Spring 5 Ways: #3 - New Ways of Doing Things

We’re halfway through our discussion of spring-inspired thought. We’ve looked at new beginnings and new possibilities, let’s forge onward by looking at new ways of doing things.

Last week we talked about how a reporter approaches a story—by asking the five questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why?

I noted that reporters often focus on a fifth question, and that’s How? And when we talk about how in terms of writing—well, at least in my discussion of it today—we’re talking about how you choose to tell your story.

Let’s say you’re a screenwriter. You’ve always written screenplays. That’s it. You can’t imagine writing in another format you’re so used to the screenplay format. It’s second nature to you. Why should you change?

Well, I can think of a lot of reasons. And the first is that fewer and fewer screenplays are being made. It used to be that film was the prestigious form of writing for the screen and TV was its poor cousin. Screenwriters wouldn’t deign to write for the small screen. But guess what? Times have SO changed. Today some of the most creative work we see on the screen is seen on the small one, not the big one. While comic book and action films dominate the movie screen, the TV screen is full of everything—including the smaller, more interesting or creative stories that might have once become films.

So if you’re a big screen writer, why not try a new way of writing your story and write it for the small screen? You’ll need to know that the TV format is a bit different and you’ll need to understand how the act breaks work for television, but study a few TV scripts and you’ll be on your way. Sure, it will require adjustment, but you might discover that you like the TV format and find yourself creating a pilot for a show that will knock the audience’s socks off!!

But maybe that’s not enough of a challenge for you. Maybe you can tackle an even more dramatic new way of writing. Like theatre.

Have you ever thought about writing a play? Like TV you’ll need to adjust to a slightly different format but most plays are structured into acts, just like screenplays. And the biggest reason to write a play—especially if you’re becoming frustrated with your screenwriting attempts—is that it’s way easier to see your play come to life.

Think about it, even if you sell a screenplay or TV pilot, it’s going to take MILLIONS of dollars to see it come to life on the screen. But with a play, hey, rent a theatre yourself, maybe you have actor friends who will work for the experience, or for the chance to showcase themselves. Then invite agents and managers to the performance and everyone could benefit. And why? Because you decided to take a chance on a new way of writing. Sounds like a good bet to me!

Copyright © Diane Lake

15Apr18

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