1. Stefanovic

    Stefanovic New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2015
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    1

    my strengthts and weaknesses

    Discussion in 'Collaboration' started by Stefanovic, Feb 20, 2015.

    The thing is: I write good stories, have been writing five drafts and I do know I can come up with good plots and dialogues but I don't feel it when I have to describe actions. I've had screenwriting lessons at drama school and most of the time I got 95 percent for having created a good story, original idea but even after a couple of years I never felt I had the real talent for fully developping a script.

    That's why I reckon collaborating wouldn't be a bad idea. People complementing me, being good at what I'm not good at ( and the other way around)
    The question is: where can you find those people online? ( this might be a good start)
     
    Boger likes this.
  2. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2010
    Messages:
    6,541
    Likes Received:
    4,776
    Have you asked your writing tutors just what's lacking in your narration when it comes to action?

    Also, this is probably my lack of screenwriting knowledge showing, but I don't imagine you have much action to describe at all in a screenplay? What you do describe tend to be basic, I thought? Certain body language, physical details of the setting that would convey things in a scene, perhaps sometimes how something is spoken. But I'm not under the impression that you have to describe much at all.

    I think on this forum people most write regular prose and poetry. With prose, it's mostly novels and short stories. I'm not aware that many of us on here actually write screenplays.

    As for collaborations, your best bet would be probably hang around on forums and perhaps other groups in real life like this and get to know a few people. Participate like you would on any other group/forum, find out who seems to have personalities and writing tastes that mesh well with yours, and then approach these people privately if you feel a collaborative relationship could work. I think writing style, genre you enjoy, and even your ideas need to be on the same wavelength for things to work - they don't necessarily have to be the same, but they do have to be along the same lines that you'd both appreciate, enjoy, and perhaps even WOW over. Things perhaps you'd never think of but you'd really love, and vice versa. Finding someone like that, though, takes time. And then once you find such a person, you need to make sure they're the sort who can take criticism, who can take it when you say you don't agree with something, and vice versa. In this sense it requires hard honesty and a strong relationship in terms of trust and admiration for each other's work. It's obviously a given that you both need to actually enjoy the work the other person writes. In general people would also advise you sign a contract in case things get ugly down the road.

    My first novel was a collaboration - you can see it in my avatar and signature. But I was friends with the girl beforehand and I've read 2 of her novels before we actually collaborated together. The collaboration actually happened as a result of a misunderstanding lol. It worked well, but I think only because of all the things I've mentioned above - we enjoyed each other's writing and admired each other as good writers, and our ideas were often similar or even the same when we'd get really into it. Many people have commented they can't even tell 2 different writers wrote the book cus our style had so many similarities (we also edited each other's chapters, so that probably made things more similar too). It's true that you do learn a lot from collabs :)

    @KaTrian collabs with her husband @T.Trian - maybe they have more advice on what to look for in a collaboration and how to find a suitable partner?
     
  3. Stefanovic

    Stefanovic New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2015
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    1
    Thank you so much. Yes, it's basic stuff, but It's not my strength and I want the result to be good, especially when starting out.
    In general, I do have a story, I do have the lines, it would just mean a lot to collaborate at the beginning of my carreer;
     
  4. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2010
    Messages:
    6,541
    Likes Received:
    4,776
    But when you collaborate, you're not the only one writing the story - the story belongs to both of you and you both have the power to veto certain plot points. So when you say that you have a story, do you mean you have an actual story you want to write already, or you mean you find coming up with stories/story points easy?

    You say "career" - but most of us here are unpublished. I'd venture a guess that anyone willing to collaborate with you would be unpublished themselves. Collaboration could indeed potentially teach you a lot and therefore move you along in terms of your skill level - but it wouldn't help you build an actual career. Like, you won't be getting any big names or more exposure or a larger audience or something.

    I guess I'm not sure if you meant "career" casually - eg. developing your skills that you need to progress in your career of screenwriting, or if you meant it seriously like you expect the collaboration to somehow help advance you in your career in the concrete sense of making contacts, getting stuff out there, building a reputation, getting published and your script produced etc.
     
  5. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2010
    Messages:
    6,541
    Likes Received:
    4,776
    Another thing - collaborating won't necessarily help you learn how to describe things better. For that you either need to practice with a tutor who can give you pointers of how to improve, or you should read good scripts to see how good description is done, and then practice.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice