Comments on: Horror Roundtable 6 – Screenwriting

By: myoung

myoung — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:06:17 +0000

This Roundtable is now closed.

A huge thank you again to our wonderful guests.

By: KNIFVES- Northwest Independent Film & Video Entertainment Society

KNIFVES- Northwest Independent Film & Video Entertainment Society — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:56:21 +0000

participate in this roundtable discussion through February 16 on writing and producing horror films – it’s a great group! http://www.horror.org/blog/?p=3179

By: Beth Bollinger

Beth Bollinger — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:51:55 +0000

what a blast! If any of my writer friends write horror – I have been participating in a roundtable over at this link the past couple of days – the conversation continues until Feb. 16 – just talking about writing and producing horror screenplays – lots of advice and camaraderie: http://www.horror.org/blog/?p=3179

By: Beth Bollinger

Beth Bollinger — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:05:13 +0000

Thanks, all. Yes Michaelbrent, that was what I was thinking – see how the horror film works. I did some zombie film research already (I have an element of that but mostly in a different way than I’ve ever seen, and researched that to confirm). Your comment on the martial arts though, gives me pause – as did Signe’s earlier comment on it. I’m athletic, but have done only a little martial arts. I wasn’t thinking about its physical nuances – but, as with any sport, understanding details can help in the telling of the story. I do have a baseball novel (that I’m adapting to film), and the sport is an important part of that story – You all just gave me a real “aha” moment with your comments about understanding martial arts for this film more deeply than I do now.

By: Michaelbrent Collings

Michaelbrent Collings — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 06:19:30 +0000

Just to add onto everything that’s come before, Beth: you do want to be original. But part of that is watching everything out there in the vein of what you’re doing. There are action/horror movies, and you should know them all by heart. Not so you can copy them, but so that a) you can see how those kinds of movies work, b) you can see what DOESN’T work with those movies, and c) you can avoid doing things that have already been done before. You will ultimately (one hopes) be selling your idea to people who are avid followers of those types of movies, and the worst would be to write a great script that can’t get any traction because all the good parts have already been done! Research isn’t just about the way the martial arts moves work (though as an avid martial artist myself I hope you do the legwork there), but how movies work in general, and how your genre’s movies work in particular. You don’t want to fall prey to cliche through laziness, but it’s no better to do so by accident, either.

By: Signe Olynyk

Signe Olynyk — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 06:12:01 +0000

I would also recommend seeing movies that are in the same vein as your story. Don’t write a genre, write a story. Great stories come from character. I also recommend writing your pitch BEFORE you write the screenplay. Make sure you have a clear protagonist with a tangible goal, who overcomes obstacles towards reaching that goal, and who is a different character at the end of your story because of his or her experience in trying to achieve it. If you can answer all of that, well, that’s your pitch in a nutshell. And the general beats of your outline too. Good luck!

By: Beth Bollinger

Beth Bollinger — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:22:29 +0000

I laughed out loud, Matt! First step: I’m going to go back to the treatment and make it as detailed as I can. Then – hmm – I’m even traveling to L.A in 2 weeks…

By: Matt R. Lohr

Matt R. Lohr — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:12:27 +0000

Beth:

If you are someone who has not had a tremendous amount of experience with or past aptitude for horror, perhaps it might be worth your while to consider working with a collaborator on this script. You seem to have a good sense of the story, what beats it needs and so forth, and perhaps what you’re mainly looking for is someone to flesh out the vibe, give it the appropriate atmosphere and aesthetics. Perhaps it might be worth it to consider putting your head together with someone who knows the genre, writes the genre, and can help you to take your structure and shape the proper meat onto the bones. If only there was a website or something where people who write horror can connect with one another…

By: Beth Bollinger

Beth Bollinger — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:28:14 +0000

Thanks Signe. Wonderful idea, about going to a martial arts competition. (I did take some martial arts before, so have some feel for it – and just for the experience, as you say.) I LOVE that you went to a meat locker. (Oddly, one of my characters in this script ends up in a locker of sorts!) What I’m hearing – and truly appreciating – is that it is the story first – as it always is. I think I was letting the genre overwhelm the story. And there is the challenge of going deep for the feeling of terror. But I don’t mind that, too much. I just finished a romantic comedy/drama, and have been thinking of which script to start next (I have seven more sketched out). Perhaps it’s this one. Perhaps it’s this.

By: Daniel Clark

Daniel Clark — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:37:25 +0000

Hi Signe, I smiled when I read what you just wrote about people hearing “horror’ and thinking body count. I was rewriting the ending of a screenplay that several Bluecat judges said wasn’t satisfying and was wondering, what would happen it nobody died? Will it still work? By the way guys, The Bluecat Screenwriting Contest gives every entrant the feedback from two different judges. It’s very useful. A lot of contests just take your entry fee and promote their own website services. Feedback from a pro can be pure gold. Just sharing.