Writing from the Inside Out
Or the exact opposite.
I’ve talked before about how learning transistions is key — but what if you have a clean slate?
At the open of a screenplay, or at the start of an act in a teleplay, I like to do one of two things. I either:
A) Start small. Pick a tiny detail, something important to the story, something unique, something weird. And then flesh out the scene.
or
B) Start as wide as you can. Give us the world and then zero in on the action.
Here are the openings to two scripts I’m working on:
and
By choosing the size and scope of the objects in your action lines, and using the anchoring noun technique that I’ve linked to before, you’re directing on the page without forcing it. It makes the reader imagine the story in shots, the way a movie would be made.
SCRIPTNOTES NOTES:
I listened to the latest episode while cleaning my apartment this morning and I can’t remember anything from it? Not a good sign. Check out Episode 77 instead - Craig talks about his latest (at the time) movie Identity Thief and the absolutely brutal reviews it got.
TRIPLE TREATS:
Here’s a library of a bunch of Charlie Kaufman’s screenplays. That’s it. That’s the treat.
Amber Alexander is a great twitter follow for random writing tidbits/Canadian nature photos. Here she dives into her experiences pitching on book adaptations and it’s definitely worth a quick read.
Another twitter thread, this one from Jeremiah Lewis. Voice is one of those fickle things that I think most writers, even established working writers, struggle with on a regular basis. Here’s his thoughts on what that really means.
I might do a whole post on voice in the future, but to be honest, it’s a really daunting subject.
FIVE RANDOM THINGS:
There was no tournament in Mortal Kombat, the music was boring, and the end was unsatisfying. Yet, the movie still ruled? Hmm. Still processing this.
I enjoyed the Oscars more than usual this year, but for god’s sake why the fuck didn’t they end with Best Picture? Insane.
I’m currently playing a video game called Hades, which might be the best game I’ve played in a decade. Fantastic storytelling as well. Will video game writing ever be absorbed by the WGA? Doubtful, but should be.
The Arclight potentially shutting down permenantly is a real fucking bummer. Especailly since I have a $200 gift card sitting untouched in my desk…
Maybe some of you are directors as well — if so check out The Director's Life, a solid podcast from TV director Pete Chatmon.
HUNGRY WRITERS CLUB
I’ve lived in LA for 3 years now and so far the pizza has been underwhelming. Yes, I’ve tried Apollonia, Atico, Mozza, DeSano’s, Jon and Vinny’s, etc. They’re good, but—
Actually, I’m not going to couch this opinion. LA pizza sucks. So I’ve decided to make my own, and so far, it’s been better than anything else I’ve had in this town.
I’ve been making pan pizza — the easiest form of pizza to make at home — because I don’t have a fancy oven, I’m lazy, and I love a good crust.
Here’s how:
Get a 9x13 cake pan. This is very important — it’s pan pizza, so get the right pan.
Get a stand mixer — you don’t need one, per se, but like I said: I’m lazy.
Get a gram scale — using fluid measuring tools for dry goods is insane. Why do we do this? Has the world gone mad?
In the bowl of the stand mixer toss in a single package of active dry yeast and a cup of warm water. Stir, then check twitter for 5 minutes.
Toss in 333 grams of bread flour (just shy of 3 cups) — you might be able to use AP flour, but bread flour has a lil’ more protein in it, which makes for more gluten, which makes for a sturdier dough. Then add 7 grams of salt (1 tsp) and 28 grams (2 TBSP, or just a bunch of glugs) of good olive oil. Not the insanely good shit, but something decent.
Fire up the stand mixer on low for a while. Sometimes I do 4 minutes, sometimes 6. You want a uniform look to the dough and it should look nice and glossy, and be really sticky. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in the first minute or so.
Get a fresh bowl — tbh, best thing a home cook can do is get a shit ton of metal bowls from IKEA.
Add 42 grams of olive oil to the clean bowl. Then take your dough, and roll it around the olive oil and let it sit in there. Cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and let it sit for 90 minutes. It’s taking a nice olive-y bath, so why don’t you too? You’re making dinner for the family and you deserve some you time too.
After your bubble bath, your dough baby should be nice and big.
Get that 9x13 cake pan out and load that sucker up with, yes, MORE olive oil. Maybe like a quarter cup? I don’t know I always eye ball this part. Basically you just want a shallow pool of oil.
Take your dough and drape it into the pan, stretching it to all four corners. It’s gonna get oily. You’re gonna get oily. Deal with it.
Once that bad boy is nice and stretched out, grab a half a can of tomatoes — sometimes I use whole peeled and crush by hand, sometimes I get pre-crushed. Take your pick. BUT DON”T SKIMP ON THE QUALITY. Get some san marzanos, or danapolis. It’s like, an extra two bucks. Sauce is one of those underrated things on a pizza that isn’t talked about enough — if you ever have the chance to go to Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, that sauce will blow your fucking mind….
Cover with some shredded mozzerella — you can use fresh if you want, but I think the extra moisture from the fresh mozz undermines the structural integrity of the dough.
Add whatever toppings you want. And by that I mean, pepperoni and green olives.
Cover with plastic wrap (I like to re-use the wrap from before), and let sit for 30 minutes. Fire up the oven to 475.
Meanwhile, watch an episode of The Nanny. It’s on HBO Max and my god, will Nanny Fine and Mister Sheffield ever get together? It’s KILLING me.
Now, the dough should be nice and puffed up around the edges, so, take the plastic wrap off, and toss your pie in the over. Let it cook for 22 minutes — the exact amount of time to watch another episode of The Nanny.
Once you’re done coming to terms with the fact that The Nanny might be the best sitcom of all time, check on the pie — it should be nice and golden brown around the outside.
Take it out of the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes — the center of the pie will still be molten lava and if you try to cut into it, you’ll be very unhappy, just like Margret when Mr. Sheffield says she can’t go to the concert with her boyfriend Danny and not even Nanny Fine can convince Mr. Sheffield otherwise.
It’s a grand total of about 3 hours of ‘work’, but 95% of that time is spent watching The Nanny and here’s your reward:
If any of you actually try and make this, as a reward I’ll come over and eat it for you.