New GITS Initiative: Five Questions
Over the weekend, Go Into The Story turned 7 years old. As that birthday approached, I thought it was a good time to step back and reflect about the blog. As part of that process, I invited your feedback here and here. The response has been great via the blog, email, and Twitter. So each day this week, I’d like to present some initiatives that have surfaced during this process. A few of them I’m just going to go ahead and take on. Some, however, I’m going to request your additional feedback.
New GITS Initiative: Five Questions
Over the last 3 years or so, I have conducted over 100 interviews with screenwriters, TV writers, filmmakers, managers, producers, and other industry types [you may access those archives here]. If you are familiar with my approach, what makes them distinctive is their in-depth nature and laser focus on exploring the worlds of creativity and entertainment through the eyes of a writer. They have become one of the most popular features of the blog.
I have discovered, however, that some people just don’t have the time to sit down for an intensive 60–75 minute interview session.
So I wondered this: What if I reached out to the GITS community to come up with five great questions to submit to pro writers? I believe I could land Q&A’s with many more writers if all they were doing was responding in writing and on their own time to five questions.
Of course, I will continue to pursue and do the GITS interview series. In fact, I’m in the process of lining up several for this summer. But this could be another way to present insight and inspiration from working film and TV writers.
Why are interviews an important part in learning the craft? Several reasons:
* You get exposed to a myriad of approaches to the creative and story-crafting process. Any time you read an interview with a pro writer, you may never know when you’ll discover some little nugget that could transform the way you write.
* Along with movies and movie scripts, interviews with pro writers are primary source material, offering you a direct engagement with the craft. This in contrast to books, webinars, and seminars by screenwriting ‘gurus’ who more than likely have never had anything produced.
* This previous point is important because unless someone has worked on the front lines of the film and TV business, gotten movies, series, and/or episodes produced, they just can’t learn some really important aspects of the craft and business of writing in the entertainment industry. Interviews with pro writers affords you access to that insight.
Therefore my question to you is about questions: What is an query you can come up which you would consider essential knowledge to learn from a pro writer?
Here is one I’ve been noodling around with: When you read a truly terrific script, what are some of the qualities of the writing that make it great? That seems like it could result in some really great takeaway for each of us about the craft.
How about you? If you could ask one question to a top professional film or TV writer, and your goal with that question was to generate the best, most valuable information, what would that question be?
Please head to comments with your suggestions. Goal: To find five really solid questions which I can use to approach. And by the way, if we get six or even seven great questions, we can include them all.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
To read about the new proposed Movie Analysis series, go here.
To read about the new proposed Monthly Screenplay Workshop proposal, go here.
To read about the new proposed More Writing Challenges, go here.
To read about the new proposed FADE IN to FADE OUT in 1 Month Challenge, go here.
And there’s this: Would you be interested in a Quest Writing Workshop?
If enough people enroll, I will conduct a three-day Quest Writing Workshop in Santa Monica, California in July, Friday, July 24-Sunday, July 26.
This is a chance for you to work with me on your story directly in a live setting.
For more information, go here. If you are interested, email me.
NOTE: We’re getting close. If 2 more people agree to enroll, I will give this workshop a green light.
Onward!
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