NaNo Announcement: Script Frenzy

For those of you who love NaNoWriMo and who enjoyed screenwriting month at Writing Forward, you will be excited to learn that April is Script Frenzy month. Hosted by the NaNoWriMo folks, Script Frenzy is an event in which you challenge yourself to write a script in just 30 days.

For Script Frenzy, the goal is to write a movie, play, graphic novel script, comic book script, or a collection of TV shows or shorts in 30 days. You can even do a screenplay adaptation of your NaNoWriMo novel!

Script Frenzy’s finish line is 100 pages, and it has the same raucous energy and unpretentious atmosphere as NaNoWriMo. ScriptFrenzy.org is also home to the legendary Plot Machine, which issues all visitors a free, guaranteed Oscar-winning plot for their scripts.

If you’ve ever wanted to write a script of any kind, here’s your chance! Almost 5000 hopefuls have already signed up. It’s completely free, of course, and operates similarly to NaNoWriMo. Plus, there’s a Young Writers Program especially for young writers who want to take on the challenge.

Are you up for it?

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The Treatment Exercise

Screenwriting month on Writing Forward comes to a close today, and this final exercise looks at a basic component of screenwriting: the treatment.

There are two types of film treatments that screenwriters deal with. One is mandatory, the other is optional. The optional one is called an original draft treatment, and is written before or during the screenwriting process, usually between putting together an outline or creating scene cards (similar to storyboarding) and writing the first draft. It’s mostly used by the writer as a reference point while writing the screenplay itself.

The mandatory treatment is called a presentation draft treatment, and this is the one that will be presented to potential buyers (producers, directors, studio execs) when the screenplay is complete and ready to be sold. It will also be used by producers, directors, agents, and actors who working on preproduction.

If you’ve already finished your screenplay, go right ahead and write that presentation treatment. Everyone else, let’s take a closer look at the original treatment.

This is not at all unlike a short story. Treatments can be up to 40 pages, but this is creative writing, so you bet they can run a lot shorter or longer, depending on the writer and the screenplay itself. No, I’m not going to ask you to write a 40 page treatment, though you’re welcome to write one if you’d like. We’re just going to dip our toes in the water.

From what I gather, a treatment is written in prose style (similar to a short story) and includes the following elements:

• Author bio
• Cast of characters with descriptions
• Locations
• Title of screenplay
• A one-paragraph summary/synopsis/hook

After that, the treatment goes into a detailed summary of script itself, detailing the entire story line. For today’s exercise, try writing a mini-treatment. Include the elements listed above, and a brief summary of the plot.

I realize this exercise could double for novelists. That’s o.k. Many halfway decent screenplays came from novels, so the two are closely related. If you’d rather try this one with a novel in mind, go right ahead. And as always, feel free to post your exercises in the comments, or send them to me.

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Interview with a Screenwriting Professional

Jaden, who blogs at Screenwriting for Hollywood was kind enough to share her Hollywood and screenwriting expertise in this interview. In the wake of the WGA strike, Jaden decided to launch her own online business. She now works as a screenwriting consultant, and she is also a fiction and non-fiction writer. She’s got a lot of Hollywood know-how and a real passion for writing. Check it out.

Tell us a little about your background in screenwriting.

I’ve been writing all my life. I have thousands and thousands of pages. I majored in film and moved to Hollywood with the intention of writing a particular script to change the way the world thinks. So far I’ve written about ten screenplays and I’m shopping some now.

What advice would you give beginners who are interested in screenwriting?

No one will take you seriously if you do not properly format your screenplay. You have to start there.

How hard is it to sell a script in Hollywood?

Can I say impossible? No. Seriously, it seems to be the luck of the draw. Some people make $3 million for an ok script right out of college when they’re 22 years old. While others, like my favorite screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, didn’t make a sale until his late 30s with Being John Malkovich. It took three years from the time it was bought until it was on screen. I’ve heard from other writers that their scripts didn’t come out as movies for 10 years or more; tons of scripts get shelved, never to see the screen at all. The percentage of screenwriters who make a sale is very small and from that is an even smaller number whose scripts are actually made into movies.

What kind of money would a first time screenwriter expect to get if they did sell a script?

The lowest is around $30,000 and I’ve heard of first time writers getting up to $3 million, but that’s less common and usually when they have a big name actor attached to it or there’s a buzz in the industry about it.

How does a first time writer get an A-list actor attached?

Either you know the actor personally because he’s your friend or what’s more likely is that when your agent sends out the script, he sends it to producers, and a lot of producers are also A-list actors. Agents also send scripts to the actors’ agents.

How much control does the screenwriter have over the final film?

Not any — unless the writer is the director or producer or actor. Generally, up until recently, it was commonly known in Hollywood that the screenwriter was not welcome on the film set. In the 30s, 40s, and 50s, it was the producer who was the big cheese. In the 60s, 70s, and 80s, it was the director who was the celebrated auteur. In the 90s and 2000s, it has been the actors getting phenomenal pay. For the 2010s through the 30s, hopefully the writers will have their time to shine.

On your site, you offer a service called coverage. What is coverage, exactly?

Producers almost always send scripts out for coverage. It’s a basic breakdown of the screenplay: title, author, genre. It also summarizes the script and includes a rating and an analysis, which tells whether the script is any good. This helps the producers quickly assess the screenplay and decide whether or not they want to read it.

The service I offer is a preliminary coverage to give a writer an idea what the producer will see when the writer sends in their script. This way, the writer has a chance to make important changes before actually sending it out and ruining an opportunity. The form I use is like the ones in Hollywood that the producers see. There’s a detailed description of coverage and a sample form on my web site.

What’s your favorite screenplay of all time?

The Shining, which is based on a novel by Stephen King. Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson wrote the screenplay. I was nine the first time I saw it. The last time I saw it, I was lying on the grass in the Hollywood cemetery and the film was projected up on the crematorium. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

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