Setting the Record Straight

[queenoftheskies]

Maybe my last post wasn't quite clear, so I'm going to post this comment I left in response to a comment made to my post:

The instructor did NOT say I had to change the sex of the protagonist.

It's my decision because my idea is apparently not marketable in the current format...female protagonist, mixture of SF and magic elements, dimensional rift, character development and a big decision that could save--or destroy--the world. Her decision.

So, instead of putting myself through the torture of watching the idea torn apart, because I still think it works as a novel (though last night I was upset and feared it didn't), I've decided that, for the screenplay, I'm going to change the idea to a tried and true, box office formula.

The hard part is that I am NOT a formula writer.

The truth of the matter is that I could just have sucky ideas.

I'm not pounding on the instructor. He's GREAT. Full of information. Talented. GREAT.

I could just be sucky at developing ideas.

Comments

Grains of salt and all that

[saycestsay.livejournal.com]

The instructor laughed at your story. this is not 'great.' This is rude and unprofessional.

It's possible that his direction will improve the marketability of your work. Only you can decide that. And since it's a class full of the learning possibilities, go for it. Perhaps this is a work you rip apart and reimagine and then put aside, using what you've learned in the newer works. But from what i've seen , you are not sucky at either writing or ideas.

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

i call bullshit.

i think you should leave your protagonist female. hello, lara croft?! hello, aeon flux? hello, whasserface (milla jovovich's character) from resident evil? i could go on and on and on.

hollywood simply loves tough chicks saving the day. 'specially when they look good in spandex or leather. ;)

[saycestsay.livejournal.com]

Ditto.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Well, she doesn't usually wear leather or spandex, but she looks hot in her armor. How's that?

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

oh that's perfect. and the costumer will likely incorporate spandex into the undergarments that peek through. ;)

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

What kuroshii said! I was just going to list off the characters she mentioned. And don't forget Buffy on TV, for one. There is always a market for strong women action-adventurey-type stories.

Screw the instructor. If the screenplay/story works for you, when you script goes through a reader for a studio, they'll note down why THEY think it works or doesn't work to the agent/exec they report to. Then you'll hear what needs work or not. Believe it or not, formula isn't always the way to get a script read.

[shanrina.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you've read any of the articles recently about the slump Hollywood's been in for the past couple of years, but to me that shows how tired some people are of the same old tried-and-true box office formula. Just because one person says it's not marketable doesn't mean everyone in the industry will, no matter how many credentials this guy's got.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with a female protag in this situation, but I don't think I'm the first person to say that here.

Good luck! *hugs*

[iagor.livejournal.com]

What did the instructor say exactly? (Sorry missed the whole thing)

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

The instructor said, in reference to a magical element:

sounds like an unwanted laugh

People seem to think I'm questioning his integrity. I'm not...not at all.

I'm questioning MY ability to compile none-stupid ideas.

And, saying that I'll be safer off changing to something more acceptable.

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

we thought you said he laughed at something. instead, it looks like he's saying the magical element is providing a laugh inside the story and not that he was laughing at all. could you please elaborate further?

[iagor.livejournal.com]

What kuroshi said. Give us the scene and context!

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

What he said is not the same thing as calling your idea "laughable". We do need context but honestly what it sounds like is that, he felt, as it was presented in the scene series, the magical element was out of place and forced. Just my opinion.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

I'm going to post the scene list, but I'm a coward and want only the folks involved in this thread to see it, so I'm learning how to set up filters.

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

I think you should leave your screenplay the way it is. I recently read This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman. The book is largely sci-fi with some elements of fantasy thrown in. The protagonist is female. The book is awesome.

You should never let anyone make you feel that you have to change your writing to "fit" his/her opinion of what's good. Go with what your gut tells you. Stick to the original characters. You wouldn't have started writing the screenplay that way if you didn't feel that was the best way to tell the story you wanted to tell.

[tunskit.livejournal.com]

Absolutely agree 100% with evilmissbecky. It does sound like maybe he was referring to the way it was presented, rather than making fun of you. I hope that's the case. Even if it isn't, it's your story, so you have to tell it the way it speaks to you.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Are you the only person writing a spec fic screenplay? In my limited writing class experience (a screenwriting class in college), a lot of people just don't "get" sf or fantasy...consequently no one was able to understand even the most basic elements of my sf script, so I spent a lot more time explaining and defending my plot points than the others who were writing about child molestation and rape and the like. I think depending on your instructor and classmates' exposure to genre, you may need to weigh their criticisms accordingly. It does help to get their opinions, but you probably don't need to tear your whole premise apart as a result of it.

[mistri.livejournal.com]

Listen to what he says, then trust your gut. You're the only person who knows your story inside and out.

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

And that's something I was trying to figure out how to say! Seconded.

[cpolk.livejournal.com]

well, the thing about movies -

they can't be as complex as novel style fiction.

I can repeat this until i'm blue in th face, but movies are limited in the stories they can tell. they are limited in the stories they can tell!

make a point of watching a bunch of movies adapted from books, and read the books. do ten of them. you'll see exactly what I mean. it's likely not your protag being female AT ALL.

any movies adapted from any book, so long as they are movies adapted from books. they will be the most illustrative for your purposes.

If I try to explain HOW, I'll just end up ranting incoherently...