After a recent trip to Italy, I was inspired to write a memoir. Enthused by its development, I wondered if it could evolve into a film. Knowing absolutely nothing about screenplay writing, but having a deep passion for telling my story, I've committed to writing a screenplay. Herein lies my journey...Screenplay 101.
August 27, 2009 Today I am studying inciting incident. When I developed my beat sheet, my co-author, Dino, offered some advice. "You need to define your inciting incident more clearly." This presents a challenge because I haven't yet decided WHICH inciting incident is THE inciting incident. My screenplay involves flashbacks, so does the inciting incident come from a present experience of my search to recall my past...or is the inciting incident that event that happened in the past that brought me to the place I am now? Now I'm really confused. Let's take a look at the definition of an inciting incident.
On Suite101.com, Peter Reeves suggests...
"The inciting incident is the moment or plot point in a script that kicks the story into motion. It occurs after the set up or exposition and everything that follows the inciting incident should be a result of the inciting incident. It is where a story really begins. It is that moment in the script where the protagonist’s world is turned upside down and he/she must then set about resolving the change in circumstances that the incident has brought about. It is generally a clear and defined moment that is easily identifiable."
I am faced with deciding if I can pull off an inciting incident in a past event (flashback) but still focus on the present search as the "action" of the play. I have some work to do. Today I will discover the inciting incident and continue redefining my beat sheet. I have 3 hours before the kids come home from school.
Soon after I posted my last blog I completed the first chapter in The Grapes of Wrath. I was so proud of myself. Although it is probably the shortest chapter in the book, I had finished a chapter! That was also when I decided to go online and order a CD of the book so that I could listen to it in the car rather than reading the book. The car seems to be the only place where I have uninterrupted time. Some good friends commented on that blog and encouraged me to keep going (or choose a shorter book - good thinking, Susan!). Thanks, everyone! Now, several days later, the book is still in the same place on the couch because my "real" job takes up way more than 8 hours a day and I haven't had time to get back to Steinbeck. The CD has several holds before my name comes up, so I will keep plugging along, on my days off. There's also waterpolo practice, a sick child (boo-hoo, Analisse), the "other" part-time job, laundry, dinner (thanks, Mark)...Who decided on a 24-hour day anyway?
In the meantime, to those of you who are following my blog, pass it along. Anyone who has written a screenplay will certainly be welcome advice.
Last night I set out to start reading The Grapes of Wrath. Instead, I continued writing a photo book I started after our vacation. Realizing my children had never heard the story of my childhood, I decided to create the story using photographs from our trip. The trip, which involved returning to the place of my childhood, was the impetus for writing my story in a Shutterfly photo book, just for my children. That was about six months ago. My current venture of writing a screenplay is the "offspring" of the original photo book. Looking back, the photo book was the outline. I am still waiting to see if library volunteers can locate the archived newspaper article that relayed the story of my abduction; I'm almost sure my mother showed me a newspaper article many years ago. Once I have that, the photo book will be complete and that will be my first "published" piece.
Six-hundred nineteen. 619. 619. 619. I laugh. I've just picked up Steinbeck's novel and the first thing I do is flip to the last page to see how many pages I need to read. Page 619 is only a third of a page long. That's good. It starts on page 3, so I feel like I'm already 2 pages ahead. But then there's the introduction - it's 38 pages if I exclude the Suggestions for Further Reading. Maybe I should skip the intro. I begin on page 3. The entire first page is descriptive, what teachers call "showing" writing. Good. I know about that. Steinback has painted a picture for the reader. Even if I'm unfamiliar with Oklahoma's countryside, I SEE it. I feel that I can touch the fertile earth. I love the picture of "gophers and ant lions (starting) small avalanches." I giggle and think about all of the avalanches in my backyard. The smell of the fields pierces my nose. I tune into the sounds of nature. The first "was" I encounter is in the third line from the bottom. That's always been one of my teaching points..."Don't use was." I'll remember that. I turn the page and continue reading.
I have never read an entire book. I know that sounds incredible, especially coming from a teacher, but it's almost true. If I exclude children's novels, which I could count on one hand, and one short book, The Bridges of Madison County (I realize that should be capitalized, but I can only italicize, not capitalize in this blog) it is a true statement. Having said that, I find writing easy. I don't know why since one would expect that good writers learn to be so from reading good literature. So then I begin to question, "Am I really a good writer?" Perhaps I should start reading something good. After all, this adventure is all about learning. I should learn from a master. I peruse my double sided, 5-shelf bookcase filled with children's literature. The books are all alphabetized (I'm a bit compulsive that way) - everything from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to Z Goes Home. I've always taught elementary school or parents of preschoolers, so the selection is limited to mostly preschool through third grade books. I keep looking. I spy my sons' high school literature books on top of the bookshelf. They are dusty and the pages are well worn (my children all read (that's present tense) voraciously). Wow! They're thick. That is what always deterred me in the past. I'd read a few pages and boom, I'd be asleep. It has always been too overwhelming when I see that many pages. I remember when I was in school the first thing I'd do when I was assigned a book to read - count the pages. Then I'd try and figure out how many pages I'd have to read in a day to finish the book in time. I never made it...not once! I keep dusting the shelf.
Ah-ha!!! There it is...The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Wonderful. I read the back cover. Yes, I remember it, sort of. I remember I didn't finish it. It's still as thick as it was in high school; maybe even thicker. The print is small. I begin to read the back cover, then the introduction by Robert DeMott. Maybe I should skip the intro since it wasn't written by Steinbeck. No, I should start there. Immediately, I'm captured. He begins with a quote from Steinbeck's personal journal written more than 3 weeks after starting The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck writes,
"If I could do this book properly it would be one of the really fine books and a truly American book. But I am assailed with my own ignorance and inability. I'll just have to work from a background of these. Honesty. If I can keep an honesty it is all I can expect of my poor brain...If I can do that it will be all my lack of genius can produce. For no one else knows my lack of ability the way I do. I am pushing against it all the time." Excellent! Even John Steinbeck questioned his ability. Now, I'm sure I'm no Steinbeck, but honesty - that I have. The book/screenplay I'm writing, after all, is MY story, my TRUE story. No one knows it better than I do. And a poor brain - I have that, too. I begin a sentence and forget where I was headed. I have a thought and as I'm writing it, it disappears. Interestingly, however, the story I'm writing is not something I've always remembered. Growing up, I don't recall telling many people about my past. It didn't define who I was or who I was becoming. It merely was. It is only in traveling to the site where my story takes place and meeting the people that knew me then that I begin to remember. The puzzle pieces begin to fit. I'm consoled by the fact that Steinbeck questioned his ability to write. I laugh. I look at the thick book sitting next to me on the desk and sigh. The house is quiet. I'll begin reading it tonight...right after I e-mail my kids to read mom's confession herein. Look, kids, you've taught mom a lesson about reading and finishing what I start. Thanks, children!
I anticipated today, my day off, so that I could continue writing. Instead, I busied myself with menial chores - laundry, baking, pulling weeds. I was thinking about my beat sheet all day, however, and am still puzzled as to how to maintain only 15 beats. I think what I have written thus far is more of an outline than a beat sheet. I need to rethink the beat sheet. The outline will serve me later. For now, I will read more sample beat sheets to try and get a feel for how they are written so succinctly.
Another thought occurred to me today, too. Why am I writing a screenplay rather than a novel? Most screenplays are developed from novels, aren't they? So why don't I write a novel first? Hmmm? That seems to be much more difficult to me. Although a good novel helps the reader "see" the action, a film actually portrays that action. Maybe it's because I lived this story that I want it portrayed in film exactly as I remember it. A book, after all, requires the reader to paint the picture of the scene, the characters, and the setting. I may not be a good enough writer to do that. In writing a screenplay, it may be easier to control these factors. In my head, for example, I've already chosen someone to play the part of my mother (Drea). So maybe that is why I'm drawn to writing a screenplay. I wonder if anyone has ever written a screenplay AND a novel at the same time...?
My brother, Dino, suggests I complete a beat sheet as a beginning step. Of course, I have no idea what a beat sheet is, so he explains that a beat sheet is used by screenwriters to outline the major dramatic moments, or beats, in a screenplay. OK, I can do that. 16 beats - beginning, middle, and end. I'm a school teacher and that's how I teach the writing process. Same thing, right? Well, not exactly.
I plan and write my beat sheet. About half way through, however, I realize I've forgotten an important thing Dino had told me. You must limit each beat to one sentence. Hmmm...I am already on page 6 and each beat is paragraphs long. Oops. I am adding way too much detail, even dialogue and camera angles, scared that I might forget a really good thought if I don't add it. My film involves flashbacks. How do I write a one sentence beat that shows two separate events?
I keep writing. Pretty soon, I have a lot of pages of pretty good stuff. I have a solid beginning and a solid ending. There is a lot of middle. I'm worried that there is too much back and forth - flashback, flash forward, flashback, flash forward. Will the audience get lost? Dino says the audience is intelligent; you must give the audience credit for its ability to fill in the gaps that are unspoken. Although I realize I'm not following the "rules" of beat sheet writing, I continue to write long paragraphs for each beat because I want to include everything that's in my head today. I finish. Good job! I sleep like a baby because my head is cleared.
Today, I reread the "skeleton" of my screenplay and I'm proud of myself. I take a look at beatsheetcentral.com by Nicholas Jarecki, which is a collection of beat sheets from screenfilms. Ah, I'm starting to understand the one sentence thing. Dino's going to send me examples, too. Thanks, little bro! And thanks to my friends who have been encouraging me - Susan, Katie, Debbie St., Debbie B-G, Angela, and Michele. I'll see you on the red carpet, baby.
Up at 6 a.m. this morning and can't sleep. I have (what I think are) some GREAT ideas! Funny, I don't know anything about film making and really haven't seen too many movies and have read NO scripts, but seem to have an innate sense of what I want to do. I prepare scenes in my head, camera angles, blurring, panning, tear drops falling on a hand, walking up stairs, suitcases, balconies. Inspired, for sure. Crazy, probably. Ahhh, going to church today, so writing will have to wait. I’m frustrated by that, but need to clear my head anyway.
After an uneventful day, I plop on the couch around 3 p.m. I knew that, with the frenzied past few days, I would eventually crash and burn. As soon as I close my eyes, I get a call from Dino with more wild information on screenplay writing. "Take the important steps of identifying genre, protagonist, antagonist. Complete the beat sheet." He suggests a log line. Great stuff. Again, too much to think about. I am reinvigorated. Thanks, Dino.
Yesterday, I went to see Julie and Julia, a true story about a modern day woman who starts a blog about her passion for cooking and admiration for Julia Child. Although I enjoyed the movie, as much as getting away for an evening with girlfriends, I left the theater thinking, “That was a simple story, really. La Mia Storia is at least as entertaining.” I wonder if I could write it. I recall an old family friend, Debbie, compelling years earlier, “You should write your story.” Could I write a screenplay? Summer vacation is over; school resumes on Monday. When will I have time?
Having already completed the memoir of La Mia Storia, I figure I have an outline. I have a good story. I’m a good writer. What I need is the basics of screenplay writing. I spend today searching the web for just that…and find a plethora of information. How to Write a Screenplay in 3 days, 10 days, 30 days. Hmmmm? Why do I want to rush? Next, the nuts and bolts. Ahhh, this is what I need…the mechanics of screenplay writing. The rules. Beat, copyright, etc. Then, suggestions for How To books. Who wrote them? Can I really rely on someone whose webpage is so poorly written that the grammar and spelling are beyond bad? I bookmark several resources and download a free screenplay writing skeleton.
I e-mail my creative brother, who responds quickly to my over-zealousness. Always encouraging, he warns me about the art of screenplay writing. Millions try it; few succeed. “But, don’t give up,” he encourages. He calls later in the evening and gives me an earful of pointers. “You have to have a protagonist…who resolves something.” I tell him my ideas. We talk at length about books to read. He’s sending me stuff to review. Good.
I come home from a birthday party and write a list of 6 things on a to-do list (no deadline):
Finalize memoir
Divide storyline into beats (thanks, Dino)
Read several screenplays
Read How To books
Write
Research copyright/title
OK, I can go to sleep now. Turn off the light. Turn on the light. I have a thought. I have paper and a pen on my side table so I start to write notes. Turn off the light. Turn on the light. More notes. It’s now 1:30 a.m. and I still can’t sleep. I’m too excited. Am I nuts? I start thinking about getting Gabriele Muccino (director of Pursuit of Happyness) to read my script. HAAAA!!! My thinking is that, in writing a movie that takes place in L’Aquila, we can bring attention to the now-destroyed city and raise money for rebuilding. Again, am I nuts? I envision a plaque with my name on it in the refurbished piazza in 10 years. Dreamer! I decide I can’t sleep anyway, so I might as well write. So, here I am. Now almost 2 a.m. and I still can’t sleep. I feel inspired. God, help me to slow down. This is craziness! I give myself a deadline of completing before I turn 50.
Before I go to sleep, I check e-mail to see what Dino or Debbie thinks of my memoirs. Good night.
