Are Writer's Groups Good?

Over the past several months I've joined the Blank Page Writer's Group based out of Marietta, Georgia (and hosted by The Blank Stage).  It is a bi-monthly group in which screenwriters get together to not only discuss their screenplays but to also discuss the business and craft and screenwriting.  In the last couple months the Blank Stage, through the Blank Page Writer's Group, have started to actually produce some of the short films written by some of the group members.

Although I cannot discuss the specific screenplays being written by the members of the group I do want to address that some of the writter's (through the group) are writing their fisrt screenplay while others are old pros at it.  I took my screenplay THE NOCTURNAL inmto the group to try and help me fix some of the problems I was having with the story.  In this regards, the group has helped me tremendously.

The format of the group's take on reading screenplays is that we will read pages from 2 different screenplays each meeting and then address what problems or potential problems the screenplay might have.  Although I am not partial to this format of reading a screenplay (I prefer reading the whole thing in one sitting and then allow the time for discussion),

Regardless, this is a small price to pay in terms of the tremendous support and atmosphere of the group which has helped the group expand and become a very group atmosphere for writers.

The group has helped me see some of the problems in THE NOCTURNAL which is a good thing considering I needed that feedback in order to help the re-write process and hopefully get the screenplay into a better selling (or perhaps filmable) place.

Now all I have to do is get the re-writers done using the notes generated from the writer's group.

"Inspiration Strikes Back!"

I'd like to think I'm a writer first before anything else which is why when I needed a name for this blog-site I called it "Writer's First". Now that I think back on it the site should have been called "Writer First" but what the hell...it's to late now. The point is clear and I wanted everyone who knew and knows me to know that whatever they think of me I am a Writer First above everything else.

I try to write or rewrite or read something everyday to keep my mind always flowing and always coming up with new ideas. It helps me from getting writer's block, but at this time I seem to be experiencing Writer's Overload as I have more ideas in my head then I can get down on paper.

Over the last week a friend of mine Cesar has been trying to get me in as writer on one of the projects he's working on - a television series called Atlanta Homicide: HD which has just finished production on the first season (13 episodes) and is reving up for the second season while they are trying to get the first season played in more territories. Being a huge Homicide: Life on the Streets and Law & Order fan I jumped at the opportunity to possible write for a show in that vein. although I would later learn that the show stems more towards CSI: Crime Scene Investigations (which I don't particularly care for), I was still interested in the show so I went to You Tube and watched what they had available. At first I wasn't impressed as the first couple episodes were very raw to the point of being embassing but as I watched more of the episodes the charcaters that stayed on the show (because they went to a huge casting overhaul) got more interesting and the show actually felt like a crime drama. Now I haven't seen and entire show yet, just bits and pieces of several shows, but it does show which are the stronger episodes both in terms of character and story and the show seems to now be finding its wings.

I emailed one of the producers of the show just as an introduction of myself. I didn't know that I was using an email that never went to my contact so he (the Producer) never got the email. next I called him on Friday but just as my luck would have it the show was having a Writer's Meeting that night to discuss the second season...and I wouldn't make it since It was just starting as I was calling the Producer. My luck was turning to shit.

I had a good conversation with the Producer and said I would re-send him my info (to the right email this time) and hope that I might still be able to help out on the show if I could. Even though I thought my luck had turned to shit my brain kept processing these random ideas that could make really good episodes of the show. My brain processed the ideas as senereos I might see on Homicide: Life on the Streets but with the cast of Atlanta Homicide:HD (now called Atlanta: HD since the Executive Producers seemed to hate having the word "homicide" in the title of the show).

When the possibility of me writing for the show began to dwindle my ideas begain to formulate into a controversal feature idea. Thus INSPIRATION had spoken to me. I don't know about most writer's but when inspiration hits me, I can't stop it. That night I wrote a quick breakdown of the A-Story of the script. I didn't concentrate on the B-Story as yet because that would be thematically linked to the A-Story and that had to be really strong. I went to bed with the ideas still popping in and out of my head.

I began to think that this would be my first action script since I really hadn't written an action film thus far.

TODAY - I've been working on the B-Story and giving all the characters names and working out how they all fit within the theme of the movie. I won't give any of th edetails away as yet only that it has to do with children and teens and their placement in our society of today and how they are treated by their parents and how their parents treat them. It's a very big film, bigger then any I've ever written before. The canvase is huge and this is definitely something I would not be able to make but would sale and/or use as a writing sample.

But I can't stop. I spent most of the first part of the day finishing rewrites on "The Nocturnals" script and then I have to come up with a Shooting Script for "Shiver" before finishing up a first draft of my Amy Wolkis script "The Poet." And somewhere I'll be able to fit this new script about homicide detectives and murder.

If I remember, I'll comment tomorrow on the rewrites of "The Nocturnals" script which I will be sending out to my writer peers for critique and analysis.