Hey, everyone--

Welcome to 2008!  Usually, around this time of year, you hear everyone saying things like, “Where did last year go?”  “What happened to 2007?”  “2007 just went so fast!”

Well, I’m gonna be honest.

2007 did not go fast.  While there were lots of great things about 2007, it was also a year of grueling work, failed projects, and unfinished scripts.  In other words, it was just like every other year.  And while I enjoyed much of 2007, I am—frankly—glad to see it gone.  

Which is why I thought I’d dedicate today’s blog to “new beginnings.”  After all, we’re screenwriters… which means there’s often nothing harder for us than beginning something, typing “Fade In” or “Once upon a time” or whatever those first words may be.  Some writers hate staring at a blank page.  Some are intimidated by filling a hundred more blank pages.  Others are afraid of failing.

So whether you’re using the start of the new year to begin your new screenplay… or you don’t start it till June… here are some helpful hints to get your creative juices flowing and kick-start the writing process.

•  Make a mix CD or playlist.  I love music.  And if I don’t make my first billion by writing, I’m going to become a music supervisor, making soundtracks for movies and TV shows.  I often like to begin a new script by creating a CD or playlist of songs that make me feel like my story makes me feel.  (For example. I was recently working on a script for a supernatural thriller, so I created a playlist full of creepy, Goth-y music like Woven Hand, Current 93, Syd Barrett, 16 Horsepower, Hekate, Swans, etc.)  I’ll even order the songs so they create a chronological soundscape to the story.  As I write, this helps me stay in the moment and connect to the feelings and atmosphere of the story.

•  Think of a great opening line.  Many writers obsess over finding the perfect first for their story.  But this is often easier said than done, because we often think we need to find a line that encapsulates the entire story.  Instead, simply make a list of great opening lines, whether they’re appropriate for your story or not.  (I keep a running list in a journal.)  Things like: “Nobody likes killing their own mother… except Tyson Rockford.”  Or: “Cicely slides off her dress and smiles at her new husband.  This marriage will never last… and she knows it.”  Or: “It’s hard to be a good father when your daughter finds you with a ball-gag in your mouth.”  This helps turn on your “first-line muscles”… and you’ll probably find a fun, interesting way into your story.

•  Don’t start at the beginning.  Hopefully, by the time you begin your actual script, you’ve completed a comprehensive, in-depth outline.  Which means—if you’ve done your job well—you don’t need to start at the beginning.  I rarely write my story’s first scene first.  If I know my outline is solid, I writes the scenes I’m most inspired to write at the moments I’m inspired to write them.  If I’m depressed, I’ll write the break-up scene on page 37.  If I’m excited, I’ll write the action scene on 94.  This not only makes the writing more fun,  it allows you to write scenes when you’re in the best frame of mind to write them.

•  Write the scene as prose.  Or poetry.  Or a newspaper article.  If I’m blocked about how to begin a particular, I often try and write it in a different medium.  Let’s say, for instance, I need to write a battle scene between two spaceships, and I’m having trouble figuring out how to “attack” or get into it.  Instead of writing it in script form, I’ll try writing it as a short story (or a scene from a short story).  Sometimes I’ll try writing it as a magazine story.  Or an evening news report.  Or a sonnet.  Ultimately, of course, I’ll need to go back and do it in script form… but writing it in a different medium helps me look at the scene and think about details in different ways.  It also removes the pressure of feeling like the scene has to be “good.”  Since I know I’m never going to use a poem version of my battle scene, I can stop worrying about the quality of the writing and simply focus on story information.

•  Watch a movie.  Or 30 Rock.  Or read a book.  Imaginations are like gas tanks… we need to keep them full in order to keep our engines running.  So a great way to “unblock” yourself is to give your gas tank some fuel… absorb someone else’s creative material: a movie, play, sitcom, short story, new CD, anything.  I often find I get inspired by watching movies of opposite genres of whatever I’m working on.  If I’m beginning a romantic comedy, I’ll watch a horror movie.  If I’m writing a medical thriller, I’ll watch The Office.  Different genres tend to begin their stories differently, so watching something unrelated to your own project helps illuminate other ways to begin stories or deal with problems.


There ya go.  Hope those help, and here’s to a great 2008.

Now, I’m gonna go start my romantic comedy... by listening to Van Halen II and watching Friday the 13th.

With all the WGA strike-related activity, one thing this writing blog hasn’t devoted much time to is actual writing.  But this is, of course, a Writers Digest blog, and if there’s one thing WD does well, it’s talk about writing.  And inspire writers.  And offer bits of writing info and advice.  (Okay, that’s actually three—or maybe even four—things.)  And this blog is no different.  So I wanted to talk today about an issue which—while taking up less of the spotlight—is just as pressing and urgent as the writers strike:

Schmuck Bait.

What prompted me to tackle this thorny issue was an incident that recently occurred in the weekly TV spec-writing class I teach for mediabistro.com.

One of my students was writing a spec script of The Office.  I won’t go into the plot of his script, but the second act break involved Michael Scott getting fired.  Obviously, a bold, dramatic move.  It poses dire consequences for every character in the script.  And it creates huge conflict within the world of the show.  All good elements in creating compelling drama.

It’s also Schmuck Bait.

A sitcom term, “Schmuck Bait” usually refers to plot points that—while potentially explosive and dramatic—actually just do nothing but create false jeopardy.  They promise consequences and courses of action that can’t possibly occur.  

Firing Michael Scott, for instance,especially in a sample spec script, is certainly “Schmuck Bait,” because no rational reader is ever going to believe that Michael Scott is genuinely going to be fired from Dunder Mifflin.  Without Michael Scott, there’s no show… so firing him only creates false jeopardy.

A similar Schmuck Bait might be on, say, 24, if an episode ends with a cliffhanger suggesting Jack Bauer has been killed.  Sure, it’s a great cliffhanger, but no one—except maybe a genuine schmuck—is actually going to believe that Jack Bauer, the central character of the entire series, is dead.  

Thus, Schmuck Bait is a dramatic twist, or turn of events, that doesn’t tease or “bait” anyone but… well… schmucks.

The problem with Schmuck Bait is that it’s seductively easy to use.  I mean, if you’re writing The Office and need a gripping second act break, what could be more riveting than firing the main character?!  

But there are two problems with Schmuck Bait.  One: it’s false jeopardy.  And two: it’s often generic, rarely stemming from the central conflict of the story.  I.e., the idea of Michael getting fired could be used in virtually any episode of The Office.  It’s totally non-specific.  And this is where the solution comes in.

Most people—without even knowing it—turn to Schmuck Bait when they’ve lost sight of their script’s main problem or story engine.  If you’re writing a spec for The Office, for instance, in which Michael desperately wants to win an annual Dunder Mifflin award, it would be easy to engineer a schmuck-baiting second act break—the cliffhanger in which all seems lost—where his shenanigans get him fired.  But the driving force of your spec is Michael’s desire to win the award, not keep his job, so the cliffhanger should pertain directly to his current desire.  I.e., it should be a moment in which Michael thinks he has lost all chances of winning the award.  Losing his job is certainly dramatic, but not only is it unbelievable, it has nothing to do specifically with your story.  

A less schmuck-baity second act break might be Michael losing the one account that would allow him to win.  Or learning someone else is announced as the winner.  Or withdrawing from the contest.  You can choose whatever it is… as long as it’s something that could actually happen in the course of the series… and is also a logical extension of the central conflict.

So next time you’re worrying whether or not you’re incorporating Schmuck Bait, take a look at your script’s central premise.  Ask yourself: “what’s the worst possible outcome of this particular premise?”  Is it Michael Scott losing a contest?  Terrorist’s killing Jack Bauer’s important prisoner?  Meredith Grey’s favorite patient dying?  This answer should guide you in the right direction.

Because when you try using Schmuck Bait, the only one who ends up looking like a schmuck… is you.

 
 
 
 
Write Aid is presented by members of the Writers Guild of America West, the Screen Actors Guild and West Beth Entertainment.
 
The idea originated with the United Showrunners Committee who wanted a way to reach out to the Industry community during the strike.  Dawn and Nicole, Executive Producers of "The Riches" approached star Eddie Izzard.  "I wanted to help because the WGA struggle is in the same area as the SAG struggle will be in a few months time." Izzard said.  "We will also be negotiating over Internet residuals, so doing the benefit seemed like a good way of helping out and showing solidarity."
 
"A small group of writers and performers came together recently in the hopes of reconfirming our solidarity, as well as raising spirits and money as the Holidays fast approach," explains Marti Noxon, Executive Producer and Showrunner of the series Private Practice. 
 
For 30 years WestBeth Entertainment, led by President Arnold Engelman, has produced critically acclaimed work in live entertainment.  Productions have included the sold-out national tours of Eddie Izzard's Dress to Kill, Circle and Sexie; Billy Connolly's Too Old to Die Young (North American Tour); Lewis Black's Nothing's Sacred (Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall) and Red, White and Screwed (NY City Center); The Family Guy Live (NY, Los Angeles, Chicago) and Wigfield featuring Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello (Off-Broadway, National Tour); WestBeth recently produced Margaret Cho's The Sensuous Woman in New York and Eric Idle's play What About Dick? in Los Angeles.