Hello! I'm new to the site, obviously, and thought I'd come and introduce myself. Username is EineKleine, very nice to meet you. I am a screenwriter, not professionally yet, and have been writing full time since September of '10. I only recently graduated from high school, in '08, which would place me at the age of 19, turn 20 at the end of January. I've written four and a half full-length feature film screenplays, most of which I can objectively say suck, except for my latest, which I'm actually very proud of. It's about a detective with substance abuse issues attempting to solve an unsolveable murder mystery, in the tradition of Agatha Christie, that takes place in the early 1900s on a cruise ship. I also write short stories frequently, as an excercise in improving my writing and occasionally as a way to get a better understanding of character for my scripts. My strengths lie in creativity, plot and dramatic awareness. I also excel at writing villains. I write high concept plots, and am obsessive about certain themes; immortality, redemption, damnation, greed, revenge, insanity and the cost of success. Everything I write naturally is big picture and attempts to be epic. I enjoy exploring the duality of convention. Everything people identify as the status quo, I love to question and challenge. I have major weaknesses, though and I am working to improve them. I struggle to write a good protagonist, I simply do not feel them the same way I feel villains. Either that, or my "protagonist" ends up being an unsympathetic monster. This, of course, sabotages my efforts because it can make my stories emotionally unaccessible and meaningless. For a while, I struggled because I attempted to force myself to write a low-budget character drama. I have decided to abandon that, after coming up with twenty different ideas and then promptly losing interest after writing the treatment/starting the outline. Now, I'm outlining a TV series. It has elements of high-concept fiction and fantasy, and yet I feel that I finally have not just one but two strong protagonists. I'd love to brainstorm, and work closely with people who have similar taste as me. So, that's me, hope I find others out there like me, as there are none nearby. Cheers, EineKleine
Hey, welcome! I can definitely identify; I'm much better with plots than characters. Are you by any chance German? (The name seems that way, and I speak German)
Nope, I'm Canadian haha. The name is from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart. I'm jealous of your bilingual ability.
Guten Tag Eine Kleine, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
Hello there and welcome. I've written a couple of screenplays myself, but they sucked as screenplays - working on turning them into decent novels instead. I just did it for Script Frenzy (like NaNoWriMo but in April)... you heard of/participate?
I graduated high school in '08, too! You must be young though; I was the youngest in my class and I turned 20 this past October. Good luck in your writing!
Welcome to the forums. I would love to write screenplays, but I feel I'm better at short stories and the like. Maybe one day I can progress to screenplays I am only turning 21 this June, so I have plenty of time to hone my skills! I also suffer with regard to protagonists. I have always been interested with serial killers, and since I was young researched and spent a lot of time reading about them! I am much more skilled with developing antagonists, and if you ever want to run through ideas with me, don't hesitate to drop me a message! Once again, welcome to the forums, I hope you enjoy your stay
I'd love to brainstorm...I'm interested in writing a short story from the point-of-view of someone who is truly evil; just a rotten, twisted bastard. Honestly, I'd love to find a formula, with which, I could pull off writing a story without sympathetic characters. It's just so damn difficult because of the whole emotional attachment issue. By that, I mean that most stories will fail if the audience can't relate to or simply don't care about the characters.
^You guys are both young for graduating in '08! My sister graduated high school that year, and she's 21. Welcome to the forums!
