FOCUS! (FYI this is not about writing!)

I would introduce myself, but who I am is as unimportant to this column as knowing which on-air personality is at your favorite radio station’s live remote. I’m not saying I’m not important, because my wife would say otherwise. I am saying that the message is more important than the messenger. This column is for the local and national events that hit home for us on a community, state and personal level. It should be about the items that you deem important and most importantly, it should be local. What is a strong community without a strong community column?

My focus today is asking you what our focus should be. Should it be on the man or woman behind the column? Not to sound rude, but there are search engines to find out these things. Email addresses are also great ways to satiate your curiosity.

Our focus can sometimes be blurred by what I like to call the Media Shell Game. With few exceptions like the Baby Briana case where the name of the victim is, and should be remembered, we have a tendency to focus on the person or persons committing whatever heinous act that we see in the media. We should be focusing the victims.

Last Wednesday’s Las Cruces Sun News featured a story on Heather Abbott. Who? Heather Abbott lost part of her leg as a result of the Boston Marathon bombing. 8-old Martin Richard, 29-year old Kyrstle Campbell, graduate student Lu Lingzi, and MIT officer Shawn Collier. All killed. Over 250 injured. Maybe the national media needs to take a few lessons from local media. Sandy Hook. The Boston Marathon bombing. Heck, even 9-11! We see too much about the antagonists and not enough about those left injured or dead by acts of violence. The victims aren’t always just the people lost to us. What about the families and loved ones who have lost the one thing in life that is irreplaceable.

If you have had a loved one taken from you in an act of violence, I know that the last thing you want to see plastered all over the television is the person or persons responsible. A constant reminder that the villain gets to become infamous while we mourn a life that should have never been taken. The antagonist gets to be a star with possible movie deals and a reality show. Remember Nancy Kerrigan? Her one timer attacker now has a cushy job on a TRUTV show about stupid criminals. A constant paycheck is how we reward the wicked, and they know it. Another killer was the subject of a TV movie starring Mark Harmon. Can you name one of his victims? The killer not Harmon. Even fictional serial killers are glorified now with new TV shows featuring characters from Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. Let’s not forget the popular Showtime series that has even sucked me into the world of a likable killer.

When we as a society stop giving in to our dark side, then maybe the villains’ fame will end. If you’ve noticed I haven’t mentioned even one of the names of any of these killers, fictional or otherwise. Not to sound rude, but there are search engines to find out these things.

You can't handle Change!!!!!

Change is one major constant in our lives.  One constant is that most of us don't like.  It's nice and safe with a lot of repetition.  It's familiar, like an old friend.  That kind of familiarity has no place in Screenwriting.  Seriously.

One of the many hats I wear is to turn novels into screenplays.  I take as much pride in my work as the Author takes in his or her novel.  There's nothing like being the proud parent of a 2 pound bouncing baby book.  The Author looks at that book (whether it's their first or their fifteenth) as if nothing could could better.  How about turning that book into a live-action motion picture?  HECK YEAH! 

The Author thinks how wonderful it would be for their baby to grow up and be on the big screen......exactly....the way.....they wrote it.

Good luck with that.  Read any of your favorite fiction books (most in non-fiction too) and then watch the movie that was made from it.  What's the most popular response by people who have read the book?  IT'S NOTHING LIKE THE BOOK!   Some folks may even say that it isn't quite like the book, which tells me that they probably didn't read the entire book.

FACT:  Most books will vary significantly from the novel from which they were adapted to the screenplay.  WHY?

Why can't you keep the exact same ingredients in the exact same order with the exact same everything?  Because even a 240 page book, if adapted "as-is" would end up being a healthy 6-8 hour movie.

As a screenwriter, it is my job to take the best elements of the novel and give them continuity on the big screen.  You have to decide what will be viable in a movie while still being true to the story line.  Sometimes, this isn't as easy as it sounds.

FACT: If you are an Author and are having your novel turned into a screenplay for the very first time, then you must allow your child to grow.

In the book Jumper, the mother was dead. In the movie, she was alive and well and working for bad guys.
In Jurassic Park, the many paged DNA explanation in the book was turned into a short cartoon in the movie. SPOILER ALERT: John Hammond dies in the book, but not the movie. There are more changes that were actually included in some of the movie sequels like the Aviary.

Once you've swallowed your pride and accepted change from the screenwriter, then comes the fun part.  The screenplay will change again with the director.
Unless the screenwriter and director have worked together many times, the director's vision will be different because he/she knows what shots are possible and what shots will have to change.

I have been involved with writing the screenplay and then rewriting to fit the director's vision.  It is a process.

If, as an author, you can't handle even the first step, then you will have a screenplay that will never sell.  Maybe you can get someone with a camcorder to film it.  Sounds harsh?  No.  You have to trust the screenwriter that they will help you to sell your script by giving Hollywood what it wants.  If you can come to a happy middle ground then that's okay as well.  When I write a screenplay, I take it seriously and look at it from a movie goer's perspective, a director's perspective, a producer's prospective, the original writer's perspective, and the character's perspective.  I want to make the author happy, but the best way to do that would be to write a screenplay that people want to pay big bucks for.

It's your dime, but I will suggest what I can to turn it from a cute idea into a money making venture for all concerned.

Let the screenwriter help your children grow....

Editing yours and other's work

You've just finished  the first draft of your screenplay, play, novel, etc. and you sigh with relief.  Unfortunately you forgot that the editor of your book is....you!  Now the editing.  YAY! What fun!  I am not much of a reader so editing is not my greatest joy in life.  I believe editing your own work is harder than editing someone else's.  Why?  I'm glad you ask.

One I've written a novel, I know what it's going to say, so I have a tendency to skim and overlook because I skim and overlook because I know the material.  Did you catch that?  Being that it is my material, I am so familiar with it that I read what I believe it states, without wanting to take into consideration that I may have made mistakes.  Sometimes it takes several times of re-reading to catch everything.  My first novel Angel Falls took at least 13 re-reads before I was satisfied.  When I write my short story compilation, Levels, it was a little bit easier because I edited each story as I finished it.  I still missed some things.  

What am I trying to say?  If you can avoid it DON'T EDIT YOUR OWN WORKS!!!!  It's time consuming and it will make you extremely paranoid as to just how many mistakes you can catch yourself.  I would suggest that if you know someone reliable who will do it for free, then recruit them.  I still edit some manuscripts and screenplays.  My Wife, Kathy is a wonderful editor and an avid reader.  She has a great eye for detail and I trust her with my works.  She has recently started editing  for other authors as well.  She does charge a fee, but you don't expect her to edit everyone else for free do you? :)  

When you edit other people's works you have no idea what you're going to get.  Here's a few example:

The writer who prefers to describe everything with so much detail that you almost forget important details about their book.

"The majestic Nightingale with the orange beak and claws of ashen grey, perched outside of Jenny's apartment window.  Nightingales are rare this time of year because of the migration patterns of the red headed ones.  Nightingales are not endangered and come in a lot of different varieties....(continues for four paragraphs).

Unless this is a book on birds...let it go.

The writer who prefers to leave the reader's imagination and you become lost in an instant.

"Jonathan sped down the highway in his car.  Alison looked frightened.  He looked straight up and saw the bat people chasing him.  He lept straight up and managed to catch a hold of Bengar the Bat King's leg.  Bengar flew off unaware that he had a passenger.  When Bengar landed, Jonathan used his karate to subdue him."

Several important details are left out like: Was the car a convertible? What happened to the car once he lept?  How close were the Bat People?  Leaping straight up from a moving automobile?  What happened to Alison?  How EXACTLY did Jonathan use his karate?  Bengar couldn't feel Jonathan hanging on? Etc.

The writer who is writing for the sheer joy of it and doesn't care of continuity, the laws of physics, or the reader.  

Most of the time, the writer mentioned last will get all kinds of crazy if you try to give them constructive criticism.  This is just like the previous example but graduates into the realm of WTF?

When editing someone else's work, you have to have an understanding of the plot, characters, and where the author wants to go in their story.  If you can't make heads or tails then neither will the reader.  It's up to you to not only decipher (sometimes) a mess, and it is also your responsibility to tell the writer what they are doing wrong.  It's best to read it over once before agreeing to edit so you can see just how big of a job it might be.  Don't be afraid to tell the author it's incomprehensible.  You can be tactful, but if you feel sorry for them, and you go light on the editing then not only are you doing them a disservice, but you are giving yourself a bad reputation as well.   Editing Non-Fiction is a lot harder because of all of the fact checking.

Take each work  case by case and hopefully you won't get trapped in a sea of crazy.  Enail me if you have any questions! Did you catch that? 

Critics

You slave away for possibly years on a work that now has your blood and sweat in every page.  You sacrifice family time and maybe even work time because you can't control when you're inspired.  You finally finish re-reading for the 27th time to make sure you have edited everything correctly.  You manage to work with your publisher on a great looking cover, after ditching the first 30 ideas.  You have your book published and now for the first time in a long while you can smile because you feel like you accomplished something you can take pride in.  Sales even start strong which  means that you start working on the sequel right away.  All is right with the world until.....

You hear from your publisher or a friend that there is a Critic who printed a review on your book.  The word review can be foreboding in itself.  Review? Someone that reads books for a living has read your new masterpiece?  What could they possibly think?  

They obviously think that it is as wonderful as the many who have purchased it.  They must sing the praises of the perfect characterization and intriguing sub-plots!  They must rejoice at how masterfully you pieced together the continuity and graphic details of each and every locale!  Surely, they must be in awe of the fact that you did not overuse the dictionary to describe your setting!  Of course they are mesmerized by the twists and turns that they themselves never saw coming?  Nice try.

Instead, they hammer your overuse of the word, "literally"; dissect the weak plot line;  and they skewer your predictable ending.  Welcome to the world of criticism!

If you're shocked when you get your first real review it's probably because most of the people that have been telling you how wonderful your book is, are most likely your family and close friends.  Don't get me wrong, maybe your book is really good.  You have to remember that the major critics are in bed with certain publishers, just like most major movie critics are in bed with certain movie studios so  they are biased.  That's probably not the case with your critic.  Maybe he or she is just taking an unbiased look at your masterpiece.

Either way, you need to look at negative criticism with enthusiasm.  Yes, I said enthusiasm.  You have the opportunity to see your work through someone else's eyes.  Someone's eyes who aren't related to you, or who haven't known you for the past twenty years.  They are using what I like to call "Reader's Eyes".

"Reader's Eyes" means reading the book, as any other reader who doesn't know you would read it.  When you receive constructive criticism, make sure that you actually listen to the criticism.  Maybe someone has noticed something that can help you in the future. Here's the important part: You have to read the criticism the same way the critic read your work.   Don't read what isn't there.  Don't read too much into it that you lose the intended meaning.  Don't dismiss it because you think the critic is stupid.  If you reject any criticism then you might as well give up writing because it tells me that you don't want to learn and you think you know more than anyone reading your work.

I always ask for honest feedback because I want to know what each person thinks.  These people took the time to spend their hard earned money to buy something that will possibly give you a great career.  They are taking the time to read the book that took so much of your time.  They need to be heard.

So encourage everyone to give you feedback and let them know that whether they liked your book or not, you need to hear their thoughts so you can improve as a writer.  I will always do this, no matter how popular my writing becomes; I suggest you do the same.

Rumors and who you are as a writer.

When you are just starting out as a writer in any genre, you will tend to be a victim of rumors.  What I call a rumor is more like unproven gossip about the writing process and how to get published (or selling your screenplay, TV script, etc).

Hearsay is a major contributor to pushing a writer off of their chosen path, especially if you tend to believe someone close to you.  "Well BLAH BLAH told me that they got an agent through BLAH BLAH agency and..."  Or..."SO and SO said that BLAH BLAH Publishers is taking submissions and they know someone on the inside."  etc, etc, etc...Always do your own research to avoid looking stupid.  Some people that tell you these things may not even be in "the business" and may have heard something on Entertainment Tonight that sounded cool.

You have to take charge of your writing future as soon as you start writing.  First, you have to decide whether you are going to be what I call the "Parental Writer".  This writer will love their own work so much that their "babies" will be made exactly the way they want them to be made or they won't be made.  Please realize that Hollywood can live without you.  ALL SCRIPTS WILL BE CHANGED!  What you hand to your agent or whomever will eventually be changed.  If the story is good then the changes will keep the story intact for the most part.

This would be where you have to decide if you want to write for writing's sake, or if you want to have a career.  If you just want to be a writer who writes for the simple pleasure of it without the pressure of trying to get it sold then more power to you.  If you want to sell your script, book, etc. then be prepared to possibly inserting dancing girls in the background while the Baghdad Museum blows up.  Maybe it won't be as drastic as that but I talked with one screenwriter who wanted to be a successful Hollywood writer.  He wrote a non-fiction book about the 2003 Baghdad Museum thefts.   Hollywood optioned his book to be made into a movie but they wanted the museum to blow up at the end.  He didn't want his "baby" changed in any way.  FACT: Even if somehow your script miraculously makes it to the Director without little to no changes (not possible but it's fun to think about it), the Director will have the best vision of how it will look on screen and how to make it so.  Your script then will go through some major changes while still leaving the plot intact.  My philosophy is do whatever they want you to do to make your movie; meanwhile your gaining contacts and saving money to make your other babies the way you want to without throwing out an ego to people who are known to eat egos for breakfast.   This is mainly for scripts and screenplays.

Rumor: YOU MUST DECIDE NOW! No.  Never make a decision when you're upset or confused.  Make sure you have all of the facts.  There's this wonderful thing called the Internet...

Rumor: YOU HAVE TO PAY TO GET PUBLISHED OR FIND AN AGENT: The real agents work on commission and will put you through the ringer just to get their attention.  Anyone who says they will represent you for a small fee up front is lying and will cheat you.  I know a few people who paid $4000 to an unmentioned book publisher.  This is mentioned as a marketing fee but they don't edit the book the way they say they will and you can get the exact same job done with an online free publisher.  My suggestions is publish with amazon.com because it's free, you design the cover, you set the price for the book, and you can add it free to the Kindle market.  Did I mention it's free?

Rumor:  I NEED TO HIRE AN EDITOR, AND SCREENWRITER(TO TURN MY BOOK INTO A MOVIE), AND THIS AND THAT...  No.  Although I created Riehl Faith Productions to do all of these things for you at a fraction of the cost anywhere else (including filming), you can do it yourself.  Is it hard?  Hell yes!  Will it be a longer project? Yep Will you save a heck of a lot of money and establish great new contacts while learning about the "biz" first hand?  You bet!  

How do you think I'm where I'm at now?  All self taught!!!  Shameless plug alert! Riehl Faith Productions offers:
screenwriting TV script writing, novels, comedy writing, (let's just say all writing for any genre)
filming movies, editing, all pre and post production
marketing and fundraising and all aspects with making a movie

Now if you want my company to do it all for you then that's okay, buuuuuuuuuuuuut....
1.) Buy software like Movie Magic which has templates for screenplays, plays, TV scripts and more for about 200.00.  Play with it for awhile and then begin writing!
2.)Google your butt off about what some organizations are looking for when it comes to screenplays, etc.  You do not ever want to submit anything to anyone who doesn't want it.
3.) Make friends with people who have actually been there and done that.  Their advice can be invaluable.
4.) Apply for jobs at TV stations.  Even if they don't hire you, your information is where they can reach it.
If you need anymore advice please feel free to email me.  God Bless.