Posted by Michael Raben at spider-wi052.proxy.aol.com on June 20, 2000 at 02:48:13:
In Reply to: Hints for an aspiring artist... posted by Falconeer on June 19, 2000 at 16:59:33:
: I like to think of myself as a creative person, but I don't feel I've yet found my 'medium'.
Fair enough, but I'm not sure if your admission is that of wisdom or lack
of confidence.
: I've always been a big fan of watching movies. I've dabbled with writing prose, but I've found myself thinking in terms of 'scenes' more often than not.
Many writers think that way. There's nothing wrong with thinking visually, or in terms of 'cool' scenes or 'payoff' scenes; when it comes to the writing process, it's the most fun.
: Do you have any suggestions for somebody thinking about writing for movies. Not so much 'How do I finance the limo' garbage, but suggestions/direction/ideas on the art/science/discipline of writing movie scripts?
Write a whole bunch and work to develop your craft. If screenplay books are your thing, then read 'em; that goes for screenplays too (try Drew's Script-o-rama). Also, realize that even the BEST script writers don't always delivery the goods on the very first pass. Once you realize that re-writes are a necessary part of the process, it'll free you up to just write and worry about the 'problems' in later drafts.
Always,
Michael Raben