The Writer's Advantage. Laurie Scheer
market.Should you feel that you only want to zero in on improving a project that is already started, then utilizing the information in the first two sections of the book — KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE and ARMING YOURSELF — will give you the necessary background information needed to assist you in reworking what you have completed so far. If you have been out shopping your work and receiving rejection after rejection, then begin with the final section GETTING YOUR WORK OUT INTO THE WORLD, make your adjustments in keeping with the information therein, and go back out into the marketplace.Here are some specific ways to best utilize the material in this book:
5 If you’re a first-time writer, Sections One and Two, Chapters 1 through 11 are best for you to read to understand this complex marketplace of transmedia entertainment.
6 If you’ve had some success with short stories or an indie film, but you are stuck on how to keep the momentum going and you want to complete a full-fledged book/novel or script, it would be advantageous for you to read Section Two, Chapters 5 through 11.
7 If you are on deadline and must deliver a draft yesterday, however you’re not sure how to make sure your manuscript/script is in tip-top shape, then access Chapters 8, 9, and 10 to zero in on the specific background of your genre.
8 If you want to adapt your own work via a manuscript or script, Chapter 8 is for you — I’d suggest reading that chapter twice and playing with the Toolkit Sandbox items.
9 If you have had difficulty pitching your project and you’ve received little interest from potential buyers, then Section Three, Chapters 12, 13, and 14 are for you.
10 If you are a veteran writer looking to identify new horizons for your genre and what your genre will look like 1 to 3 years out, Chapters 8, 9, and 10 are certain to provide insight and fuel for your fire.
11 If you think your work is not ready, yet you’re not certain why that may be, be sure to read Chapter 12 and learn how to defend your work.The information available within this book can be applied to your current project and future writing projects again and again. If you write within a specific genre and have established your brand within that genre, then you can continue to build upon the research you gather for each project you are composing — even if you want to produce a hybrid or sub-genre within genres, or switch to a new genre. The book is an evergreen manual to be used throughout your writing career.BEING A FANBOY VS. BEING A FAN OF MEDIAThe transmedia landscape did not exist when I was coming up in the entertainment industry and academia. It is because of my experience of working within the traditional hallways of a broadcast network and processing media in a pre-fragmented world that I am able to present this method of writing to you. If I hadn’t been taught in the old-school ways, I would not be able to share this insight with you. That said, I am not so much a fan of any of the specific genres discussed in this book as I am a fan of the way these genres and media in general has been and continues to be delivered and consumed. I’m not the fanboy (those dedicated individuals who are fanatic fans of say, a certain franchise like Star Wars or the Twilight series), but I am the coach for fanboys everywhere as they write and distribute their material via 21st century transmedia platforms. You are no longer just writing a stand-alone novel or feature film. Within a transmedia marketplace your idea can be repurposed, rebroadcast, and/or refurbished for each of the various transmedia platforms. You need to think beyond the original incarnation of your project and the sooner you realize this, the easier it is going to be for you to be profitable within this arena.UNIQUELY QUALIFIEDWhen I arrived in Hollywood in the early ‘80s I did not have a specific goal, I only knew that I wanted to be involved in the behind-the-scenes goings-on of the entertainment industry. When I took my first job as an assistant in the Dramatic Development department at ABC in Century City, I didn’t even know what “Dramatic Development” meant.I learned quickly and I embraced skills that have benefitted me throughout my entire career, skills that have adapted well throughout the changes in culture and technology and followed me as I added academic experience on to my industry credits. It seems that I was at the right place, right time at many points in my career, such as:From Dramatic Development at ABC, I moved to ABC Motion Pictures, a unique production company that was a branch of a broadcast network.A year after joining Viacom Enterprises, Viacom mogul Sumner Redstone acquired MTV, Showtime, Nickelodeon, VH-1 and Ha! (a precursor to Comedy Central), and so there I was acquiring content (known as “material” at the time) for all of these cable networks.From there I worked my way up the ladder to Vice President of a cable network — a new, emerging channel called Romance Classics. The network would be renamed as WE: Women’s Entertainment.Within my academic career, I have also found myself at the beginning of new ventures. I was called upon to co-develop the broadcasting curriculum at a digital academic start-up in Chicago, and completed the project on deadline and with much success.My most recent “first” has been to serve as managing editor of the newly established annual literary journal, the Midwest Prairie Review, for a Midwest writing community.So, from TV networks to film acquisition, to digital academies and literary journals, the basic development skills of identifying strong characters, solid storylines, and meaningful, believable dialogue, along with commercial appeal that would resonate to many — all the elements that I learned in those first few months on my first Hollywood desk — have now been utilized throughout the past three decades and continue to be used daily. I feel I am uniquely qualified to guide you on your writing journey as you master your genre.
TOOLKIT SANDBOX
This book’s discussions and exercises are designed for you to have fun with your material and the research you’ll conduct. Each chapter ending provides you with a TOOLKIT SANDBOX filled with items to pique your imagination. The minute you are working on a project and you are not having fun you should stop right there and ask why. By reading about these examples, answering the questions, and doing the exercises, you’ll develop skills to write authentic texts.
In each chapter within the first two sections you’ll find CASE STUDIES that illustrate the subject of that chapter in depth. Next, you’ll find the section QUESTIONING WITH THE WRITER’S ADVANTAGE. Answer these questions after you have read and processed each chapter. They are designed to walk you through the material to ensure that you are addressing all the concepts. They are also present so you can have a little fun with the subject matter on hand. And finally, you’ll see a chapter Exercise. These exercises are designed to assist you in your own unique understanding of the concepts discussed as you apply these concepts to your writing and your writing life.
Take control of your writing destiny — beginning now!
TO BEGIN
As you read these first chapters, here are some general questions you should be asking:
1 Do you know the genre in which you wish to work?
2 Do you know your story?
3 Do you know (in general) what your material will bring to the marketplace?These questions are addressed at length and in detail within the upcoming chapters. For now, just let the answers to these questions simmer in your mind. Then state your genre, write out a basic one- or two-sentence description of your story (this will later be perfected as your “logline”), and most importantly, write your mission statement in regard to the material you are writing.In other words, state why you want to bring this idea into the world.Welcome to The Writer’s Advantage. Let’s move onward toward creating original and authentic texts for the 21st century marketplace!
SECTION ONE
KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE
CHAPTER 1
A BRIEF INQUIRY INTO MASS AND NOT-SO-MASS MEDIA
To begin to understand learning how to write with The Writer’s Advantage, let’s start with a brief discussion about “mass communication,” aka “mass media.” The “mass” part of mass media has changed, and what we once knew as “mass” media has become a collection of niche media with many more options available to consumers. In the 21st century there exists a very different mass media — so different that it’s really now a “not-so-mass” media.
MEDIA CONSUMPTION