Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton
Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding of the craft from the experiences of the Questers. I should also add they are a great group of people, so I expect you will enjoy getting to know them.
Today: Sandy had a strong reaction about a discussion in our most recent teleconference:
Week 1 of prep has brought about one of the most common emotions writers go through — defense and the feeling that you’re being misunderstood. Our exercise this week was writing the protagonist’s biography — including backstory, answering the “whys”(i.e. — why now?), and the trajectory of their arc. Our exercised stirred up a lot of feelings for everyone. Everyone had different viewpoints, which is ultimately a good thing. However it made me feel like they didn’t understand our story. (Miranda not quite as much.) Part of that is our fault, we didn’t elaborate perhaps on as many of the “why’s” as we could have. Part of that is the fact our bio was a lot of backstory. We already have ideas on how to convey the information without too much exposition that, again, was not conveyed in the bio. Too much exposition is the kiss of death in my world and probably the #1 comment I give to most writers when working with them. So, it is something Miranda and I are keenly aware of. And this was just an exercise, not a “how are we going to convey that in the story” breakdown.
There was one question in particular that was asked of us that truthfully, had our protagonist been a male, it never would have been asked.
My feathers were ruffled.
This question regarding a bigger social issue sparked quite a bit of debate among our group in the context of our story. After the call, Miranda and I noticed that the one person who has firsthand experience in this debate was the most silent. We wondered why.
My ego was completely deflated. I felt so misunderstood and got very defensive. Which is not me — I have skin as think as a rhino. So this was a foreign emotion. It got personal.
It’s not that our fellow Questers hadn’t brought up good points, they were and still are absolutely legitimate concerns. But this one note, got me raging. Miranda was way more level-headed about it. It wasn’t until the one Quester we wanted to hear from e-mailed us about an hour later that I calmed down. Unnamed Quester explained their silence — their feeling was that they knew it was a bigger issue that required a much lengthier discussion. It’s a social issue many women and even men struggle with. This Quester UNDERSTOOD our protagonist in a way the others may have not.
Part of my everyday job is giving writers notes and I’ve always prided myself on being sensitive to their viewpoint and still being effective. I have also always asked them to call me out on notes where they think I’ve misunderstood them and have a conversation about it.
And when you’re dishing it out, you also need to be able to take it.
Typically, I can. This week though, it just hit a nerve. I hear the notes behind the note, and don’t disagree with some of it. After more reflection and thought about the call and the wonderful e-mail from our fellow Quester, I came to realize that this defensive and misunderstood emotion is a good thing. It means we are making people think outside their own comfort zones. We are exploring not only an incredibly personal issue, but if we do this right, can provide opportunity for an open dialogue. I can also channel that defensive rage into my creative process; turn it into determination to prove everyone that our story works, our character is believable, and making it the very best story that it can be.
This week we are brainstorming, so to that I say “LET’S MAKE IT RAIN!”
Sandy has deftly conveyed the gist of our group discussion without giving away the key specifics of the debate, which is important because those details tie directly to the hook of the story she and Miranda are writing, and we don’t want to give those away. Following in Sandy’s footsteps, I will try my best to be as careful. Let me just add this:
There is reality. And there Hollywood’s perception of reality. Sometimes they match. Other times they do not.
As a screenwriter, you will carry with you your own take on the world. That will likely be reflected in the pages you write. All well and good in the spec stage.
But as soon as you sign your name on a contract’s dotted line, they own the script and they can do anything they want with it. So if they give you notes based upon their perception of reality, that is just something you, the writer, are going to have to deal with.
Now we can make it our goal to write stories that challenge Hollywood’s conventional wisdom. And heaven knows, we should. But any time we do that, we lengthen the odds against us selling that spec.
I’m not saying that’s right. I’m just saying it’s the way it is.
So as the writer of a spec script, what do you do? Find a balance point between the unusual nature of your story and the buyer’s comfort zone. It’s a case by case thing and we can use movies to shift cultural attitudes.
We just have to be mindful of the mindsets out there.
Finally I love the passion I see in Sandy and her writing partner Miranda, as well as with all of the Questers. Whatever story it is that generates this type of energy, no matter the content and where it stands relative to the presumed ‘conventional wisdom,’ it’s worth pursuing to see where it takes you. Hollywood is always looking for writers with fresh voices, new ideas… and passion that translates into an authentic emotional experiences as it unfolds on the page.
Tomorrow: Another Dispatch From The Quest.
About Sandy: Bostonian that learned how to pronounce “R’s” upon moving to LA. A lefty that loves the unusual. Dreams of owning a taxidermy dodo bird. @scriptchix & @lil_sjl.
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