Wanted: Your input about the blog
In May, this humble little blog will celebrate its 7th birthday. That means over the course of 2,532 consecutive days, I have rolled out over 17,000 posts. To which I say…
PHEW!!!
[exaggerated backhand across sweaty brow]
I will reserve most of my reflections on this journey for May 16th when we do our official birthday soiree — complete with virtual champagne — but what I wanted to lay out for you here are a couple of thoughts, a few suggestions, then a question.
First this simple fact: My life has been a whirlwind the last year or two. Busy on all fronts: writing, teaching, and increasingly interfacing with writers via email and Twitter. I must spend 1–2 hours per day answering questions that come my way, mostly from writers outside the business trying to break in. I’m happy to provide that type of conduit — after all, I was a complete Hollywood outsider when I sold a spec script in 1987 and I’ve never forgotten what it was like to be in that position. However with everything going on in my life, I simply don’t have the time to blog as leisurely as I did when I first started GITS. And this is not a paying gig. Indeed, I haven’t made one dime off this site since I launched it in 2008.
I have thought about scaling back the amount of content that flows through the site, currently averaging 6 posts per day, but I know from the number of emails I receive and the success stories I hear about, like this one, at least a considerable percentage of GITS followers want that recurring feed of information and inspiration: 6AM, 10AM, Noon, 1PM, 2PM, 4PM, 6PM (Eastern).
But perhaps there are GITS followers who do not need all of that content. Trust me, I’m not looking for an out re the amount of posts I do each day, rather simply trying to get more of a sense of what people want.
So Item Numero Uno: I’d appreciate your thoughts on the general flow of information on the blog. More? Less? Different?
Second, one thing I’m super proud of is the amount of content I have aggregated here. I believe the GITS archives offer some of the best content related to screenwriting anywhere on the Internet. And it’s all free which has been part of my vision for this site from the very beginning in part to counteract the many outfits online who are quick to pitch their products in an attempt to pry cash from your wallet with dubious methods, content and results. I honestly believe it’s possible to learn the craft using free sites like GITS combined with my mantra: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write Pages.
That said, I am a Writer Guy, not a Web Guy. So I have zero idea if the way the archives are organized provides maximum benefit for writers or even if they/you know about the boatload of great resources available here. So any thoughts on that front, please send them my way.
Third, if you’re not following me on Twitter (@GoIntoTheStory), you should: 31K+ followers. Besides you ought to be on Twitter anyway as there are tons of pro writers whiling away their time on that social media platform. Great way to track the business, learn something about the craft, and even make connections.
Now onto suggestions. I have two of them, but let me preface them by noting this: I love monthly blog series. Perhaps it’s because I’m a military brat, but knowing as I head into this month or that, the blog will be focusing one daily time slot on 60s Movies, Dialogue Writing Exercises, A Story Idea Each Day for a Month and the like just makes sense to my circadian rhythms.
I have a couple of series in mind for the near future: 50s Movies in which I invite members of the GITS community to provide a post on one of their favorite films from that decade; Screenwriters on the craft in which I aggregate observations from writers I’ve interviewed on specific aspects of the craft such as Story Prep, Dialogue, Theme, and so on; and a new Scene-Writing Challenge where once again, I will offer free Screenwriting Master Class courses for participants, my way of getting people to practice their writing.
Which leads me to my suggestions.
Do any of you remember the live TweetCast? That’s where I set a time, generally 10PM Eastern / 7PM Pacific where at the top of the hour, we all push Play on the same movie and comment on it on Twitter while it plays? Here are a few examples: (500) Days of Summer, Juno, and Michael Clayton. Someone on Twitter asked if we could do that again and I thought, “Let’s take that up with the GITS crew.”
So what do you think: Maybe start doing a monthly TweetCast? We could tie it into the bi-weekly Script Read and Analysis series.
Another suggestion. I am always trying to figure out ways to energize my own writing as well as that of GITS followers. The other day, I was talking with a student, recommending that for a half-hour each day, they turn off their damn cellphone, unplug from their iTunes, and take in the world around them. Listen to conversations and imagine it as dialogue on a page.
Which led me to this: Do you think we’d get any traction whatsoever if one day a week, I challenged people — myself included — to upload a conversation we recently heard? Write it as sides of dialogue. I could create a Word Cloud from each week’s collective conversation, perhaps providing a weird take on our cultural zeitgeist. Again, just trying to inspire people to write.
Your thoughts appreciated.
Finally, my question: Is there something I could be doing on the blog you’d want to see? Something different. Something more. Something less. I am totally open to your suggestions.
Here’s the thing: GITS is pretty much me and you. I have a staff of one. Lil’ ol’ moi. And there are the people who drop by here to the tune of 1.5M unique visits per year.
I am eager to hear your ideas on how to make this site work the best it can for you and other writers. As I say, I am incredibly busy, thus would appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
Beyond all that, let me say I could never have imagined what this blog has become. I have worked to keep it a beacon of quality information, grounded in decades of experience as a pro screenwriter, TV producer, and teacher, as well as inspiration, not hype-driven, but based in reality. Despite the long odds against financial and professional success, dozens of writers have contacted me over the years to tell me how valuable the site has been in contributing to their breakthroughs. Beyond that, the hundreds of writers with whom I’ve interfaced whose writing and lives have been enriched by content they have connected with here.
And there’s this: I’ve never been more well-connected in Hollywood than I am now. Never. Not even when I was living in L.A. and had 4 studio assignments on my docket at a time.
So where does that leave us? I guess I’m just touching base with those of you who find this blog a useful resource. Let me know what you think. Suggestions. Reflections. Whatever.
Every blog post I create is something I send off into Virtual Reality. I hope each one provides meaning to at least a handful of writers. But since I don’t traffic in content that generates flame wars, sometimes it’s hard to tell.
Bottom line: I thank you for your support. I am being totally and 100% honest when I say this: I get up each day and do my blogging as a commitment to aspiring writers everywhere. I know that experience. I want to provide access to The Biz, even if it’s a tiny little access point.
It’s part of the fabric of who I am to encourage writers to get in touch with their Creativity, find their Voice, and write Stories that can lead to Movies we both want and need to see.
There is no greater narrative form than Movies. I applaud any and all of you who love Movies as much as I do. If there is something more I can be doing here to support people in their creative ambitions, let me know.
As always…
Onward!
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