THE SCREENWRITING EXPO, OCT 7-10, 2010, IS.....

120+ seminars and classes...Guests of Honor...plus this year we're inviting producers and agents as our special guests just so they'll mingle with you.

FROM $300 LEFT TO HIS NAME TO $110 MILLION AT THE BOX OFFICE

Do not miss this exciting presentation: this writer gave up a comfortable movie executive job to become a screenwriter. He worked at it day and night. He used up his savings. He was down to his last $300 and desperate. And then ...

No, he did NOT use connections or get lucky. He broke in by doing something you could have thought of yourself, and that you could do from home whether you live under the shadow of a studio or off in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. And $110 million at the box office later, this multiple-major-movie writer is coming to the Expo to tell you how he made it in Hollywood. How YOU can if your work is good.

MARKETING YOURSELF AND YOUR SCREENPLAYS–THE STEP-BY-STEP COURSE

Speaking of how to break in: for the very first time, the Expo will present a three-hour course on how to market your screenplay, by legendary live-online screenwriting teacher Hal Croasmun. And always, the Screenwriting Expo is THE place to choose from 100 screenwriting classes, talk to Hollywood's top screenwriters, pitch your scripts at the Golden Pitch, and network with other writers.

Free!!!

Russell Banks, Atom Egoyan and the Scripting of Time
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Location: Bovard Auditorium, USC make reservations »

Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative and the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Invite you and a guest to a special evening with

Russell Banks, Atom Egoyan and the Scripting of Time

7:00 P.M. on Monday, November 23rd
Bovard Auditorium, USC Campus
Admission is free.
RSVP online at www.usc.edu/esvp
(code: cc1123)

ABOUT THE EVENT

Russell Banks is a critically acclaimed author whose work has received numerous international prizes and awards. His dazzling novels include The Sweet Hereafter, Affliction, Cloudsplitter, Continental Drift and Rule of the Bone. Atom Egoyan is one of today's most remarkable independent filmmakers. His spectacular films include his stunning adaptation of The Sweet Hereafter as well as Calendar, Exotica and Ararat. Both Banks and Egoyan powerfully explore themes of tragedy, humanity, alienation and memory in their work.

This event will bring these two geniuses together for a provocative conversation about the treachery of memory and how we learn, forget and lie in time.

Organized by the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Email Address: visionsandvoices@usc.edu

tv movie contest

ION Television is partnering with the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) on a screenplay writing contest dubbed Act I: The ION Television Movie Contest. Dramatic screenwriters will have the chance to win a development deal for a TV movie on ION Television with their original drama script.

To enter the contest, writers must submit a movie treatment (5-10 pages) and the first act of their screenplay (20 to 40 pages). The deadline for entry is November 30, 2009. Visit www.nytvf.com and www.iontelevision.com for more information.

doc call for entries, funding, more...

CALLS FOR ENTRIES: View More »

Project Found Sound: Students for the Environment is accepting short environmental student films & PSA's for a monthly series. Submit entries by June 11.

Last Call for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is June 15, 2009.

POV's 2010 Call for Entries Deadline is June 30, 2009.

FUNDING & OPPORTUNITIES: View More »

Chicken & Egg Pictures Open Call for submissions is now open for non-fiction projects that are dedicated to progressive social change. Deadline is June 30.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS: View More »

Till June 18 in Los Angeles, don't miss the 24th Israel Film Festival.

In Atlanta, the Fourth Annual Latin American and Caribbean Film Festival is from June 11-June 14.

And the 4th Annual DOKU.ARTS Int'l Festival for Films on Art is June 11-14 in Amsterdam.

From June 22-28, check out the Philadelphia Film Market.

SCREENINGS AND PREMIERES: View More »

The New India screening series continues till June 18 at MoMA in NYC.

hallmark channel forms partnership with nyu tisch

The Hallmark Channel presented their upfront slate at a press luncheon yesterday in New York City, revealing as much about what they will do in the upcoming season as what they won't do. What they will do is air 35 original movies next season, all debuting on Saturday nights at 9p, repeating on the following Friday nights. Each of the films is specifically designed to bolster the Hallmark brand and reinforce the viewers sense of "predictability" in the outcome of the movies - that is, the good guy wins, the good girl gets the good boy, etc. As Pres/CEO Henry Schleiff puts it, Hallmark is "offering predictability in an unpredictable world," something he says the viewer is looking for and expects from Hallmark. Each of these movies will ultimately also be seen on the Hallmark Movie Channel where you'll find Hallmark original films, the Hallmark Hall of Fame library, as well as "the greatest [acquired] family movies of all time."

Additionally, coming to the Hallmark Movie Channel is a partnership with the Tisch School of Arts, wherein the network will showcase long and short form student and alumni films, all of which "uplift the human spirit." A panel of judges will be formed to chose which films will meet the network's criteria, and the first judge to be named to the panel is alumni Alec Baldwin. Films from this partnership will begin airing in October 2009 under the banner "Film Positive."

What you won't find Hallmark doing in the upcoming season is original series programming - it's simply not what they do, and it's not what viewers are looking for from this network. Returning, however, are several off-net series including 7th Heaven, Golden Girls, Little House on the Prairie, Murder She Wrote, M*A*S*H and Walker Texas Ranger.

writing contests

7th Annual 2009 Script P.I.M.P. Screenwriting Competition

DEADLINE: May 1st, 2009

New this year: writers may request general script notes for $40.

For registration, visit: http://www.scriptpimp.com/writing_competition/home.cfm

$16,000 CASH to winners - $50,000 in prizes

The 2009 Script P.I.M.P. Screenwriting Competition is now accepting entries for feature film scripts - all genres, styles, and lengths accepted. This is an international competition and non-U.S. writers are welcome. $50,000 in prizes given away to ANYONE who enters*.

Four (4) Grand-Prize winners receive:

- $3,000 cash each
- Pitch meetings with reps from at least four major studios or production companies
- A mentor meeting with a literary manager or executive who will provide advice and further leads
- Introduction to established literary representation
- Additional assistance from Script P.I.M.P. in polishing their script, including a one-hour free consultation with a personal analyst
- At least one mentor meeting scheduled the day after the awards ceremony with an industry professional.
- 5-year memberships to Script Pimp's Writers Database
- Invitation to the Script Pimp Awards Dinner in Santa Monica, CA (Writers Boot Camp) in July 2009 where the winners will be announced
- Guaranteed circulation to over 150 companies
- Featured 'Script Pimp Winner' listing on Ink Tip
- (2) free Development Notes on another script

Top 20 Finalists receive:

$200 cash
At least one mentor meeting scheduled the day after the awards ceremony with an industry professional
5-year memberships to Script Pimp's Writers Database
Invitation to the Script Pimp Awards Dinner in Santa Monica, CA (Writers Boot Camp) in July 2009 where the winners will be announced
Guaranteed circulation to over 150 companies
Featured 'Script Pimp Winner' listing on Ink Tipâ„¢
(1) Free Development Notes on another script

Composed of working literary agents, literary managers, and development directors from
the film industry, the 2009 judges include representatives at the following companies:

Alive Entertainment, Arpil Entertainment, Benderspink, Creative Artists Agency, Creative
Convergence, Darko Entertainment, Energy Entertainment, Foursight, Guy Walks Into A Bar
Productions, Hypnotic, Intellectual Property Group, Mission Underground, Smart
Entertainment, Think Film, The Radmin Company, United Talent Agency, William Morris
Agency, Kersey Management, Management 360, Original Artists, Silent R Management,
Bopopolis Bros. Film Factory, Candance Lake Literary, Diverse Film Company, Elements
Entertainment, Endeavor Agency, Foremost Films, Gersh Agency, Industry Entertainment,
Infinity Media, Menlo Park Productions, Millennium, Mosaic Media Group, New Regency, ONC
Entertainment, Original Media, Rebel Entertainment Partners.

In addition, the following are a selection of companies that have requested to review the
finalists:

3 Arts Entertainment, 3 Ring Circus Films, AEI, The Alpern Group, Anthem Entertainment,
Andrew Lauren Productions, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Cedar Grove Agency,
Cinematic Instinct, Energy Entertainment, Genius Management, The Greenblatt-Janollari
Studio, Gersh LA, Hi-Def Entertainment, IndieShares, The Jerry Leider Company, JT
Entertainment, London Pictures, Pierce/Williams Entertainment, Polsky Films, Principal
Entertainment, Symbolic Entertainment, Underground Films, Wonder Entertainment


2nd Annual 2009 Script P.I.M.P. TV Writing Competition

$1,000 Cash to Best Overall TV Script

The 2nd Annual Script P.I.M.P. TV Writing Competition is now open.

Grand prize is $1,000 to the best spec, pilot, or reality series proposal.

Judges for the contest include writer Brian Keith Etheridge ("South Park"), Michael Morris (producer, Brothers and Sisters), and Mike Kelley, creator of "Swingtown."

Contact entry@scriptpimp.com with questions or to request more information.

Script P.I.M.P. Competition Success Stories / Feedback:

Former competition winning script "Slammin'" sells to Warner Bros. for six figures

Evan Daugherty's 2008 grand prize-winning script SHRAPNEL makes the Blacklist (a list of
the top 100 scripts in Hollywood for 2008)

James K. Watts script BECKWOURTH, a 2008 Script Pimp Screenwriting Competition
finalist, is currently under option.

16 writers gained literary representation in the last two years

Since the Competition began in 2003, Script P.I.M.P. has successfully matched all
Grand-Prize winners from the competition with A-level literary representation. Our 2008
contest has netted option and representation agreements with many of the finalist
writers. Chadwick and Sean will work to set up at least one mentor meeting with each finalist.

To submit: http://www.scriptpimp.com/writing_competition/home.cfm.

Script P.I.M.P. Home Page: http://www.scriptpimp.com

***All new Writers Database members get one FREE entry into either competition!***

*all miscellaneous prizes are given away at random

About Script Pimp

Script P.I.M.P., LLC is a full-service screenplay analysis and resource hub designed for
writers, producers, and film industry professionals.

For nearly a decade, Script P.I.M.P. has provided screenwriters worldwide with quality,
in-depth analysis from readers with years of story development experience. In addition,
Script P.I.M.P. has gathered the specific needs and submission guidelines of production
and management companies, literary agencies, independent producers, and creative
executives searching for new material. Along with extensive resources, this information
is now available through their members-only Writers Database.

Script P.I.M.P. continues to offer top-notch coverage services and the potential to have
one's script circulated to production companies, agents, and managers through our Writers
Workshop, which reviews screenplays, short scripts, and TV specs and pilots. Rave
reviews and success stories continue to fuel the Workshop, as more and more writers
benefit from Script P.I.M.P.'s wide array of resources, from one-on-one consultations to
basic story notes.

Most recently, Rogues Gallery, a former Workshop "Recommend" screenplay written
by Brian Watanabe, wrapped production in Los Angeles and is set for a 2009 release.

To visit Script P.I.M.P.'s IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0173374/

Short Films Needed

The NYU Tisch West Cinema Club is planning its March – August 2009 screening and guest speaker series. If you know someone who attended NYU and had a prominent role in making a short film that is available for screening, please let us know.

Documentary, fiction, animated, live-action, or music video—if the film has a director, producer, writer, lead actor, or other comparable talent who attended NYU and could appear at a screening, we'd like to hear about it.

Each selected film receives promotion and a one-time screening with an alumni-related feature film at the AFI. The event includes audience Q&A (for the feature) and a reception. Last year's features included The Eye, Get Smart, Hamlet 2, and Smart People.

To apply, see the entry form at http://www.tischwest.com

ABOUT NYU TISCH WEST:

NYU Tisch West is an alliance of LA-based alumni from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. NYU Tisch West exists to increase the visibility of Tisch alumni working in the entertainment industry and to create professional inter-departmental collaborations and cross-generational relationships between alumni. NYU Tisch West is headed by The Tisch West Alumni Council, a working board that serves as 1) the link between LA alumni and Tisch; 2) the organizational arm for fundraising efforts in LA; and 3) a bridge to ease the transition for alumni from East Coast to West -- the classroom to the entertainment business.

For more info, see http://www.tischwest.com

STUDIO DEVELOPMENT: FROM SCRIPT TO GREENLIGHT

Thursday, 2/26, 7:30 p.m. WGA Theater, 135 S. Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills. RSVP: (323) 782-4602.

On the Thursday after the Oscars, join the WGA Writers Education Committee in a frank discussion about studio feature development today all the way up the "ladder."

Panelists include: the screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh (Armageddon, The Punisher, The Rock); JC Spink from BenderSpink management; development executive Navid McIlhargey (Sr. VP of Production at New Regency; previously of Silver Pictures); producer Derek Dauchy (President of Davis Entertainment); studio executive David Beaubaire (VP of Production at Paramount; previously studio executive of DreamWorks and Warner Brothers - he knows how each works); and a Surprise Guest. And if you just want to just support me, I have the responsibility of moderating the panel.

At the end of the panel, there will be an audience Q&A via note cards, where we will ask this group of execs YOUR burning questions (in case I missed it). What do you most want answered by those who hold our dreams in their hands? I will try to get real answers. Think about it...

Members in good standing, plus a guest. Please tell and forward this to your writing staffs, team you went on strike with, all your writer friends and writing groups. It is also open to NYU Tisch west alumni film as well. This is going to be a very informative night with an opportunity to get to know these big, behind-the-scenes decision-makers who can get our projects made, which means something in this economy.

A special thank you to Patrick Brennan of Team Todd for having me do a panel like this with different execs for NYU Alumni last year, which inspired this event. Please RSVP at (323) 782-4602. I hope to see you all there.

Thanks.

Kind regards,

Michael Tabb
WGA Writer
WGA's WEC Event Chair for this Panel

Head of Submission for www.Strike.TV online - the filmmaker's homepage for original content

UCLA Writers' Faire

Sunday, Sept. 7 @ 11AM-3PM
UCLA Campus - Young Hall Courtyard

This festive day features 24 free mini-classes and panel discussions in creative writing and screenwriting, hosted by fall Writers' Program instructors. Students get free writing instruction, chat with instructors, register for most fall courses at a 10 percent discount, learn more about the Writers' Program, discuss goals with advisors, and visit with graduate writing programs, professional organizations, and writing-allied businesses. Also not to be missed this year in the lobby of Boelter Hall: Writers' Program staff alum Cristina Markarian shows you how easy it is to take courses online and uber-friendly Final Draft representatives demonstrate their outstanding screenwriting software. The Writers Faire is held in the Young Hall Courtyard on the UCLA campus from 11 am- 3 pm.

The 2008 Writers Faire schedule is ONLINE NOW

poetry for character development

Once again, we experiment with brevity in order to cut to the core of our characters and their desires. What happens if your characters have to sum up their entire story in the form of a haiku? What do you learn? What do you miss? What do you wish you could still say? What do you not need?

DAILY CREATIVE EXERCISE:

Poetic Form: Haiku

Using the traditional Japanese haiku, a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, write in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often haikus focus on images from nature and emphasize simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.

5
7
5

poetry for character development 7

Your characters have suffered loss at some point in their lives. They've lost a parent, they've lost a love affair, they've lost a job, they've lost a loved pet.

Maybe they are currently in the process of deciding to break up. Maybe they were just dumped. Maybe they have not yet made any decisions and are weighing all the risks.

Whatever the circumstances, have your lead character speak to you in an Elegy to fill you in on the details of that particular loss. If your lead character is untouched by loss, then explore a supporting character to find out how a specific loss has informed their current pattern of behavior.

DAILY CREATIVE EXERCISE:

Poetic Form: Elegy

Elegy mirrors three stages of loss. First, there is a lament, where the speaker expresses grief and sorrow, then praise and admiration, and finally consolation and solace.

Elegy on Toy Piano
by Dean Young

For Kenneth Koch

You don't need a pony
to connect you to the unseeable
or an airplane to connect you to the sky.

Necessary it is to love to live
and there are many manuals
but in all important ways
one is on one's own.

You need not cut off your hand.
No need to eat a bouquet.
Your head becomes a peach pit.
Your tongue a honeycomb.

Necessary it is to live to love,
to charge into the burning tower
then charge back out
and necessary it is to die.
Even for the trees, even for the pony
connecting you to what can't be grasped.

The injured gazelle falls behind the
herd. One last wild enjambment.

Because of the sores in his mouth,
the great poet struggles with a dumpling.
His work has enlarged the world
but the world is about to stop including him.
He is the tower the world runs out of.

When something becomes ash,
there's nothing you can do to turn it back.
About this, even diamonds do not lie.

poetry for character development 6

Your characters have points of view about specific issues in their lives, in their larger community, their family and in the world. Everyone argues - no matter how saintly - even if they won't have that argument aloud, they have it in their head. Everyone has their idea of how to solve a problem - sometimes the solution benefits them personally, sometimes it benefits everyone.

How does character approach problem solving? How do they argue? Do they always have to win? Do they think of others or just themself?

DAILY CREATIVE EXERCISE:

WRITE A BOP

The Bop is a form of poetic argument consisting of three stanzas, each stanza followed by a repeated line, or refrain, and each undertaking a different purpose in the overall argument of the poem.

The first stanza (six lines long) states the problem, and the second stanza (eight lines long) explores or expands upon the problem. If there is a resolution to the problem, the third stanza (six lines long) finds it. If a substantive resolution cannot be made, then this final stanza documents the attempt and failure to succeed.

Have your lead character use this form to explain a current problem in their life and how they plan to resolve it. Then write another poem from the perspective of the person creating that problem for your lead.

Steal the form from the poem below for structure.

Bop: Haunting
By Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon

In the evening she comes, her same unsatisfied self,
with the hard, smug look of salvation. Mama,
stop bothering me. When we argue, she says
what you’re saying is not scriptural.
You need to get back in your Bible.

In one dream, I slap her. I’m tired of her mouth.

I hate to see the evening
Sun go down

Yesterday, I dreamed a vampire
held my wrist, dared me to wake
to her, corporeal, stolid. Mama,
was that you? I refused to touch
her body in the casket.
At the gravesite I refused everything
but dry-eyed silence,
her picture in my hand.

I hate to see the evening
Sun go down

This is what I get for conjuring—
Mama, after me all night,
fussing about the holy ghost
when what I need is sleep.
But last night I lay dreamless.
I didn’t sleep sound.

I hate to see the evening
Sun go down

grants

American Library Association Announces Outreach Grant Program for Federal Writers' Project Documentary

Deadline: July 11, 2008

The American Library Association ( http://www.ala.org/ ), in partnership with Spark Media ( http://www.sparkmedia.org/ ), a Washington, D.C.-based production and outreach company, has announced an innovative library outreach program to enhance and increase the nationwide impact of Spark Media's documentary film, "Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers' Project."
Major funding for the program has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities ( http://www.neh.gov/ ).

The film and library outreach program (http://www.ala.org/soulofapeople ) is designed to acquaint public, academic, and special library audiences with the story of the largest cultural experiment in U.S. history -- the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration -- told against the backdrop of the Depression and 1930s America.

Following an application process, thirty libraries will be selected to receive a $2,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to present five different public outreach programs during the period of the national broadcast of "Soul of a People" in the Spring of 2009. The grants will be used for scholar honoraria, book purchases, publicity, and other program-associated costs. Libraries will be asked to enlist from a local college or university a lead project scholar with expertise in American history, the WPA, and/or the WPA era to help
present and plan programs, ensure that program content conveys the intended humanities themes, and work with local media and other partners in planning.

Librarians applying for "Soul of a People" grants must register their institution at Grants.gov ( http://www.grants.gov/ ). Prospective applicants are advised to register with Grants.gov
as soon as possible, since the process can take up to two weeks to complete.

The application and guidelines for "Soul of a People" and complete instructions for registering and applying through Grants.gov may be found at the ALA Web site.

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15012637/soulofapeople

For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml

---------------------------<<>>----------------------------

Lifetime Networks Invites Entries for Every Woman's Film Competition

Deadline: July 8, 2008

To nurture the next generation of great women filmmakers, the Lifetime Movie Network ( http://www.lmn.tv/ ), the Hollywood Reporter ( http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ), New York Women in Film & Television ( http://www.nywift.org/ ), the Paley Center for Media ( http://www.paleycenter.org/ ), the William Morris Agency ( http://www.wma.com/ ), and Women in Film Los Angeles ( http://www.wif.org/ ) are launching the second annual
Every Woman's Film Competition, presented by the Lifetime Movie Network.

The competition is open to all women who are legal residents of the United States and who, by the entry date, are at least 18 years of age. Competition entrants will produce short films of
three to five minutes in length.

First- and second-place winners, as well as three honorable mentions, will be selected. In addition, the LMN.tv audience will have a chance to vote online for their favorite film and deter-
mine the selection of a special LMN.tv Audience Winner. The judge-selected first- and second-place winners will receive $5,000 and $2,500, respectively, to advance their film projects,
exposure on Lifetime Movie Network and LMN.tv, as well as trips to both the Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Breakfast and the Hamptons International Film Festival, where they will be featured guests. The three honorable mention recipients, as well as the favorite filmmaker chosen by the LMN.tv audience, will win $1,000 each. Contest information is available at the program's Web site.

RFP Link:
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15012638/filmcontest

For additional RFPs in Arts and Culture, visit:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml

poetry for character development 3

Your characters have a way that they do things that may be a very different approach than you would take as a person yourself or as a writer trying to fix script issues. Sometimes, it's best to get out of the way and let them fix the problems themselves.

DAILY CREATIVE EXERCISE

WRITE A "HOW TO" POEM
In the voice of your lead character, address an obstacle blocking your lead from getting what they want. Maybe your lead wants to seduce his/her lover. Write a "how to seduce" poem in their voice. Maybe your lead wants to kill his/her enemy. Write a "how to get rid of so-and-so" poem.

Use the form and structure of the below poem as your guide.

How to See Deer
by Philip Booth

Forget roadside crossings.
Go nowhere with guns.
Go elsewhere your own way,

lonely and wanting. Or
stay and be early:
next to deep woods

Inhabit old orchards.
All clearings promise.
Sunrise is good,

and fog before sun.
Expect nothing always;
find your luck slowly.

Wait out the windfall.
Take your good time
to learn to read ferns;

make like a turtle:
downhill toward slow water.
Instructed by heron,

drink the pure silence.
Be compassed by wind.
If you quiver like aspen

trust your quick nature:
let your ear teach you
which way to listen.

You've come to assume
protective color; now
colors reform to

new shapes in your eye.
You've learned by now
to wait without waiting;

as if it were dusk
look into light falling:
in deep relief

things even out. Be
careless of nothing. See
what you see.

using poetry to create character

My weekly writing group most recently began using poetry to create raw material for other written work such as plays, screenplays, etc. This is a method I've used many times to discover my characters, uncover plot and to further examine the relationships between my lead character and his/her enemy or lover.

Often, my poems end up as monologues or as scenes within a play. The poem itself gets transposed into dialogue, which helps heighten the style and language of the piece without any "effort" - very often a poem can tell a writer, in so few words, what the essence of a scene actually is. It "cuts to the quick" and resonates with emotional truth.

Poetry creates the "aha" moment - which always leads to good drama.

DAILY CREATIVE EXERCISE:

"WRITE A PHOTOGRAPH"

Write a poem that captures your character like a photograph. See them in a specific fleeting moment. See them as another character saw them. Freeze that image in time. Flesh out the specifics, explore the details.

Use this poem as your inspiration. Steal its structure and make it your own. Copy the form or reject the tone. Use this poem as a launching pad for your own exploration.

Grammar
by Tony Hoagland

Maxine, back from a weekend with her boyfriend,
smiles like a big cat and says
that she's a conjugated verb.
She's been doing the direct object
with a second person pronoun named Phil,
and when she walks into the room,
everybody turns:

some kind of light is coming from her head.
Even the geraniums look curious,
and the bees, if they were here, would buzz
suspiciously around her hair, looking
for the door in her corona.
We're all attracted to the perfume
of fermenting joy,

we've all tried to start a fire,
and one day maybe it will blaze up on its own.
In the meantime, she is the one today among us
most able to bear the idea of her own beauty,
and when we see it, what we do is natural:
we take our burned hands
out of our pockets,
and clap.

wga & sag women's reading series

You are cordially invited to the inaugural...

WGA/SAG WOMEN'S READING SERIES

Thursday, April 3, 2008
7pm (Check-in 6:30-7:00)

The WGAW Committee of Women Writers joins forces with the ScreenActors Guild Women's Committee in the first of a New Series of collaborative staged readings, which include SAG actors performing in scenes written by WGA members. Works include unproduced screenplays, teleplays and stage plays written by WGA members. Scenes will be directed by members of the WGA, SAG and DGA Women's Committees.

WGA Members and their invited guests can rsvp by sending an email to diversity@wga.org. Please include RSVP: Womens Reading in the subject line. In the body of your email, please list your name, the name ofyour guest(s), your contact phone and email, and your affiliation (eg: company, guild). The reading will be followed by a light dessert reception.

For more information please contact the WGAW DiversityDepartment at 323-782-4589

Writers Guild of America, West
7000 W. Third Street, (cross street Fairfax)
Los Angeles, CA 90048
WGAW Multipurpose Room, Second Floor

Parking is available at the WGA or on the street

Upcoming Screenwriting Contests

There is a new Script Pimp TV Contest. This year Script Pimp has launched a new TV division. They are accepting pilots, sitcoms, one-hour dramas, and reality shows.

Script Pimp TV Contest
5.15.08
http://www.scriptpimp.com/tv/home.cfm

Script Pimp Competition
5.01.08
http://www.scriptpimp.com/writing_competition/home.cfm

Nicholl Fellowships
http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/index.html

Scriptapalooza
4.15.08
http://www.scriptapalooza.com

The Writers Place
5.01.08
http://www.thewritersplace.org/screenplay_contest.shtml

good dick at sundance

Yes, I know that sounds really dirty but in actuality GOOD DICK is the name of the movie written by, directed by, produced by and starring my new fave actress MARIANNA PALKA and her uber-sweet sweetie JASON RITTER.

For those of you familiar with Jason's work on JOAN OF ARCADIA or THE CLASS, you'll love the fiercely loyal but homeless, video-store clerk character Jason takes on in this surprisingly moving little film. You can't help but cheer him on, even when his actions seem to border on stalking and pathological lying.

But the real star of this film is Marianna who has not only created a complex character worthy of our attention but has also, as a young woman working in Hollywood, defined herself as a "must watch talent." A quadruple threat who can bend a man over a table and give it to him good.

That last line will make sense when you see the film.

And please, find a way to see this film. Not only is this couple extremely talented; they are also nice people - which just makes us want more and more success for them and this project.

Check out more information about Good Dick at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944101/

cause & effect - plot exercise

I admit it, I'm swamped and as a result, I totally stink about keeping the Creativity exercises coming. I hope everyone can forgive me. The book is due mid-December and I promise, after that, I'll be a good little blogger.

Today, though, I do have a writing exercise for you. One to help with plot.

DAILY CREATIVITY EXERCISE:

Tear a sheet of paper into 12 even slips. On four of those slips, write the name of your character and an action they are taking such as:

Elizabeth tore up the envelope.
Elizabeth dumped her purse onto the bed.
Elizabeth answered the phone.
Elizabeth shot her sister.

They can be small actions. They can be grand actions. You can do four slips for the same character or you can mix it up and choose four different characters from the same piece.

THESE ARE YOUR "CAUSE" SLIPS. Set them aside.

Now, create your "EFFECT" slips. Take your remaining 8 slips of paper and write on them general things that happened. Don't include a character name. This is a general statement of something that happened such as:

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, flooding her childhood home.
The Bible was lost in the move.
The dinner was a disaster.
Her neighbor knocked on the door asking for milk.
Everything fell apart.
The toilet overflowed.
They reunited.
The camera stopped taking pictures.

Very, very general statements such as these. You can even flip through random books to pull sentences so you're not thinking too much.

Put your Cause slips in a bowl and your Effect slips in a bowl. Pick one from each.

Write for ten minutes and explain how your Characters Action in the Cause slip resulted in What Happened from your Effect slip.

Do this four times. Give yourself 10 minutes for each Cause/Effect. See what you learn.

12 new chapters or scenes - in one hour

Okay, maybe that's overselling this idea a bit but I still believe you can create 12 new chapter ideas or scene moments in an hour and here's how.

DAILY CREATIVITY EXERCISE

Work with a character you know very well. Maybe it's a character from your new play, in a novel you're trying to finish or a short story - maybe it's a character that's been walking around in your brain and hasn't yet made it to the page. Just focus on that one character. Give yourself a few quiet minutes to think about the character in depth.

Write these prompts on slips of paper (or make up your own):

Name of your character...

...is standing in a doorway
...is involved in a ceremony
...is wounded
...finds out something he/she is not supposed to know
...writes a letter
...discovers the contents of someone's closet
...does a forbidden activity
...gets up in the morning
...kisses
...finds his/her way through a city
...deals with his/her hair
...sees a shooting star
...breaks a promise
...visits a fortune teller
...gets caught in the act
...in a grocery store
...falls from grace
...is injured
...gives someone a present
...attends a dinner party
...has an epiphany
...asks for mercy
...walks in the back yard

Put these slips in an envelope and shake them up. Get a timer. Give yourself five minutes for each scene/chapter. Pull a slip from the envelope and make your character take that action.

Write as quickly as you can explaining why that action was taken, how the character got there, why they did what they did, who was with them, what was around them, when it happened, where the event took place, etc.

Write for the full 5 minutes. Don't stop. As soon as the timer dings, pull a slip and do it again.

You can write for a full hour and that should give you 12 new scene/chapter beginnings or you can write until your hand cramps and get as many as you can stand.

PICK UP YOUR PEN AND GET STARTED!!