WSF Member Interviews Nintendo Copy Editor and Former WSF Contest Winner
WSF Member Dave Thome interviews previous WSF Screenplay Contest winner Kristin Kirby, an award-winning writer whose poetry and short stories have been published in little magazines such as the classic Eldritch Tales.
Five of her feature screenplays and two teleplays have won or placed in 25+ national writing competitions, and three have been optioned by Hollywood production companies. She lives in the mountains outside of Seattle, WA, and is finishing work on a screenplay and a second novel for young adults.
She currently works with Nintendo of America and a copy editor, localizing Nintendo games for North American audiences.
Tell us about the scripts that won the WSF contest (title, year, a logline for each, a little back story if you want to provide it).
Last Chance Wyoming, western adventure, won in 1995: A gutsy female journalist in the 1880s ventures to the Wild West seeking front page stories, gets caught up in a war between outlaws and dinosaur fossil hunters, and falls in love with two men. She must choose between them, foil the outlaws’ plans, and take a chance running the town newspaper.
Stone’s Throw, coming-of-age drama, won in 2003: Teen comic-book writer Pauley MacKenzie “falls” into the eerie world he creates on paper and becomes a superhero whenever he can’t cope with the real world–or his own epilepsy. When a beautiful, troubled young widow moves in next door, Pauley must become a real-life hero to rescue her and deal with the issues of growing up.
Did winning the contest help get you noticed by agents and producers?
Winning the WSF contest both times helped a lot. I got calls and emails from several producers and agents and got my scripts read. It was also good to know I was writing something people seemed to like. Winning or placing in highly regarded screenwriting contests, of which WSF is one, is one of the most helpful ways to get noticed by the industry. It also helps when you’re looking for an agent or producer to be able to list credentials such as contest placements.
Your bio says you’ve optioned some scripts. The contest winners? How many scripts have you optioned and what was that experience like?
Stone’s Throw was optioned as a result of the WSF contest because the guest judge that year really liked the script. He partnered with my manager for a while to see if they could raise money to get the movie made, but it never happened. The script was optioned a few years later by another producer, but again she wasn’t able to raise the money.
Another of my scripts, an urban thriller, was optioned for a year and that deal also fell through. Unfortunately none of these options were for money. One of the facts of life when you’re a new writer is that you often option for little or no money—but your option contract should definitely contain language that gets you paid if the movie goes into production.
Did winning the contest help you get your job as a writer/editor for Nintendo?
I’ve been both a writer and editor for a number of years—my “day” job is editing. I worked nights at a newswire for 5 years, but the graveyard shift burned me out. I wasn’t a gamer, but Nintendo was looking for an editor for game and manual text and, even though it was on a contract basis, I applied anyway. Knowing grammar and spelling helped a bunch in this case, as my boss used to be a magazine editor. Eventually the job became full time.
I think Nintendo is unique in that we have in-house writers. Many game companies hire writers on contract. Either way, it’s definitely a way for a creative writer to pursue a career. Also, “media” careers seem to interweave—video games, comic books, movies—so it’s another possible path toward writing movies.
What exactly do you do in your current job? Is writing video games a lot like writing screenplays? How do screenwriting skills apply to writing video games?
Even though I have written a small game or two, my position is as editor, so I copyedit and work with the writers in molding the text and making sure it adheres to style. Depending on the game—-some are more narrative than others—video games can be like movies you control. There are characters and dialogue and arcs and plot. Everything’s visual and often cinematic. I definitely use my skills as a screenwriter with certain games. Alternately, editing and playing video games has made me more aware of the need for screenplay text to be very tight and keep moving.
Yahoo Selects Funniest Movies
Many screenwriters can relate to the old line, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” If you’re currently working on or considering a comedy and need some help with inspiration, Yahoo has been obliging by compiling a list of what they call the “100 funniest movies.” Take a look, see what you think.
WSF Member Wins International Family Film Festival Screenplay Contest
WSF Member Rachel Callaray’s screenplay “My Wooden Wings” has been selected as the winner of the International Family Film Festival’s Best Drama Screenplay Contest!
To Guru, Or Not to Guru… That is the Question
All screenwriters know the setting. Different reasons, different times and different places, but we’ve all been there. We’ve made the decision to write a screenplay.
“Okay. Now what?”
We gaze at the books, blogs, podcasts, seminars, and webinars from the likes of Lew Hunter, Syd Field, William Goldman, Robert McKee, the late Blake Snyder, Johny Truby, among many, many others.
The screenwriting guru.
We look to them based on their credentials. We look to them based on their online prestige or their book jacket testimonials from writers, directors, and producers with instant name recognition.
We delve into this world of the screenwriting guru in hopes to grasp a hold of some guidance as we venture on this journey.
And what writers often come to struggle with while doing so is the battle between two common enemies…
The Need for Knowledge and Insight vs. The Paralysis of Analysis.
The Need for Knowledge and Insight
It’s necessary for screenwriters to “feed the brain”, especially while jumping into a new medium like screenwriting. You’d be crazy not to.
My personal education was void of universities, film school, etc. When I first started, my college was Barnes and Noble. I immersed myself within the aforementioned gurus. I read every screenwriting book that I could because I needed to know how to do it. Plain and simple.
Different gurus had different insights, different approaches, different focus points, different formulas to success, and different perspectives. A plethora of knowledge, theory, breakdowns, etc. All of which leads to…
The Paralysis of Analysis
I first heard this term utilized by Clint Eastwood, as he was talking about his filmmaking approach and specifically a lesson he learned from Steven Spielberg in regards to how Steven shot the now iconic and masterful opening of Saving Private Ryan.
Normally Steven story boarded his films. But for this opening, despite the fact that the beaches of Normandy battle sequence implemented hundreds upon hundreds of extras, explosions, and various other technical aspects of filmmaking, he decided not to storyboard. He didn’t want to be caught up in analyzing how these sequences should be shot because he wanted that freshness. He wanted to be in the moment. He wanted that freedom.
As I researched the term further, I found that it went all the way back to the old fable “The Fox and the Cat”.
The fox boasts of “hundreds of ways of escaping” while the cat has “only one”. When they hear the hounds approaching, the cat scampers up a tree while the fox in his confusion was caught up by the hounds. The moral being “Better one safe way than a hundred on which you cannot reckon.”
The issue with gurus is there are so many of those different “ways to escape”, screenwriters often find themselves as that fox. Which way is best? Which way will lead to success and which way will lead to that dead end?
So herein lies the question: “At what point am I acquiring the necessary knowledge and insight or beginning to suffer from paralysis of analysis?”
The answer? It’s up to you. Knowledge and insight is necessary. It’s what you do with it that is key.
If you look at gurus like John Truby, Robert McKee, and Blake Snyder, among others, they often speak in absolutes and generalizations. Snyder in particular, found within his Save the Cat! books, has a specific structure to which he dictates (Either directly or in indirectly) that all successful screenplays follow, which forces the reader to come to the obvious conclusion that they need to follow such structure in order to be successful as a screenwriter. Even more prevalent is John Truby with his 22 Plot Building Blocks.
Snyder had excellent ideas. He had a great grasp of a screenwriting structure, which was a borderline formula to follow, that showcased story and plot points inserted in certain areas to properly engage an audience, or in a script’s case, a reader. It’s great stuff.
Truby has done the same. He’s taken the mythical studies found in Joseph Campbell’s work and expanded it with his own breakdowns and insights.
The problem with such structures or formulas is that they cannot and do not apply to all screenplays, or even a vast majority of them. In retrospect, sure. Hindsight is always 20/20. Any Nostradamus scholar can take his “predictions” and apply them directly to any historical period.
But does that mean you should discount Snyder’s structure, or any of the gurus out there? No.
The key is how you utilize that information.
The paralysis of analysis is not the fault of the gurus, but the fault of the writer… a natural occurrence for any individual in any field when they first start out, sure, but in the end, if a writer really wants to grasp screenwriting, they need to understand that there are no shortcuts, no absolutes, and no definitive and final structures, formulas, or lists to follow in order to reach success.
Writers should embrace every nugget of knowledge they can. They should read McKee, Snyder, Truby, etc. They should especially grasp the insight of William Goldman, who is one of the few truly consistent and proven “gurus” out there.
But know that all of this information, all of this knowledge, and all of this insight should be taken strictly as a take it or leave it option… but be smart enough to at least consider it.
A writer may read all of McKee’s books and find just one eye opening declaration that applies to their work and what filler they’ve been looking for in their process. Maybe two. Or three.
The late Bruce Lee, arguably the world’s most influential and important martial artist (And equally important philosopher), realized that the martial arts in all corners of the world were suffering from dependance on their own form, a singular perspective on how a battle or fight should be won and what tools are used or not used to do so.
He grew up practicing Gung Fu and Wing Chun and became frustrated by the constraints of those forms. He soon created a different way of thinking, naming it Jeet Kune Do.
This wasn’t a style or organization. It was a way of thinking. He studied every form of martial arts and fighting that he could, from the likes of Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Wing Chun, Gung Fu, Judo, Western Boxing, etc. He took from each of these styles, different aspects of them, out of context.
He took the free movement of Western Boxing and incorporated aspects from Judo and Gung Fu and Tae Kwon Do and everything else he could find. He then taught people that these various tools from these various arts can be utilized in fighting depending upon the context, the fight, the moment, the fighter’s abilities or lack thereof, etc.
“I have not invented a ‘new style,’ composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from ‘this’ method or ‘that’ method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds, ” Lee stated.
So as it applies to screenwriting and gurus in particular, the best thing a writer can do is ingest knowledge and insight that is available to them but avoid feeling one structure declaration or formula is the absolute. Avoid feeling down on themselves for not understanding each one and not being able to break down their own stories in accordance with such declarations. Avoid the confusion between the many differences, mostly terminology, between the likes of Snyder, Truby, McKee, and others.
The fact of the matter is, what these people are teaching is nothing new. These are observations that have been prevalent in story telling in all mediums since the early days of theater, Shakespeare, novels, radio, cinema, and television. Joseph Campbell was offering these almost exact breakdowns of storytelling long before screenwriting gurus came along and expanded upon his work.
Storytelling is in our DNA. We’ve witnessed it and been engrossed in it since our parents started reading us bedtime stories, which eventually carried over to reading books ourselves, watching television, watching films, etc. Whether it be termed as 22 Plot Building Blocks (Truby), 15 Step Beat Sheets (Snyder), or whatever. It’s all there within. And if you have trouble finding it from within, it’s right at your grasp in novels, plays, television shows, and film.
What is great about gurus like Snyder, Truby, and McKee is that they offer a collected volume to study from, filled with theories to consider. $20 for any of their books gets you the necessary building blocks AND compasses to find that structure that’s embedded in your DNA. Like a spyglass that allows you to search the waters or a telescope that allows you to peer into the depths of space.
One overlooked aspect is that there exists a whole secondary industry that specifically markets to the struggling screenwriter. A screenwriter can google screenwriting and finds endless “script coaches”, “script doctors”, “script analysts”, etc. They can even go to the big guns like Truby or McKee and see themselves tempted to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to attend their seminars and workshops, searching for those answers to success.
Despite the kudos, despite the film industry testimonials, and despite what is read and viewed in the books, seminars, and podcasts, the key to success lies with the screenwriter. For every testimonial from film industry power players, in regards to screenwriting gurus, you can find an equal number of film industry power players that dismiss them or have never knowingly utilized their declarations and methods, while still garnering the success desired by all.
Beyond the knowledge and insight from others comes that from within the film industry itself. If a screenwriter wants to research what works in a successful film, all they need to truly do is explore the screenplays of such, or simply watch the movies themselves, all to get an idea of a structure that has proven to be successful. Reading scripts and watching movies are the endless educations that all can work from.
So, To Guru or Not to Guru? The answer is simple. Seek out the knowledge and insight but know that in the end, it’s all up to you and your story. No guru can give you a formula to success. They merely can give you tools to consider, debate, and at the very least, get you thinking more in depth about how to tell your story.
In the context of spec scripts like Blake Snyder’s “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot” or “Blank Check”, or to a much lesser degree in these days of Adam Sandler comedies, Jason Statham action pieces, Ben Stiller “Night at the Museum” franchises, and Rachel McAdams romantic comedies (All types of films I, along with the mass audience, tend to enjoy), it’s clear that screenwriting gurus aren’t the end all be all. Be thankful that we have those voices to make us think. But if it comes down to a choice of spending hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on seminars or beating ourselves up because we can’t fully grasp the formulas or can’t differentiate between them all, well, your best choice is to take from them what connects with you most, at that moment and that time for that particular story, and leave the rest behind for another time or another writer.
“Absorb what is useful; Disregard that which is useless” – Bruce Lee
WSF Member’s Script “Dead Man’s Man Cave” An Official Selection for Beverly Hills Film Festival
WSF Member Rachel Callaray’s script “Dead Man’s Man Cave” has been chosen as an official selection of the Beverly Hills Film Festival.
Logline: When Molly and daughter are reunited amidst a cottage haunted by gut-busting, middle-aged man-ghosts, their struggling relationship strengthens while strategically plotting to “exterminate the men!”
WSF Member Receives Special Mention and Film Score Awards
WSF Member Jamison Stokdyk’s short screenplay High Beam recently went on from the first round finalists to receive a Special Mention in the 2012 Table Read My Screenplay contest.
Jamison is also a talented music composer. His film scores for the short films “Cold Charlie” and “The Seven Year Wish” recently received Platinum and Gold Awards, respectively, from the 2011 AVA Awards.
UPDATED! WSF Member a Finalist in Two Categories for IFFF
WSF Member and Wisconsin native Rachel Callaray’s drama, My Wooden Wings, and comedy, My New Right Hook, have placed in the finals of the International Family Film Festival Professional Screenwriting Competition.
As an organization, IFFF operates year round. Among its primary activities, it produces an annual film festival in Hollywood for youth (the IFFF Youth Fest!) and adults; IFFF advocates and encourages the creation and sharing of family films and screenplays; it conducts summer film camps; IFFF teaches filmmaking, media & family literacy through its International Family Film Institute, and it supports various film contests that promote socially responsible film products suitable for a general audience that express a fundamental respect for the positive values of life.
Now celebrating its 16th year, the 2011 International Family Film Festival will be held (March 16 – 20) at Raleigh Studios in the heart of Hollywood. This year’s theme is Family Films are Evergreen, a literary notion that quality family films stand the test of time.
UPDATE: Rachel Callaray’s script My Wooden Wings is now an Official Selection for the IFFF in the drama category, making it one of the top two in the category.
Brooke Miller Hall and Amy Gangl Win the WSF “From Concept to Script” Competition!
Many congratulations to WSF members Brooke Miller Hall and Amy Gangl. Their screenplay “My Own Time Machine” has been selected as the official WSF Pick for the WSF’s “From Concept to Script” Competition.
Participants were first asked to submit up to ten high concept loglines for the first round of this unique competition. After receiving over 400 loglines, WSF President Ken Miyamoto and a film industry executive working for a major studio (name and exact company withheld due to legalities and anonymity) selected the loglines with the most potential, eventually narrowing it down to the Lucky 13.
Those thirteen writers were asked to write the first ten pages of a screenplay based on their selected logline. The Final Five of that group were selected and then given a November deadline to complete the full screenplay.
The Final Five were then invited to Madison, WI to partake in film industry mock meetings. These meetings were designed specifically to mirror real film industry meetings with development executives or producers to give the writers a glimpse into what to expect. WSF President Ken Miyamoto and an independent producer from Hollywood, John Baumgaertner, held the meetings on the University of Wisconsin campus.
Writers were able to discuss and “spitball” their screenplays with Miyamoto and Baumgaertner, discuss the film industry, what to expect, as well as if the writers had any further projects completed or in-the-works, a common question that all screenwriters should expect to hear in such meetings.
All writers have been given until the end of January to complete a final draft of their competition screenplays, which will then be handed forward to our major studio affiliate, as well as additional major film industry companies, for consideration. This will give the Final Five writers exclusive and unique access to the film industry… essentially making them all winners of this competition.
Brooke Miller Hall and Amy Gangl’s “My Own Time Machine” has won the competition’s additional prize as being selected as the official WSF Pick, based primarily on the delivery of the screenplay and the strength of that first draft at hand.
“Brooke and Amy did a wonderful job of delivering a heartfelt and character driven story, injected within the high concept of a boy time traveling back in time to see his deceased grandfather. The screenplay delivered. It engaged. It had the wonder of E.T. and the fun of Back to the Future. We’re proud to announce it as our WSF pick for this unique competition,” Miyamoto stated.
“We wish them, and the rest of the Final Five, the best of luck as they lock their final drafts and as we forward them to true film industry players for consideration.”
Miller Hall and Gangl will receive a free year long WSF membership renewal, as well as free admittance to the upcoming Spring WSF Retreat in April.
To read the loglines from the Final Five, please CLICK HERE.
WSF Member Publishes Novel “Fast Lane”
WSF member Dave Thome has published his comic romantic novel “Fast Lane.”
In “Fast Lane,” Lara Dixon is determined to bring down billionaire Clay Creighton because she believes his Fast Lane media empire, which promotes “fast women, fast cars and fast living,” ruined her marriage and is a menace to all women. She proposes someone infiltrate The Rotation—three women who attend to Clay 24/7 until being replaced—to gather dirt for an expose and then become the first woman to walk away. Lara’s benefactors suggest she be the one.
Once inside, though, Lara discovers Fast Lane and Clay are not what they seem. She starts falling in love with Clay, but isn’t sure how he feels about her. Meanwhile, she finds herself in the crosshairs of people in the organization who have their own agendas.
“Fast Lane” is available for Kindle from Amazon.
WSF Member a Quarterfinalist for StoryPros International Screenplay Contest
WSF Member John Surtmeier’s screenplay, “Dungeon Master Olympics” placed as a Quarter Finalist pick in the StoryPros International Screenplay Contest.
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