Happy spring, dear readers,
Last week found Mr. Wryte-Goode and me puttering about our greenhouse, discussing the various merits of manure and fish emulsion for the garden and the foreseeable neighborhood complaints. The conversation was well worn as we have it every year when winter turns to spring. I champion the advantages and he defends the objections and neither one of us pays much attention to the opposing argument. Then from across a row of just sowed carrots, Mr. Wryte-Goode confessed he wanted to write a screenplay.
I am fairly sure, dear readers, that my jaw dropped.
Mr. Wryte-Goode has always been interested in my garden. Yet with the exception of occasionally standing behind me as I put pen to paper and pointing out where I’ve misused a semi-colon, he takes little notice of my writing. Suddenly, I was transfixed by a vision of us eating brunch at a smart little bistro discussing The Writer’s Journey (http://www.thewritersjourney.com/ ) or character development or plot points instead of our usual topics of pungent garden odors. It was a delightful scene. So, I asked him to tell me about his idea.
I may have stopped keenly listening after the sixth car chase or maybe it was the tenth explosion or maybe when the hero somehow manages to accidentally get blasted to Mars on a secret spy spacecraft. But I did hear him ask for help getting started.
A little time on the internet and I found all sorts of resources for my budding scriptwriter and I thought I would share them with you as well.
April used to be Script Frenzy! a month long script writing marathon sponsored by Nanowrimo, but this year they have changed from focusing on scriptwriting to just writing –anything, a script, a novel, short stories. Now called Camp Nanowrimo, you can sign up here: http://www.campnanowrimo.org/sign_in
The old Script Frenzy! Website http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/ is still up and it has all sorts of useful information especially on the Writer’s Resources. There are how-to guides that include online articles and templates that you can download to your computer for later use. I especially enjoyed How to Format a Screenplay http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/howtoformatascreenplay
“How to Write a Screenplay that Sells”: http://www.screenwritingu.com/blog/how-write-screenplay-sells is another excellent article as is How to Write a Screenplay from The Writer’s Store. https://www.writersstore.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay-a-guide-to-scriptwriting
A fun website for all writers is Written Sound, an online onomatopoeia dictionary http://www.writtensound.com/index.php
For those scriptwriters living close to LA, there is a Scriptwriters Network 3-day Screenwriting Marathon this month http://scriptwritersnetwork.com/3-day-screenwriting-marathon/ and for those on the East Coast there is Screenwriters World Conference East http://www.screenwritersworld.com/ehome/51534/89588/
Finally we have Screenplay formatting software
For free you can try:
Mac or PC: Celtx : https://www.celtx.com/index.html
Mac, PC or Linux: Trelby: http://www.trelby.org/
Cloud based (nothing to download) plotbot: http://www.plotbot.com/
Cloud based (nothing to download) Scriptbuddy: http://www.scriptbuddy.com/
Paid programs:
Mac or PC: Scripted : http://www.scripped.com/
Scrivener both Mac and PC with iPad coming soon: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php
Storyist for the Mac and iPad http://storyist.com/index.html
StoryO for Mac or PC http://www.junglesoftware.com/storyo/what_is_storyo.php
Happy script writing.
Betty Wryte-Goode
Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, gardening, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page.
Mixed Up Words of the Month:
Through,
Threw,
Thorough,
Though
While some of these look alike, and some of them sound alike, each of these words had a different meaning. Here are their definitions so you can keep them straight.
Through – movement indicating passing from one side of something to the other. He walked through the crowd.
Threw – past tense of the verb throw. She threw her pocketbook on the counter.
Thorough – very careful, fully done, or absolute. The police conducted a thorough search for the missing child.
Though – in spite of the fact, and yet, despite being, however. Though she enjoyed photography, she decided to become a novelist.
To make it clear:
Though I didn't think I could do it, after a thorough examination of the trajectory, I threw the ball through the net from half court and won a car!