from the journey? Taking your notion and developing it into a solid idea takes planning and plotting.

So starting with your notion, we’ll go through the steps about how to take your flicker of an idea and turn it into an actual idea. I’ll use a story I’ve previously used as an example “The taxi driver on his way to his daughter’s recital when he gets sidetracked by the mob. Will he make it to the recital by 3?” That’s its official working title. Catchy, no?

When I wrote this story for the first article, all I had was an image of a white, mid-40’s man (really the way I see Bruce Willis in my mind when I close my eyes and look at him through my heart) driving a taxi backwards through an alley at high speeds, a key of coke sliding around his back seat, covered in blood, and a dead mobster in the back. So I thought, hmm, a movie about a taxi driver, that isn’t Taxi Driver. Okay. But that’s it. That’s all I had. I had a key of coke, a dead mobster, a taxi driver and a backwards car chase through an alley. That’s more of a notion than my father has ever given me.

As I continued to write the article, I needed more details to illustrate another point. So, I went for it. I fleshed out my notion into a concept. I gave him a mission, I gave him obstacles, I gave him a ticking clock to build in suspense, I gave him peripheral characters to make his life more-well rounded. I gave him some depth. And it became this concept: “A taxi driver is on the run from the mob, after one mobster is whacked in his cab, but when he tries to return the drugs and it all goes wrong, it seems like he’s never going to make it to his daughter’s recital on time.”

Well, this was a long article, “The Three-Act Structure and You,” and of course I had to wrap it up to show why being structured is so important. So, I turned my concept into an idea. I had a plan. I knew who this character was, who his antagonists were, I gave him love, and life, and death and pain, and complications and misery but ultimately satisfaction and resolution. When my husband read the article he sad “Hmm, you should write this movie. You’ve already done all the work.” And to some degree he was right. And to some degree he was very wrong.

Taking your idea, the briefest road map to your story and turning that into a script is almost the same as turning a concept into an idea, only times that by 10. As you take your idea and break it down into acts, the taxi driver character set up, the inciting event, the mobster, being chased, having to get to his daughter etc, you discover that while you have the broad strokes of what happens, your paragraph idea isn’t enough to rest an outline on.

So each element of your idea needs to be fleshed out. It’s like your idea is a Gremlin and you just splashed it with water. You need loads of Gremlins to make it fun but you need just a little bit of food after midnight in order to make it dramatic!

There’s a line in Annie Hall that really sums it up. “Right now it’s only a notion, but I think I can get money to make a concept and then later I can turn it into an idea.” It’s funny because it’s true, on both levels. It’s a valid and amusing commentary on Hollywood’s shtick through Woody’s eyes. But more importantly, it’s funny because it honestly shows the development required to take my dad’s high-concept notion and turn it into a viable property. It does take time. It does require steps. But that is also the craft of writing.

So, what’s my prescription for that notion that’s plaguing you? Day dream in a hammock, vacuum, like my husband does, watch your movie in your mind while you float in a pool. I often joke that 90% of writing is napping, but in this case, taking a notion and turning it into an idea, requires as much time as it takes for you to figure out the whole story. No more and no less. And the best part of this plan, if you don’t get it right the first time, you can always nap again tomorrow.