Selling a story if you’re not a screenwriter
Like millions of other Americans out there, I have what my peers consider a few great movie ideas based on some recognizable cartoon characters. It’s a live action big budget concept with tons of special effects and an extremely clever twist. I can’t write the thing myself, but I can participate in its development. What course of action do you recommend? Is there a pool of capable screenwriters waiting for people with ideas to draw from? What can I do to sell my concept and have others develop the story?
–Paul Threatt
We don’t usually publish last names, but “Paul Threatt” seems so cosmically calculated for success, who could resist? If I were you, here’s what I would do.
- Even though you’re not a writer, do the very best job you can writing down the ideas, just in prose form. Register these treatments with the Writer’s Guild. (Refer back to one of the upteen columns I’ve written about that.) Keep in mind that this is really very little protection, since you don’t own any of the copyrighted characters your idea is based upon. But this whole venture is a crazy longshot, so even a fraction of a percentage of prudence is worth something.
- Move to Los Angeles.
- Get a job working for one of the following places: a big agency, a major studio, a powerful management firm, or a successful filmmaker (producer, screenwriter or director). This isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. Start in the mailroom, or as an intern. Learn everything you can. Figure out who the best writers are.
- Work very hard, so that you’re promoted a few rungs up from the bottom. This may involve switching companies several times.
- At this moment, and not before, present the very best of your ideas to your boss, or another powerful person you’ve befriended along the way. Convince them that this is the movie that will make their careers. Then seek out the filmmaker who could get it made, and the studio that controls the rights.
This whole scenario may sound far-fetched, but it’s essentially what’s been happening for decades. Pretty much everyone who comes to Hollywood has one or two great ideas that they’re convinced should be made. And fortunately, remarkably, they’re right. Good luck.
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September 13th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
hi. i am looking for someone to help me. i wanna start by saying that i recently almost died in a car crash, and when i woke up in the hospital, my views of life i found had changed. the first thing i saw on the television was the iraq war, and its something i definitely didnt enjoy to look at. i am only 22 years old, but my mind works as if i was twice my age. im writing because, i dreamed of a movie, one that has never before been seen or heard of, and at the end of my dream, there were credits, and my name was the writer, and another person too, but it flashed a little. i couldnt read it. well, i have begun today to write this out, in a book format, but i would like to know how i can obtain the help that i need, either for a movie idea or a book, because i am not good at either. the thing is, if this idea, actually, its more than an idea now because ive already started, were to reach the public eye, it would change the face of the world. thats all i can really say about it now, but i would definitely appreciate a reply. by the way, im thinking of naming it, either a book or a movie, Nations of The World. everything on earth, is in this dream. hopefully you or someone you can refer me to will be a part of it too. thank you and a reply or not, i thank you for your time.
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
have a sure-fire idea for either a movie or a tv series. It involves the life and times of a true American hero. A real sleeper of a story. A man thathas never got the recognition he deserves.
July 29th, 2007 at 2:11 am
i have a movie idea about the devil and god
September 15th, 2007 at 1:21 am
I have the next block buster idea !
September 15th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
But I think the best thing to do is start off strong and go with it with a clear mind, and speak to the right people, not just anyone. If there is one thing I learned in life is… You have no freinds that word is bs.
September 15th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Hardworking writers should find this site an excellent resource. The story titles draw you in followed by useful information. In short, the response to Paul Threatt means: “get out there and don’t let anyone stop you” until you get what you deserve. And who doesn’t understand that as writers, publishers, and filmmakers, we need to make money?
Concerning titles, as a woman, I’m reminded of the screenplay with the title “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”. The title alone made it a cash cow, although, concerning the film, it doesn’t hurt to have a star-studded cast.
Having trouble finishing that screenplay without a blockbuster title? Relax. The ONLY way to get noticed by Hollywood or an agent is with a well-crafted cover letter attaching a professional-level written synopsis. Only then will doors start to open.
I have difficulty writing strong titles as well as the synopsis. And, yet every story or screenplay meets the publisher’s criteria complete with music score. Writing any screenplay should not have to take half a lifetime. However, the immediate rewards of selecting music with titles that set the nights on fire and help tell the story are that every song takes you back to past loves, good, bad, and ugly. One of the greatest cinematic stories ever told and set to music has a title with these three words “The Ten Commandments” and one of them is a number.
Along with GOD, Lily Tomlin is famous for using three words like “one ringy, dingy” and “that’s the truth”. While seated in the audience during one of her one-woman Broadway shows many years ago, Tomlin’s versatility became powerfully clear. Versatility describes every great writer who ever lived, published or unpublished. There is no better way to feel empowered without breaking the law than by presenting your own material to an audience with or without music. Course, you could do this at work and you would be paid.
Writing a screenplay is one of the best ways to feel empowered. I know because I wrote one. The only contenders are lyricists and evangelical Christians. I happen to be those, too. Because spoken and written words are our most powerful forms of communication, they should be respected and used wisely. Years of experience and a college degree(s) also help.
So, keep writing and the next time you need a note of encouragement, head for johnaugust.com or the Bible, they’re both good sources along with the “Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus” for the writer in everyone (subtitle).
When you decide to write screenplays, have confidence that you will find one of the many ways to support yourself and still enjoy life. Peace, love, joy, and happiness. This is what life is all about, isn’t it?
February 6th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Paul, Charley, Daniel, and Michael: You each have a great IDEA? Who cares? Everyone has ideas! What makes a writer valuable is the writing. Don’t start calling Hollywood until you have a completed SCRIPT.
Karen Taylor (My script is DONE, coverage is positive, producers can read it on InkTip.)