Watch screenwriting lectures. Read screenwriting and playwriting books. Don’t ignore them if you seriously risk not creating a compelling story. As my uncle, the novellist, once said to me, “...Hollywood has it right.” We went on to discuss how the execution is not always right, but the story and creation is good. And I have to say, what I’ve found so far that holds true. I am currently writing a screenplay anyway so my research helps me in all directions.
I’m currently reading Lajos Egri’s The Art of Dramatic Writing, from the theater camp. I recently read Robert McKee’s Story: Substance, Style, and Structure which also supplied some beautiful suggestions for setting, character, and conflict creation. Recently I just watched Jeff Kitchen’s Sequence, Proposition, Plot from the Screenwriting Expo series. This tool he shows in his book, apparently, and it rocks. I plan to purchase his book in the future, but I have to get some money first and let circumstances stop sucking it out of my pocket.
The sequence, proposition, plot tool is helping me develop LISTENING. I’ll report how it goes.
