Writers Turn to the Internet for Support, Friendship and Advice – Writing
Writers Turn to the Internet for Support, Friendship and Advice
Patricia Gatto
Riding on the fumes of potential, you take pen to paper or keyboard to monitor. Endless hours of creativity intermingle with apprehension, but your need to write engulfs your spirit. You swim high on the waves of excitement and trudge forward through the waves of doubt. Finally, your manuscript is complete.
Looking back, the process becomes a blur, its difficult to recall the point at which your first draft transformed into your final draft, but it happened. For a moment, you allow yourself to be still and bask in the glory of your completed manuscript. But only for a moment. Now a new process must begin.
As if going from concept to page isnt enough, the aspiring writer must now bravely pass his or her cherished manuscript along for opinion. Opinion is actually too light of a word; the writer must submit to, and endure the critique. For those faint at heart, the critique can be a frightening experience, rearing its ugly head of self-doubt to the highest position. But ultimately, its what makes you stronger, better at your craft, and prepares you to for the next phase on your quest to publication.
Family and friends only hinder the critique process. Although supportive, their opinions are bias and counter productive unless they are professionals. So where do you turn if you are not fortunate enough to have a local writing group or personal mentor in your life The modern writer turns to the cyber world.
As you make your way through search engines and dodge pop-ups ads in pursuit of an answer, message boards and writers forums abound. Your ultimate goal, to find that band of brothers and sisters, bound together in their somewhat solitary pursuit of a writing career. A nameless group of competitors hooked together by modems, monitors, keyboards, nicknames, and electricity, generously willing to share advice. A group you can trust.
I have found such a writers haven. A speakeasy filled with poets and prophets, editors, agents and journalists. A space where the published and unpublished exist together. By invitation only, I secretly found the backdoor into this cyber club. Over two hundred members and growing strong, this forum has everything from professional guest visitors to idle chatter. A place to receive feedback on your work, ask questions, share information, make contacts, friendships and share your successes and defeats.
Now that the secret code to this cyber club has been lifted, Backspace - The Writers Place is open to the public. Why not click open the door and lurk for awhile After you get to know the posters, reach out for some feedback on your work. Then you can move to the next phase with confidence. For after the dreaded critique process, you must endure another hurdle, the query letter. Why not tackle it with the help of your new cyber friends at Backspace http://www.bksp.org/index.shtm
About The Author
To Visit Backspace
Advice From Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining A Freelancer Career – Freelancing
Advice From Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining A Freelancer Career
Yuwanda Black
For the e-book, Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too!, I asked ten questions of freelancers who were living their dream life. Following are some of their answers. They cover successful marketing techniques, how to get clients and more!
1. Why did you start freelancing Yuwanda Black, Writer, Editor, Small Business Columnist
My sister and I worked at the same company. We were freelancing on the side. Once we realized that we were making more as freelancers than as full-time employees, she quit and started Inkwell Editorial. Once the business was able to support two salaries, I joined her, which was one year later 1997.
2. How long have you been a full-time freelancer Eileen Coale: Marketing & Corporate Communications Writer
I dont work full time. On average, I work about 15 hours a week, sometimes a bit more. I work mornings until my youngest gets home from kindergarten, and sometimes Ill put in evenings and Saturdays as well. Sixty to 70% of my work hours are spent networking and marketing to get assignments. The remainder is spent writing. In another year or two, I expect that ratio to flip.
3. How many years of experience do you have Marcy L. Brown: Cataloging, Indexing & Information Management
I have five part-time years of indexing, but 10 years of library employment including cataloging, some indexing, and information management.
4. Do you specialize in a certain area, e.g., legal, medical, production If so, what Cathy Moore: Writer, Instructional & Marketing Copy
Instructional writing and marketing copy. I write appealing text for any readability level, including kids.
5. What specific marketing tips have you personally tried that worked Jennifer Lawler: Writer, Editor
I tried a direct mail letter to editors that included the type of editing I could do, a few companies I had worked for, and my business card printed in such a way that it could be popped right onto someones rolodex. This letter generated so much business for me that I never had to do another direct mail package.
6. How do you get most of your clients Katharine OMoore-Klopf: Editor, Copy Editor, Factchecker
When I first started freelancing, I got them mostly by word of mouth, and some were former employers. Now, I get them mostly by word of mouth and via my Web site.
7. Under what circumstances would you turn down work Jennifer Dirks: Journalist, Editor, Writer, Speaker
I
Contest Advice for Screenplay Writers – Writing
Contest Advice for Screenplay Writers
Lynne Pembroke
Introduction
There are many screenplay contests available to the aspiring screenwriter. These contests can be a good avenue to getting ones work noticed and/or make a sale. So, its important to make certain that you have written your screenplay to the best of your ability and according to industry standards.
The most important thing to do for any aspiring screenwriter is to first learn the basic techniques of screenwriting before sitting down to write one. I come across many hopeful writers who think that all it takes to write a script is a good story idea and a lot of explosive special effects. While a good story is important, with or without the special effects, writing that story using proper industry standards is equally important. Please visit http://www.coverscript.com/education.html -- Tips for Screenwriters link for further information.
There are specific techniques to the craft of screenwriting involving everything from act structure to proper screenplay format, which must be followed. Its difficult to write engaging characters, focused plots and entertaining screenplays without having a solid framework in which to bring it all to life.
Before any money is spent submitting your work to a screenwriting contest, it would behoove the writer to first educate himself in the "tools of the trade". There are many, many screenwriting books available as well as workshops and seminars, both online and in live classroom situations. My advice is to take advantage of them. Then, armed with the basics, write, write and then write some more.
Then before submitting your work to any screenplay competition have it copyrighted and WGA registered. United States Copyright office: http://www.loc.gov/copyright. Writers Guild of America: http://www.wga.org/.
Advice and Suggestions
I am a judge for many contests and as such, have read thousands of TV scripts and screenplays. I can assure you that the winners are chosen because their screenplays or TV scripts contain great stories and are written to industry standards. Therefore, putting your best foot forward is a must. Below are some pointers to keep in mind before you submit your screenplay.
If your purpose is to "break into the business", make certain that the script contest you enter offers meetings with agents and/or producers as part of the prize for winning and not just cash prizes. Of course, if it is just the extra cash youre after, then go for it!
Make certain, before you write that entry fee check and send in your material, that the screenplay contest or TV script competition is a reputable one and indeed has, in the past, delivered to its winners what it promised in its promotion.
Presentation of your screenplay does count so make certain your screenplay follows the accepted industry standards. This not only includes using the proper screenplay format but also such things as a typo-free screenplay and the correct binding.
Keep in mind that the industry professionals who sponsor some of these film and TV competitions do so in order to find good producible material, hopefully for lower rather than higher budgets. Therefore, entering a screenplay in a genre with a story that screams "high budget" lessens the writers chances of winning. This means that
Sci-fi special effects stories taking place on purple planets populated with giant, paisley-skinned, seven-armed, Plasmanian Wooglegorps who magically float through the air using anti-gravity belts or
a 1920s Period Piece necessitating Model-Ts, Zoot suits and flappers or
an action/adventure story that has the bad guys blown to smithereens, along with their Lear jet, over the ocean, followed by a high-tech nuclear submarine underwater search and rescue mission while the oil slicked water burns out of control, may not be the best way to go.
Make certain that your story is told visually. Film is a visual medium.
Make sure you dont have "on the nose" dialogue or too much dialogue and that all the dialogue sounds natural.
Check to make sure that your characters are interesting, engaging and have good character arcs. Nothing worse than having an unlikable hero, a wishy-washy bad guy, or a protagonist who starts out angry at the world and by the end of the story is still angry at the world having learned and changed nothing in his nature.
Conclusion
Once youve gone through your screenplay and are satisfied with it, have it read by someone else. After all, your story is intended for a movie-going audience so honest opinions from friends and family members will give you a feel for that audience reaction.
Then do yourself a favor and have your screenplay read by an industry professional that has experience and good credentials in the area of script analysis. A writer can become too close to his work and not be able to "see the forest for the trees". It is to your advantage to have any possible format, story, character, dialogue and structure flaws found and corrected before it is submitted to a movie or TV script contest.
While there is never any guarantee your screenplay or TV script will be a winner, writing one to the best of your ability and which meets industry standards is a must, as the competition is fierce.
I wish you great success in your present and future story-telling adventures.
Lynne Pembroke
Coverscript.com
URL: http://www.coverscript.com/
About The Author
Copyright © 2004 Lynne Pembroke, Coverscript.com
We will be pleased to have the above article published but first, please contact pemburger@aol.com informing where this article will be published.
Lynne Pembroke is a writer, poet, screenwriter and owner of Coverscript.com, with over 18 years of experience in screenwriting and screenplay analysis helping individual writers, screenwriting competitions, agents, studios, producers and script consulting companies. Services include screenplay, TV script and treatment analysis, ghostwriting, rewriting and adaptation of novel to screenplay. Visit http://www.coverscript.com/ for more details.