My schedule for the Austin Film Festival
As I mentioned previously,
I’m going to be one of the panelists at the Austin Film Festival this October 14-17. I now know my schedule, so I can at least pretend to be prepared to talk about the following topics of interest.
(Standard caveat: everything is subject to change.)
Saturday, 10/16
10:45AM - 12PM
Writer’s Block
When your mind and screen go blank. The painful struggle of writer’s block and how to overcome it. An inside look at how professionals stay focused and get the writing juices flowing.
2PM - 3:15PM
On Writing: Action/Adventure
Do you have to follow the formula? Does anyone even buy spec action scripts anymore? Or are they all studio-generated? Writing action-filled, violence-laden, explosion-stuffed films that don’t sacrifice story or characters. At least not their development.
Sunday, 10/17
9:45AM - 11AM
Editing Your Script
Congratulations! You’ve finished your screenplay. Now it’s time for the real work: Editing. How to take an objective look at your script and edit your own writing.
If you’re headed to Austin, maybe I’ll see you at one of the panels. And if you do decide to go, remember that they’ll give you a 10% break on the registration fee if you tell them I sent you.
September 11th, 2004 at 7:57 pm
Fortunately, I get to go free due to reading for the screenplay contest. I’ll be at your panels wearing the tie-dye scarf around my neck. I’ll also wave my little pinky finger at you as “our” sign.
BTW - Is there something else I can get a cool discount on by using your name? And I was kidding about the scarf and pinky stuff. I’ll be in the Black Panther beret!
September 13th, 2004 at 10:13 pm
Regarding writer’s block, something I like to do when I get stuck is go back and reconsider all of my character names and jot down lists and lists of new names. For me at least, if the name doesn’t fit the persona I have created for a given character, I have a hard time giving that character a “voice,” which leads to writer’s block…