Take Two: The Importance of Writing Your Story in Different Mediums
Casting many nets can help a writer create a long and healthy career. Jeanne Veillette Bowerman shares advice on adapting your story into multiple mediums.
Author: The word
success for most screenwriters implies selling a screenplay for a feature film or getting staffed on a TV show. But what if we rewired our brains to feel successful simply by being storytellers of any medium? After all, compelling stories transcend the screen and live in books, short stories, poems, video games, and web series. As discussed in past Take Two articles, casting many nets increases your odds of Hollywood discovering your talents.
Take Two: Writing a Screenplay Based on a True Story
Adapting a true story requires research, honesty, and sometimes, a little bending of the truth. Jeanne Veillette Bowerman shares tips on writing a screenplay based on a true story and the importance of finding the balance between fact and fiction.
Author:
Feb 19, 2021
voila! You have a fascinating story. Not so fast, Grasshopper.
“Write what you know” may be the number one piece of advice writers receive when launching into their first project, but when I did just that, I quickly realized I didn’t know squat. Turns out, “what I know” wasn’t cinematic at all; it was self-indulgent.
Jan 8, 2021 When I speak with screenwriters, I always inquire about their career goals and the projects they’re working on. They enthusiastically express a desire to win a contest, sell a script, and get representation.
But when I dig deeper into their story idea, the answer is rarely something high concept enough that Hollywood would be interested in buying. The stories are often about someone or something they know, not necessarily something that appeals to a larger audience.
Writing gurus advise us to write what we know or what we’re passionate about, but we also need to write something that will sell.