The Importance of a Good Structure

Concept sentence, action-idea, premise, tagline... It sounds really easy – somebody wants something for a specific reason but it is impossible because of a specific obstacle. And that should be the core of the screenplay where all of the events and actions stem from. So basically 'nail down the premise and build your film from there'.

SIGH. More of then than once, I have heard the term 'development hell'. Getting caught in a limbo of honing this, changing that, amending this, correcting that. Bringing a secondary character forward as the protagonist, making the antagonist the protagonist, cutting characters and merging storylines. Cutting useless plot dimensions and focusing on the main storyline sounds simple but it is harder than it appears. The temptation to add complications and twists is a hard one to resist.

During the past few months, I have been focusing on nailing down the basics of the film. This has consisted of writing the premise, moving onto a 2-page outline and finally working out a 5-10 page treatment of the film. With each step I've taken, I have received valuable feedback that has been really, really useful. Workshopping with my fellow students has led me to notice a lot of inconsistencies and ways in which I should hone the focus of the story. For me personally, this has meant changing the themes of my piece and eliminating useless plot twists. It is safe to say that I have learned far more during the past two months than I did last year.

In terms of my film project, I feel like I am in a relatively good place. Next up, I need to do a bit of re-writing on that, take a few ganders at my secondary TV project and finish work on a small extracurricular project, which sees me write a five-minute radio monologue that will be broadcast on Resonance FM. It is a really exciting opportunity and collaborating with the sound arts students, who will be taking care of the practicalities of the sound world, has been really enlightening and refreshing. Stay tuned for updates on this one - my first real production credit! :-)

I also got promoted at work, which makes me a very happy bunny indeed. It is not a major change, but it is nice to feel appreciated. My employer has been really good to me in terms of allowing me to work four-days-a-week due to my studies and even giving me a promotion while on that limited schedule.

Also – in the beginning of February, I finally moved to a nicer home and so far, I'm loving it. After all, an aspiring writer not only needs to write a good structure for her feature films, but also needs to establish a 'good structure' for her life as well – a nice bed to sleep on, a quiet environment to write in and good transport links wherever her quill might take her.

Overall, I am really happy about everything right now – I wish that life could always be this rewarding, thrilling and exciting! :-)

Bang - it's 2014!

The new year has begun with a bang: during the first week and a half, I already finished an essay and a two-page project outline for university. On top of that, I returned to my job in the office and begun to pack up my things, as I am moving to a new place at the end of the month. However, I have to admit that I quite like being a busy bee.

I spent an amazing Christmas in the English countryside with my boyfriend's family. It was my second Christmas without my family, so I felt very homesick, especially on Christmas Eve. However, Christmas Day was amazing! Everyone made me feel very welcome and loved so I ended up having a really nice, relaxing time. Having time off from everything was really good as well. I allowed myself to do nothing for a good five days, and then slowly returned to work-mode by picking up university work. And on Monday, I returned to work in the office.

Writing-wise, I have just begun work on my final university project, due in December 2014. We were asked to choose between writing a 90-page feature film or 60 pages of original TV, and I really struggled with my decision. While I've always wanted to write television and create my own show, I was under the impression that most production companies, even when their work focuses on TV, ask to see a film script instead of TV script. According to my understanding, this is mainly due to the fact that film tends to tell a complete story with a distinct beginning, middle and end, illustrating the writer's ability to keep a story together.

Fortunately, we were told that while we were to choose one or the other as our main project, we could pursue the other as a minor project. I felt relieved that we could do both, but the dilemma persisted. Which one should I choose as my main one?

After careful consideration, I finally decided to focus on a feature and pursue TV as a second project, aspiring to write a script for that, too. Now I don't want to say too much about my two projects, but I do have distinct ideas for both, but they might still change considerably. The feature is a science fiction thriller set in space while the TV project is a dark drama set in post-WWI London.

So yeah, that's it for now. Blog-wise, I've changed the layout - do like the new background? I made it myself from illustrations of Charles Dana Gibson. A romantic writer girl at work...

Screen talk with my acting idol, Ralph Fiennes

Last night, I had the great privilege to hear the acting guru of my adolescence, Ralph Fiennes, speak at a talk organised as part of the BFI London Film Festival. Interviewed by Francine Stock, Fiennes shed light on his career and his upcoming, second directorial feature, The Invisible Woman, in which he plays the lead as the classic author Charles Dickens. In the following, I will share some of the most interesting aspects of the talk from my own personal point of view.

Ralph Fiennes (left) interviewed by Francine Stock at BFI Southbank, 18 October 2013.

The talk began by tracking down Fiennes's beginnings: how a student of painting would become interested in theatre design, and how the same boy, now enrolled on a foundation course, would come to realise that he actually wanted to be "in the set", rather than designing it. This lead to studies at the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Art, and ultimately, roles in theatre, television, and film.

Fiennes attributes his third film appearance, the role of Heathcliff in a film adaptation of Wuthering Heights (1992), as the role that caught Steven Spielberg's attention. Spielberg invited the young actor to audition for the role of the SS-officer Amon Goeth for his film, Schindler's List (1994), and the pair met face-to-face in Acton, "out of all places", Ralph adds.

The audience is shown a clip from the film, where Goeth pardons a young boy who has failed to clean his bath tub, but then shoots him in the back as he's walking away. The clip is followed by applause, and silence from the man himself.

"I hadn't seen that in a long time. I don't know what to say," Fiennes comments following the powerful, haunting extract.

Stock then directs the conversation to Anthony Minghella's The English Patient (1996), and the different directing styles of Spielberg and Minghella. Fiennes reminisces that while Spielberg was quite vocal and focused on "very specific things, physicality and gestures", Minghella's spoke "gently" and was quite precise. He goes on to suggest that in his opinion, "directors should be like very good teachers, sensitive to actors", after which a yet another clip illustrating Fiennes's brilliance as an actor is shown. Almasy, played by Fiennes, joins a dinner party and acts inappropriately, causing disapproval among his fellow diners.

Talk turns to Coriolanus (2011), Fiennes's directorial debut based on a play by William Shakespeare. Fiennes says than he and the screenwriter John Logan edited the the text and cut about 70 per cent of the original material in order to make it cinematic. It is evident Fiennes feels great pride about the writing, as he labels the work "brilliant" and expresses his hopes that Logan's screenplay could someday be published.

"A screenwriter should convey the film to the reader in a way you can see the film," he suggests. "It should be an edited text but accessible to people."

And so it was that during the post-production of Coriolanus, Fiennes was presented with another screenplay that "jumped off the page". Abi Morgan's screenplay for The Invisible Woman, based on a novel by Claire Tomalin, convinced Fiennes to pursue the drama, which presented its own challenges. He relates that he was forced to research and "embrace the feeling of the Dickensian period" while finding "the humanity inside the characters". He would study Victorian photo albums, witnessing the ageing of specific families by tracing their manners, habits and wrinkles through the photographs, with the ultimate goal of "getting over the period" finding "the beating heart within".

Two clips of The Invisible Woman are shown, after which the audience is given permission to ask the maestro some questions. The first question regards his future - Fiennes reveals that he has just finished filming two films, and is now enjoying a period of reading and not knowing what to do next.

I raise my hand and the microphone is given to me. I ask my childhood idol if he has thought of writing his own material, as he has tried out both acting and directing in the past. He looks me in the eyes (the adolescent girl within me, obsessed with Healthcliff and Lenny Nero, is about to swoon) and answers that he has "thought of it and would like to try it". Furthermore, the collaboration with Morgan has given him "enough confidence to make him feel he might like to try it".

The next question is about tips he might give for your actors auditioning for roles. The respected actor tells the questioner not to give up and to have an audition piece that is both true and meaningful to himself. The actor's own soul "has to come through it". He also warns that there is "much bullshit, flattery and pretense in the business", and that an actor should find interior strength for the life in front of him.

With that, Fiennes departs. My heart is still racing after the opportunity to ask him a question. I feel uplifted, inspired and giddy. Did that just happen? I rush home, full of energy to write and to hone my screenwriting skills. The talk has been truly inspiring and encouraging. I just hope that someday, I might have a career as brilliant and successful as he has had...

Autumn of artsy adventures begins

Autumn has reached London, and with it, a new university term focussing on idea development has began. During our first lecture last week, I submitted my summer elective, an analysis of the problems and solutions in sustaining a long-running television series, as well as three ideas for an original project, all of which enabled me to take another mandatory step towards acquiring those fabulous, juicy carrots I'm pursuing – a master's degree and a career in screenwriting.

I was also given my term two marks, and I was quite pleased. My overall mark was B-, which is also what I received for my script. We were working with adaptations, so I had to choose a short story (R.L. Stevenson's The Body-Snatcher) and write a 30-minute adaptation from it. I was not entirely happy with the piece when I submitted it, and knew it was only a 'first draft', thus the comments made by my marker were well justified: 'although a very strong piece of work, the script could still benefit from tightening the focus of the action and the dialogue to make it sizzle'. As a result, I have spent some time re-working the outline and the dramatic focus, and playing around with the project. I have dozens of ideas, which can hopefully lead to improvements that will make the script 'sizzle'.

My main focus, however, has been on re-working my first university project, a 10-minute short film script that I named A Matter of Time. Reading it now, I am quite horrified by it, and agree that a lot of further work needs to be done for it. It lacks a clear, cohesive structure, the dialogue is far from perfect, and some events could be scrapped altogether. It definitely takes priority over the adaptation, as it is an original piece of work, and I need to have more original work in my portfolio.

So, overall, I am looking forward to the challenges this autumn will bring along writing and study-wise. I have to say, I am quite excited to be writing and creating again. Let's hope this lasts :-)

Plans for the bank holiday weekend: Mini-getaway and a writing spree

The month of August has whizzed by at a skyrocketing speed. September is knocking and my birthday draws near again. How can time fly by so fast?

For the past few weeks, I have been slowly trying to return to the university mode. Yesterday, I went to the university library and did some research on a summer project we should finish. So, for the next few weeks, I have two academic projects to work on: analysing a television show and conducting an interview with a contemporary UK screenwriter. In addition, I should submit three original script ideas and prepare to pitch an original TV show idea. These are all exciting projects, and I already have a few ideas that I want to pursue, so I am feeling quite energetic and enthusiastic about it all. 

And so, it is a bank holiday weekend, which I will be spending in the Cotswolds countryside with my other half. The aim is to do some work on these above-mentioned university projects and to enjoy a relaxing, quiet weekend getaway from London. It is a really beautiful area, I might post photos later. Toodles! 

Almost there - Summer holidays are near!

Oh, the bliss! I submitted the first draft of my 30-minute adaptation script last Thursday!

Words cannot express how relieved I felt. The project had stressed me for several weeks, up to a point where I had turned into a paranoid hermit. I lashed out to my close friends and family, sported black bags under my eyes, experienced trouble sleeping and caved in to my little room with tea pots and chocolates. I did not register I was turning into a living dead until I submitted my work, and then it hit me: I felt exhausted. It's like all the stress had been building up inside my body and at that moment, it escaped as one giant lump.

The mere feeling of adding the draft to my folder of 'Writing Projects' (which is basically a folder where I keep all my 'finished' script printouts) was simply amazing - although I doubt I will be graded very highly on the project (grading is really tough on my course), the joy of accomplishing it made me a very happy girl indeed.

It is slightly ironic that despite the exhaustion, I find my fingers lusting after the keyboard in order to start working on new projects. My mind is full of ideas and I am anxious to start working on them. However, I must wait - I still have an essay and some reports to finish before term two finishes. So until that dull work is done, I will have to keep my fingers and mind at bay. Hopefully my inspiration to write will not disappear during the next few weeks... So given this, I assume I am pursuing the right career for me? I should join Work-a-holics Anonymous!

Adaptation troubles

Term two of university is more than halfway through, and I find myself battling a huge writer's block. The short story I 've decided to use as the basis for my 30-minute adaptation, The Body-Snatcher, is the root of my problem.

When I first read the story, I was really excited by the concept of body-snatching and the general idea of doing morally questionable things to advance science. I also loved the way in which science and ghosts intersected, which corresponds to the idea I have of the Victorian society.

The difficulties I am experiencing mostly stem from structural issues. I have been attempting to establish a clear, cohesive, three-act story arc that would remain faithful to the characters, world and feel of the original short story. Easier said than done.

I find myself going around in circles, changing the main protagonist, story setting and order of events constantly. So far, my efforts haven't been very fruitful. The feedback I have received through my university workshops has not been too encouraging, and the depressing thing is - my fellow students have a point. The main protagonist does not have a clear want, the main active question is a bit vague, and the climax seems slightly irrelevant to the rest of the story. Phew.

I finally see some light at the end of the tunnel though. After swapping notes with a fellow student, I feel like I finally have a working outline. The bad thing is, I have spent almost two months trying to get the outline together, which leaves me with only one week to finish the script. 30 pages of script in one week - yikes. I doubt it will be of very good quality, but I must do the best I can..

Until further notice...

First term over, first draft ready - First impressions of a screenwriting student

Within the first three months of this new year, my little London existence has changed quite dramatically - in my terms, anyway. Some big, exciting changes have taken place, which have made me a very happy lass indeed.

In January, I was finally able to start pursuing the art that had brought me to London in the first place - screenwriting. As a result, my days have been primarily dedicated to combining office work with university lectures, reading, project planning, and finally - writing. It has taken me hours and hours to actually get to the writing stage, and I must admit that it has been a lot more work than I thought it would be. Sadly, I have been ignoring my friends and turned into a bit of a hermit, but hopefully, it will be worth it in the end.

I have greatly enjoyed my first term, which has now come to an end. And... I have a first draft of a short film script to show for it! While I won't post the entire script online, here is a short premise to give you an idea of what the story is about:

A Matter of Time
On the day of her induction to the Clockmakers' Guild, 20-year-old Alice is visited by a mysterious woman from a distant time. This prompts Alice to re-evaluate her future goals, her heart and her own interests, and to question her suitability to the family tradition of clockmaking.

As for the next term, I can hardly wait. Our next project will be a 30-minute adaptation, and I've already been reading a wide range of short stories. I am starting to lean towards Victorian ghost stories or science fiction, but we'll see.

Overall, I am really excited to be pursuing this course. It is going to be a lot more work in the future, but being able to do the course has made me incredibly happy. This is my calling, let's hope I may flourish in it.