Last spring I decided that I was going to finish my degree. I enrolled at the local community college and took a test that I assume was to make sure that I could read and write. I met with an advisor who told me which classes I needed to be able to graduate when I wanted.
I needed to take an elective and she suggested that I take a Cinema class because "you sit and watch movies all day". Easy enough, I thought. So Cinema was what I signed up for. Little did I know how much that little once a week class would change my life.
On the first day of class my instructor, Fred Samia, said that after this class we would no longer be able to "just watch" a movie again. He was right! I now search for the plot, character introductions, transitions and dialogue. I base whether I like a movie or not on how well these things all come together. Funny how I used to review movies with "I just liked it"!
Oh and by the way, my advisor was only half right. We did watch movies all period but we also had to write a paper answering strategic questions for every movie as well. The funny thing was that I loved writing those papers. My instructor asked questions like - What was the significance of Mrs. Robinson's wardrobe in The Graduate? (Here's to yoouu Mrs. Robinson) He challenged me to really pay attention to the screenwriter's vision and how the director brought that to life.
On the last day of class Mr. Samia pulled me to the side and told me how much potential he saw in my writing. He asked if I planned on pursuing writing, particularly screenwriting, because he thought I'd be successful in it. I hadn't ever thought of screenwriting before. When I asked how I should go about getting started he told me to read scripts, one hundred to be exact!
I was like, whaaat?
He explained that reading scripts would be the best way for me to understand the flow of how movies are written. He also suggested that I not even attempt to write until I had come close to that goal. Okay, I thought, I'll give it a try. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to really GET (like, understand) a script but I went home and downloaded a few free scripts off of the Internet anyway.
The first one that I read was Juno. If you haven't seen the movie it's about a teen aged girl with a sassy attitude who gets pregnant and decides to let a couple she found advertised in the Penny Saver adopt her child. I was really surprised that I just couldn't put it down! I was more engrossed in the script than I was in the actual movie, although I did enjoy the film. I was reading something that was in a format that was exactly how I had MY story ideas in my head! Hallelujah! I love reading novels but every time I try to write one it's difficult to get what's swirling around up top down in the correct format and I can't manage to finish one.
So, while on twitter one day I saw a post for a screenwriting contest. We would be given a premise on which to base our story and 48 hours to come up with 2 scenes. Sounded pretty fun so I joined. The premise was sent out this past Friday and it's due tomorrow morning. This was, officially, my first attempt at writing a script and I can honestly say that I've never felt so in a zone! I was able to get out exactly what was on my mind and with the help of Final Draft 8, I managed to produce a piece of work that I'm extremely proud to have someone else read!
When I started this blog, my intention was to become a published novelist. I knew that I loved to write and I liked reading books, so naturally I figured that I should write books as well. The fun part about this journey is that I'm really focusing on what I want and with that focus I'm narrowing in on my niche.
Thank you Mr. Samia. You opened my eyes to a new world of writing that I never thought I would enjoy!
