Daniel Martin Eckhart's Blog
February 8, 2022
Quintus Hopper of Nevada - the novel and the research
Quintus Hopper of Nevada is published and it was a fantastic experience in many ways - among them was the research and what I've ended up doing with it.
I've worked on this novel for about three years. As it is a historical novel and my protagonist meets more than a few real-life people (such as Mark Twain, Sarah Winnemucca, Wovoka, Helen J. Stewart), I thoroughly enjoyed spending quite a bit of my life in the depths of history, researching this and that from 1848 until well into the 20th century. A particular joy was the discovery of online newspaper archives.
Quintus Hopper starts out as a printer's devil (a printing apprentice) - and remains a typesetter, working for frontier newspapers, throughout his life. Being able to look up newspapers from any given date and discovering everything from headlines to local news and advertisements, was hugely illuminating. In fact, it was so fascinating that I started structuring my novel along certain events and articles - and then incorporated the actual articles into the novel.
When I was finished with a first draft last summer, I realized that it really did make for a very special reading experience. It gave readers the chance to live with the protagonist, while also discovering, thanks to the article, what had actually been going on - and how it had been reported. Alas, I also realized that it had turned my novel into a book larger than Melville's Moby-Dick (a book which, in some curious way, plays its own important part in my novel). I ended up removing all the articles. A rewrite or two later, no reader of the novel will miss them and, admittedly, it has not only made the novel shorter, but also given it a far more immersive flow.
Now here's the thing: When we're done writing and a work is published, our research most often simply ends up in a box - or is tossed. In the case of Quintus Hopper of Nevada, I wanted to find a way to make all of those frontier newspaper articles, as they relate so directly to the story, available to interested readers. I love the result: I've now not only published the novel, but also a companion piece containing the articles and commentaries. Anyone just wanting to read the novel, will have an entirely fulfilling experience - but for the few (I expect) that wish to take a deeper look at those times, places and incidents (and how they were reported), will have an additionally augmented experience.
I found it a cool way to make the novel less of a whale and still make use of all of that archival wealth from frontier newspapers that speak so directly from the past. Well, if you're curious, read both novel and companion piece.
I've worked on this novel for about three years. As it is a historical novel and my protagonist meets more than a few real-life people (such as Mark Twain, Sarah Winnemucca, Wovoka, Helen J. Stewart), I thoroughly enjoyed spending quite a bit of my life in the depths of history, researching this and that from 1848 until well into the 20th century. A particular joy was the discovery of online newspaper archives.
Quintus Hopper starts out as a printer's devil (a printing apprentice) - and remains a typesetter, working for frontier newspapers, throughout his life. Being able to look up newspapers from any given date and discovering everything from headlines to local news and advertisements, was hugely illuminating. In fact, it was so fascinating that I started structuring my novel along certain events and articles - and then incorporated the actual articles into the novel.
When I was finished with a first draft last summer, I realized that it really did make for a very special reading experience. It gave readers the chance to live with the protagonist, while also discovering, thanks to the article, what had actually been going on - and how it had been reported. Alas, I also realized that it had turned my novel into a book larger than Melville's Moby-Dick (a book which, in some curious way, plays its own important part in my novel). I ended up removing all the articles. A rewrite or two later, no reader of the novel will miss them and, admittedly, it has not only made the novel shorter, but also given it a far more immersive flow.
Now here's the thing: When we're done writing and a work is published, our research most often simply ends up in a box - or is tossed. In the case of Quintus Hopper of Nevada, I wanted to find a way to make all of those frontier newspaper articles, as they relate so directly to the story, available to interested readers. I love the result: I've now not only published the novel, but also a companion piece containing the articles and commentaries. Anyone just wanting to read the novel, will have an entirely fulfilling experience - but for the few (I expect) that wish to take a deeper look at those times, places and incidents (and how they were reported), will have an additionally augmented experience.
I found it a cool way to make the novel less of a whale and still make use of all of that archival wealth from frontier newspapers that speak so directly from the past. Well, if you're curious, read both novel and companion piece.
The journey to 'Quintus Hopper of Nevada'
The last novel, from start to finish, took me about three years to write. However, the spark for it came years before then - what happened in between that spark and the actual writing of the novel ... well, it was life - and other novels!
I don't know about you, but I have stories rolling through my mind at all times. Thoughts come and thoughts go and sometimes they're noted down. Little by little, notes pile up and stories keep knocking, waiting to be written. For me, every novel is an entirely fresh adventure, an exploration into unknown territory where I invariably meet a host of characters living their lives as best they can. Last time around I physically went to the place of my novel and wrote it then and there, within the space of a single month - it was one of the most creative experiences I've ever had. If you're interesting in the results of that fantastic (and fantastical) time, check out The Sweet-Maker of Connemara.
The Sweet-Maker was published in late 2019, just a short while before the pandemic turned the world upside down. As always when I'm done with a novel, I take a short break and read and watch other people's stories. Before long, however, my mind inevitably begins to itch. The urge to step into a next world, and to meet and live with new characters, soon compels me back into writing more. I know myself and I know my writing instrument. If I don't play the instrument, I'm not happy. And so, before long, I dug through my notes and picked my next world. This time around, it so happened, I was transported to the early years of California and Nevada.
The spark for 'Quintus Hopper of Nevada' happened way back when in 2014, when our family visited an old mine in Eldorado Canyon, a good distance south of Las Vegas. There, on the wall of the shop where we met our guide, I saw framed pictures and read about the infamous Queho, apparently a mad Native American Indian who had killed a great many people in the early years of the 20th century. There was a picture of a posse, a picture of a slain woman, a picture of Queho's bones, found in a cave. I was intrigued. Not because there seemed to have been an Indian serial killer (fascinating as that is in itself), but because Queho was never caught despite the hundreds that hunted him over the course of many years. What struck me most was the man himself, a man choosing to live, for decades, on his own in the most inhospitable place imaginable. What had been his life? His reasons? And why did he do what he supposedly did? From that initial note, years passed and were wondrously spent in the worlds of other novels.
Shortly after the publishing of the Sweet-Maker, work on this new novel finally began. And I quickly discovered two things: one, that no one had ever actually witnessed Queho killing anyone and two, that the world I was entering into was a great deal larger than that of Queho alone. Fast forward to today. 'Quintus Hopper of Nevada' is undoubtedly my most ambitious work - so far. It is historical and supernatural fiction and has become a tale of epic scope that weaves the life of fictional typesetter Quintus Hopper with that of real-life people (such as Mark Twain and Sarah Winnemucca) in a story about the early frontier years, the years of gold and silver rushes, the world of frontier newspapering and, at its core, the plight of Native American tribes as white man's progress wreaked havoc on their world.
In the coming days and weeks and months, I'll be sharing more about the novel. If you're interested, check it out here > Quintus Hopper of Nevada
I don't know about you, but I have stories rolling through my mind at all times. Thoughts come and thoughts go and sometimes they're noted down. Little by little, notes pile up and stories keep knocking, waiting to be written. For me, every novel is an entirely fresh adventure, an exploration into unknown territory where I invariably meet a host of characters living their lives as best they can. Last time around I physically went to the place of my novel and wrote it then and there, within the space of a single month - it was one of the most creative experiences I've ever had. If you're interesting in the results of that fantastic (and fantastical) time, check out The Sweet-Maker of Connemara.
The Sweet-Maker was published in late 2019, just a short while before the pandemic turned the world upside down. As always when I'm done with a novel, I take a short break and read and watch other people's stories. Before long, however, my mind inevitably begins to itch. The urge to step into a next world, and to meet and live with new characters, soon compels me back into writing more. I know myself and I know my writing instrument. If I don't play the instrument, I'm not happy. And so, before long, I dug through my notes and picked my next world. This time around, it so happened, I was transported to the early years of California and Nevada.
The spark for 'Quintus Hopper of Nevada' happened way back when in 2014, when our family visited an old mine in Eldorado Canyon, a good distance south of Las Vegas. There, on the wall of the shop where we met our guide, I saw framed pictures and read about the infamous Queho, apparently a mad Native American Indian who had killed a great many people in the early years of the 20th century. There was a picture of a posse, a picture of a slain woman, a picture of Queho's bones, found in a cave. I was intrigued. Not because there seemed to have been an Indian serial killer (fascinating as that is in itself), but because Queho was never caught despite the hundreds that hunted him over the course of many years. What struck me most was the man himself, a man choosing to live, for decades, on his own in the most inhospitable place imaginable. What had been his life? His reasons? And why did he do what he supposedly did? From that initial note, years passed and were wondrously spent in the worlds of other novels.
Shortly after the publishing of the Sweet-Maker, work on this new novel finally began. And I quickly discovered two things: one, that no one had ever actually witnessed Queho killing anyone and two, that the world I was entering into was a great deal larger than that of Queho alone. Fast forward to today. 'Quintus Hopper of Nevada' is undoubtedly my most ambitious work - so far. It is historical and supernatural fiction and has become a tale of epic scope that weaves the life of fictional typesetter Quintus Hopper with that of real-life people (such as Mark Twain and Sarah Winnemucca) in a story about the early frontier years, the years of gold and silver rushes, the world of frontier newspapering and, at its core, the plight of Native American tribes as white man's progress wreaked havoc on their world.
In the coming days and weeks and months, I'll be sharing more about the novel. If you're interested, check it out here > Quintus Hopper of Nevada
July 19, 2019
Liberate your specs
I’ve been lucky. Over a period of twenty years I’ve been hired again and again and I’ve had eight of my scripts produced. I have written feature-length films, worked on series, crafted adaptations ... and then there are the specs I've written at the beginning of my screenwriting life.
Specs are ‘speculative scripts’, screenplays not written on commission, but instead labors of love, passion projects, screenplays writers craft to make an impression, get through a door, attract an agent, generate interest. Specs most often don’t sell. Instead they are hugely valuable as calling cards, proof that a writer can tell a story and is worth considering for a hired gig. Most writers have written at least half a dozen specs before they get their first paid writing assignment.
What then happens to those countless specs screenwriters have poured their hearts and souls into? What happens to them is dust. Most specs end up on a shelf and remain there. They may have served their purpose as a calling card – but beyond that? That lovingly woven tale will never reach an audience, it'll never have people on the edge of their seats, it'll never induce goosebumps, tears, thrills, it'll never scare, it'll never make people laugh out loud. That spec on that shelf, abandoned and forgotten, will only ever collect dust and more dust.
It doesn't seem right, it doesn't feel right. Those stories were written with as much passion as authors put into their novels. They're different forms of writing, yes. And the screenplay's ultimate goal is the silver screen ... but when that doesn't happen - why should such scripts be lost to the dust? Scripts have their very own merit.
For the past few years I’ve focused writing on novels (two of them actually inspired by specs > more on that here). Looking at my old specs again, I’ve realized just how much they mean to me – and just how much I owe them. They've opened doors, they've delivered as reading samples, they got me agents, they got me jobs ... but they never sold. The characters in these stories never got to be discovered by the world out there. I figured it was time to change that.
I've now taken my first half dozen original screenplays and published them on Amazon - no frills, no additions, no changes. I've simply adjusted the format as it makes for easier reading for a broader audience. These original screenplays have been collecting dust for some twenty-five years. Every spec’s chance of ever being bought and produced is always minimal at best. And, sure, that may still happen one fine day with any of these stories - heck, one never knows. But I’m done leaving these stories to the dust until such time, because these characters deserve the opportunity to come alive – if not on screen, then in readers’ minds.
Specs are ‘speculative scripts’, screenplays not written on commission, but instead labors of love, passion projects, screenplays writers craft to make an impression, get through a door, attract an agent, generate interest. Specs most often don’t sell. Instead they are hugely valuable as calling cards, proof that a writer can tell a story and is worth considering for a hired gig. Most writers have written at least half a dozen specs before they get their first paid writing assignment.What then happens to those countless specs screenwriters have poured their hearts and souls into? What happens to them is dust. Most specs end up on a shelf and remain there. They may have served their purpose as a calling card – but beyond that? That lovingly woven tale will never reach an audience, it'll never have people on the edge of their seats, it'll never induce goosebumps, tears, thrills, it'll never scare, it'll never make people laugh out loud. That spec on that shelf, abandoned and forgotten, will only ever collect dust and more dust.
It doesn't seem right, it doesn't feel right. Those stories were written with as much passion as authors put into their novels. They're different forms of writing, yes. And the screenplay's ultimate goal is the silver screen ... but when that doesn't happen - why should such scripts be lost to the dust? Scripts have their very own merit.
For the past few years I’ve focused writing on novels (two of them actually inspired by specs > more on that here). Looking at my old specs again, I’ve realized just how much they mean to me – and just how much I owe them. They've opened doors, they've delivered as reading samples, they got me agents, they got me jobs ... but they never sold. The characters in these stories never got to be discovered by the world out there. I figured it was time to change that.
I've now taken my first half dozen original screenplays and published them on Amazon - no frills, no additions, no changes. I've simply adjusted the format as it makes for easier reading for a broader audience. These original screenplays have been collecting dust for some twenty-five years. Every spec’s chance of ever being bought and produced is always minimal at best. And, sure, that may still happen one fine day with any of these stories - heck, one never knows. But I’m done leaving these stories to the dust until such time, because these characters deserve the opportunity to come alive – if not on screen, then in readers’ minds.
September 12, 2018
A writer's retreat
This was a first for me. I've been writing professionally for 20+ years now and have, since then, never taking a time-out to focus on just the story for an extended period of time. I have to admit - it was pure writer's bliss.
View from the cottageI've always had a day job and it's always worked out well for me (here's why). I can write anytime, anywhere. It's a muscle I've trained for a long, long time. Because of multiple responsibilities, writing's always been early mornings, late nights, parts of weekends ... and in all the years I've never neglected a deadline. I learned to make the most of the time I had and was always as fast in delivering as my full-time writer colleagues.
The past few years were tough with my dad's passing, then my mom's dementia, then my brother's suicide. With every bit of strain on the heart and the mind, it wasn't easy to step into that creative room we writers need, that mental place where we roam free with our characters, where we live and die and love and hate as we try out a million and one "what ifs".
This year a few things came together that opened the possibility to step out for a whole month. My mom's settled and happy in a home, my kids are grown - and yet I wouldn't have done it if not for my amazing wife who said, "Take this time, it is yours." ... it has been, without a doubt, one of the greatest gifts anyone's ever given me. What did I do? I rented a cottage in Ireland, in remote and rugged Connemara. I was there for four weeks and barely talked to anyone. I arrived without characters and without a plot. Basically, I had nothing but a general idea of what I wanted the novel to be about ... when I left the cottage a month later, I had a finished novel in my bag.
Maumturk Moutains behind the cottageI would wake up and start writing. I would walk and drive (without the distraction of radio) and always have characters and story flowing across my mind. I would take breaks when it felt right and I would just go on writing if that's what I wanted to do. Some days I wrote half a day, others I didn't leave the cottage once for fresh air. I'd look at progress before hitting the sack and I'd voice-record ideas if they hit my while in bed. I'd wake in the middle of the night, record something, mostly asleep - then use it first thing the next morning. That singular focus ... just imagine what we writers could achieve if we were giving that luxury all the time. In my case, that may happen one day should one of my novels or screenplays propel me into a financially sound place where I could comfortably go "full-time". But that's beyond my control - if it happens, it happens.
My way has worked wonderfully well these past two decades - and the gift of that one month out there on my own will always remain with me as an out-of-this-world incredibly rewarding and deeply fulfilling experience. If you've done this yourself, you'll know exactly how I've felt ... and if you haven't, then my wish for you is that you'll be able to take such an opportunity at some point. Key then is to go into it with no attachment to outcome. Just go ... and allow things to happen.
PS: And, of course, it helps if there's no internet connectivity - then "remote" really does become remote and giving characters and story full attention becomes ever so much easier.
View from the cottageI've always had a day job and it's always worked out well for me (here's why). I can write anytime, anywhere. It's a muscle I've trained for a long, long time. Because of multiple responsibilities, writing's always been early mornings, late nights, parts of weekends ... and in all the years I've never neglected a deadline. I learned to make the most of the time I had and was always as fast in delivering as my full-time writer colleagues.The past few years were tough with my dad's passing, then my mom's dementia, then my brother's suicide. With every bit of strain on the heart and the mind, it wasn't easy to step into that creative room we writers need, that mental place where we roam free with our characters, where we live and die and love and hate as we try out a million and one "what ifs".
This year a few things came together that opened the possibility to step out for a whole month. My mom's settled and happy in a home, my kids are grown - and yet I wouldn't have done it if not for my amazing wife who said, "Take this time, it is yours." ... it has been, without a doubt, one of the greatest gifts anyone's ever given me. What did I do? I rented a cottage in Ireland, in remote and rugged Connemara. I was there for four weeks and barely talked to anyone. I arrived without characters and without a plot. Basically, I had nothing but a general idea of what I wanted the novel to be about ... when I left the cottage a month later, I had a finished novel in my bag.
Maumturk Moutains behind the cottageI would wake up and start writing. I would walk and drive (without the distraction of radio) and always have characters and story flowing across my mind. I would take breaks when it felt right and I would just go on writing if that's what I wanted to do. Some days I wrote half a day, others I didn't leave the cottage once for fresh air. I'd look at progress before hitting the sack and I'd voice-record ideas if they hit my while in bed. I'd wake in the middle of the night, record something, mostly asleep - then use it first thing the next morning. That singular focus ... just imagine what we writers could achieve if we were giving that luxury all the time. In my case, that may happen one day should one of my novels or screenplays propel me into a financially sound place where I could comfortably go "full-time". But that's beyond my control - if it happens, it happens.My way has worked wonderfully well these past two decades - and the gift of that one month out there on my own will always remain with me as an out-of-this-world incredibly rewarding and deeply fulfilling experience. If you've done this yourself, you'll know exactly how I've felt ... and if you haven't, then my wish for you is that you'll be able to take such an opportunity at some point. Key then is to go into it with no attachment to outcome. Just go ... and allow things to happen.
PS: And, of course, it helps if there's no internet connectivity - then "remote" really does become remote and giving characters and story full attention becomes ever so much easier.
September 6, 2017
Dust off your screenplays and publish them!
We all write specs in the hope that, someday, someone will grab those stories, pay us, and turn them into amazing films. Most often, that hope never materializes and the specs end up on a shelf, forever, collecting dust ... lost.
She's published it, so can youWhen I started writing novels, I began looking at my old specs again. They're still as good as they were back then. They won in contests, they opened doors, they were valuable reading samples, they got me jobs ... but they were never sold. The characters in those stories never got to be discovered by the world out there. I figured it was time to change that.
In 2015 I wrote a spec (something I hadn't done for years as I had been hired all the time), the story of a man who believes that human beings can fly. I wrote the spec, I loved it - and realized I wasn't done with the characters. So I expanded it into a novel. There's interest in the screenplay - but those things are always very, very far from certain. In the meantime, the novel's out there and Barnaby Smith has a life in many people's hearts and minds.
Then, in 2016, I took my old spec script Breakfast in Atlantis and used it as the basis for the novel Home . Some of the spec's characters vanished, minor characters took on leading roles and all of the work I had once, over twenty years ago, put into that spec, came to life and it's now been read by thousands of readers. As a writer, what's not to love, right?
Screenwriters traditionally are/were scared of people stealing their brilliant ideas . It's an unfounded fear. Instead, screenwriters should use their specs to make things happen. If their specs are out there, they a) increase their chances of the stories being discovered and b) they get readers, they get feedback, their characters have come alive for an audience.
This year I've rediscovered another one of my specs - interestingly, this particular one was never meant to be filmed. It was simply my way of intensely reliving, from far away, my life in New York City in the company of my best friends. In 1997, already living in Europe, I wrote a whimsical screenplay - a fictitious story about four very real guys in New York City, a year after graduating from the famed Neighborhood Playhouse School of their Theatre , chasing dreams. It could have collected dust forever. Instead, it's out there now > The way It is. Now people read it. Now people discover the characters and spend time with them. This particular script will never be filmed - it wasn't meant to be filmed. But now it has a life - and honestly, those specs, our specs, the stories we pour our hearts and souls into - don't they have a right to live? I think they do.
Am I done turning specs into published books? Definitely not. It feels like the right thing to do. Those specs would likely never been made, likely never be seen by anyone. They deserve better. And so I'll find more ways to bring them into the world. To give you one more example - as a next project I'll take three of my New York City thrillers and will publish them, in some cool form, as a package.
PS: In case you wonder whether that will make you money. Heck, it can. But likely it'll be minimal. There's the far out chance that an industry person discovers your story that way. There's also the remote chance that the book takes off and a publisher snatches you up. But don't count on those. Do this because you believe in your stories and because you will, I guarantee it, love knowing that all of your hard work finally has an audience.
She's published it, so can youWhen I started writing novels, I began looking at my old specs again. They're still as good as they were back then. They won in contests, they opened doors, they were valuable reading samples, they got me jobs ... but they were never sold. The characters in those stories never got to be discovered by the world out there. I figured it was time to change that.In 2015 I wrote a spec (something I hadn't done for years as I had been hired all the time), the story of a man who believes that human beings can fly. I wrote the spec, I loved it - and realized I wasn't done with the characters. So I expanded it into a novel. There's interest in the screenplay - but those things are always very, very far from certain. In the meantime, the novel's out there and Barnaby Smith has a life in many people's hearts and minds.
Then, in 2016, I took my old spec script Breakfast in Atlantis and used it as the basis for the novel Home . Some of the spec's characters vanished, minor characters took on leading roles and all of the work I had once, over twenty years ago, put into that spec, came to life and it's now been read by thousands of readers. As a writer, what's not to love, right?
Screenwriters traditionally are/were scared of people stealing their brilliant ideas . It's an unfounded fear. Instead, screenwriters should use their specs to make things happen. If their specs are out there, they a) increase their chances of the stories being discovered and b) they get readers, they get feedback, their characters have come alive for an audience.
This year I've rediscovered another one of my specs - interestingly, this particular one was never meant to be filmed. It was simply my way of intensely reliving, from far away, my life in New York City in the company of my best friends. In 1997, already living in Europe, I wrote a whimsical screenplay - a fictitious story about four very real guys in New York City, a year after graduating from the famed Neighborhood Playhouse School of their Theatre , chasing dreams. It could have collected dust forever. Instead, it's out there now > The way It is. Now people read it. Now people discover the characters and spend time with them. This particular script will never be filmed - it wasn't meant to be filmed. But now it has a life - and honestly, those specs, our specs, the stories we pour our hearts and souls into - don't they have a right to live? I think they do.
Am I done turning specs into published books? Definitely not. It feels like the right thing to do. Those specs would likely never been made, likely never be seen by anyone. They deserve better. And so I'll find more ways to bring them into the world. To give you one more example - as a next project I'll take three of my New York City thrillers and will publish them, in some cool form, as a package.
PS: In case you wonder whether that will make you money. Heck, it can. But likely it'll be minimal. There's the far out chance that an industry person discovers your story that way. There's also the remote chance that the book takes off and a publisher snatches you up. But don't count on those. Do this because you believe in your stories and because you will, I guarantee it, love knowing that all of your hard work finally has an audience.
August 2, 2017
For the love of screenwriting
I've written a book about life as a screenwriter - not a how-to book - this book is about staying sane and happy in the mad, mad world of filmmaking. After twenty years, I've learned what works and what doesn't.
I was invited to present the book at the annual London Screenwriters Festival - but won't be able to make it as I'll be in ... Mongolia at that time! The LSF, by the way, is an incredible event full of insight and empowerment. If you are a screenwriter - or if you want to become one - be there! It takes place from 15-17 September > http://www.londonscreenwritersfestiva...
I've made my book available for free from today for five days. Enjoy!
https://www.amazon.com/Write-Daniel-M...
I was invited to present the book at the annual London Screenwriters Festival - but won't be able to make it as I'll be in ... Mongolia at that time! The LSF, by the way, is an incredible event full of insight and empowerment. If you are a screenwriter - or if you want to become one - be there! It takes place from 15-17 September > http://www.londonscreenwritersfestiva...
I've made my book available for free from today for five days. Enjoy!
https://www.amazon.com/Write-Daniel-M...
January 1, 2017
A screenwriter's life
I know things. I know things not because I’m brilliant, I know things because I’ve been in the screenwriting business for a long time now. For twenty years I’ve been hired, again and again. I have written feature-length films, worked on series, crafted adaptations. I’ve gone through the various hells and back and through it all I’ve taken the time to learn … and to live.
I’ve been paid and I’ve been shafted. I’ve jubilated when I saw my name on film the first time and I’ve torn my hair out when it all went horribly wrong. I’ve schmoozed and I’ve battled and always, always, I’ve loved living in this crazy world of make-believe. That, that right there, is the key to everything. The world of screenwriting is a mad one, one that’ll often feel disheartening, unjust and devoid of the very passion we keep pouring into every single word. But it’s film, it’s the movies, it’s the world of dreams, the world of fear and laughter and we love it … don’t we?I've put my experiences to paper - but this isn't another how-to book. "Write, Write, Write: Not necessarily in that order" is an honest account of what we can expect as a professional writers. What we can expect, if we’re lucky and prepared, is a world that’ll pay us to do what we love doing. What we cannot expect is winning the lottery. Hollywood dreams do come true all the time – but if we count on them, they’ll make us miserable.
I've loved writing this book - it really is a book about life, living the life of a screenwriter, being happy and staying sane in the mad, mad world of making films. If you're thinking about a life in screenwriting, you might want to take a look ... and if you're an old hand and have forgotten what it's all about, then hopefully this book will bring it all back to you. Write, write, write !
August 6, 2016
Six writers you can learn a lot from
Books are being published all the time ... and sometimes by friends of mine. Every published book is a monumental success and here I'd simply like to congratulate six friends on their latest achievements. Kudos to Andy Briggs, Jason Arnopp, Danny Stack, Tim Clague, John Stepper and Jeff Grant - you can learn a ton from them!
There are those who have ideas (every single person on the planet) ... and then there are those who put pen to paper and turn ideas into finished stories (writers). Writing is a marathon-type discipline and most simply don't have the stamina to stick with it. To go from idea to passion is one thing ... but passion comes and goes and the muse won't always be there to kiss you. The simple truth is that writing is discipline, it's ass-to-seat days and weeks and months and years on end. The simple truth is that those who have the staying power to stick with it through all the frustrations, the lulls, the distractions, the obstacles, the fears, those are the ones who - one day - will be able to call themselves authors.
Andy Briggs
Andy's been a friend for many years and he is, without a doubt, one of the most prolific writers out there. He's immersed in fiction, graphic novels, screenplays, you name it. I remember him telling me, ages ago, about the idea behind Hero.com and Villain.Net ... for most, it would end there. But Andy went on to turning it into a series of 8 novels! He was then selected by the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate to reboot Tarzan for a new generation - and has already written 3 novels. His latest novel (hard to keep up with the man!), just published in May, is Iron Fist . Every time I see Andy (which is far too rarely) I tell him that, when I grow up, I want to be like him. Exercise your writing muscle at all times. The more you train that muscle, the better you become at running those writing marathons.
Jason Arnopp
Jason and I met in 2007 at the Cheltenham Screenwriters' Festival. Even then, just starting out, he had an open, engaging way about him ... and that's just what defines Jason. He networks, one way or another, all the time. You see, writing is what it is all about for a writer ... but it is pretty nice to get hired, to get the assignment, to get published ... right? Jason's always been upfront in both physical and virtual worlds about his passion for film, for horror, for Dr. Who ... and guess what ... by showing up he put his name into conversations. Jason's just published his latest novel, The Last Days of Jack Sparks . Engage with the world around you. Use social media, write blogs, add value to others by offering your help. Over time your name becomes known and things will happen.
Danny Stack and Tim Clague
Danny and Tim share a love for film. Over the course of years they've created their podcast series and have found many other ways of sharing their insights and becoming household names in the UK screenwriting world. Besides working on their own projects, they put their creative brains together for a children's feature film called Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg ? In 2014 they easily exceeded their Kickstarter funding goals ... but does it end there? Nope, in fact it never ends. These guys, like all other pros, keep at it because it, all of this, defines who they are, what they care about, what makes them get up in the morning. And so, just this year, they decided to bring their insights together in a book and have published The UK Scriptwriter's Survival Handbook . Danny and Tim are a magnetic combination of like-minded spirits. Through the longs stretches of writing a book, having a partner can be of immense help.
John Stepper
John has spent a good chunk of his life working for Deutsche Bank where he focused his attentions on helping employees collaborate more effectively and creating more meaningful networks. Over time he became a trainer, presenter, lecturer - and learned more and more about ways to enable authentic relationships and adding true meaning to our lives ... lots of people try to live good lives, try to add value, try to be engaged, caring, compassionate. Lots of people talk about it and John did his best within the firm for a long time, too, talking about it - trying to get employees to discover better, richer ways. Now John's taken it further. He has taken the insights gathered over the course of twenty years and has shared them in his book entitled Working Out Loud: For a better career and life . Because of his dedication and focus - and the excellent book, of course - he is now a sought-after speaker and coach. John has done what many of us can - share our insights from a life lived, expertise gathered - in whatever field. Think about your life - what insights do you have?
Jeff Grant
I've actually never met Jeff (yet!) - but his wife and I are good friends and so I've been "in the know" about Jeff's world for years. He's quit a corporate career in 2010 and focused full-time on coaching, speaking ... and writing. Creator of Hillseeker , he's an ultra-endurance athlete, does some of the toughest marathons and expeditions in the world ... and shares his insights, his passion for it all, every step of the way. The thing is, once upon a time Jeff was a whopping 32 kilos overweight . He went from there to achieving everything he's achieved and essentially focuses his every day on one thing: "Do what you love." Simple, right? ... And yet how many of us think we can't? Jeff has, just now, published his book Flow State Runner . Jeff is the perfect example to show how much we can achieve with discipline and stamina ... but even more importantly, when we simply give our all to what we love doing.
Whether yours is imagination or insight, fiction or non-fiction - take the above as examples. Read their books, follow their blogs, connect with them across the social media spheres and get inspired. Andy, Jason, Danny, Tim, John and Jeff are people like you and I. It's not about that elusive spark - it's about discipline and stamina, the will to go from having an idea to doing it - through it all - to the moment where you, too, will be an author.
There are those who have ideas (every single person on the planet) ... and then there are those who put pen to paper and turn ideas into finished stories (writers). Writing is a marathon-type discipline and most simply don't have the stamina to stick with it. To go from idea to passion is one thing ... but passion comes and goes and the muse won't always be there to kiss you. The simple truth is that writing is discipline, it's ass-to-seat days and weeks and months and years on end. The simple truth is that those who have the staying power to stick with it through all the frustrations, the lulls, the distractions, the obstacles, the fears, those are the ones who - one day - will be able to call themselves authors.Andy Briggs
Andy's been a friend for many years and he is, without a doubt, one of the most prolific writers out there. He's immersed in fiction, graphic novels, screenplays, you name it. I remember him telling me, ages ago, about the idea behind Hero.com and Villain.Net ... for most, it would end there. But Andy went on to turning it into a series of 8 novels! He was then selected by the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate to reboot Tarzan for a new generation - and has already written 3 novels. His latest novel (hard to keep up with the man!), just published in May, is Iron Fist . Every time I see Andy (which is far too rarely) I tell him that, when I grow up, I want to be like him. Exercise your writing muscle at all times. The more you train that muscle, the better you become at running those writing marathons.
Jason Arnopp
Jason and I met in 2007 at the Cheltenham Screenwriters' Festival. Even then, just starting out, he had an open, engaging way about him ... and that's just what defines Jason. He networks, one way or another, all the time. You see, writing is what it is all about for a writer ... but it is pretty nice to get hired, to get the assignment, to get published ... right? Jason's always been upfront in both physical and virtual worlds about his passion for film, for horror, for Dr. Who ... and guess what ... by showing up he put his name into conversations. Jason's just published his latest novel, The Last Days of Jack Sparks . Engage with the world around you. Use social media, write blogs, add value to others by offering your help. Over time your name becomes known and things will happen.
Danny Stack and Tim Clague
Danny and Tim share a love for film. Over the course of years they've created their podcast series and have found many other ways of sharing their insights and becoming household names in the UK screenwriting world. Besides working on their own projects, they put their creative brains together for a children's feature film called Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg ? In 2014 they easily exceeded their Kickstarter funding goals ... but does it end there? Nope, in fact it never ends. These guys, like all other pros, keep at it because it, all of this, defines who they are, what they care about, what makes them get up in the morning. And so, just this year, they decided to bring their insights together in a book and have published The UK Scriptwriter's Survival Handbook . Danny and Tim are a magnetic combination of like-minded spirits. Through the longs stretches of writing a book, having a partner can be of immense help.
John Stepper
John has spent a good chunk of his life working for Deutsche Bank where he focused his attentions on helping employees collaborate more effectively and creating more meaningful networks. Over time he became a trainer, presenter, lecturer - and learned more and more about ways to enable authentic relationships and adding true meaning to our lives ... lots of people try to live good lives, try to add value, try to be engaged, caring, compassionate. Lots of people talk about it and John did his best within the firm for a long time, too, talking about it - trying to get employees to discover better, richer ways. Now John's taken it further. He has taken the insights gathered over the course of twenty years and has shared them in his book entitled Working Out Loud: For a better career and life . Because of his dedication and focus - and the excellent book, of course - he is now a sought-after speaker and coach. John has done what many of us can - share our insights from a life lived, expertise gathered - in whatever field. Think about your life - what insights do you have?
Jeff Grant
I've actually never met Jeff (yet!) - but his wife and I are good friends and so I've been "in the know" about Jeff's world for years. He's quit a corporate career in 2010 and focused full-time on coaching, speaking ... and writing. Creator of Hillseeker , he's an ultra-endurance athlete, does some of the toughest marathons and expeditions in the world ... and shares his insights, his passion for it all, every step of the way. The thing is, once upon a time Jeff was a whopping 32 kilos overweight . He went from there to achieving everything he's achieved and essentially focuses his every day on one thing: "Do what you love." Simple, right? ... And yet how many of us think we can't? Jeff has, just now, published his book Flow State Runner . Jeff is the perfect example to show how much we can achieve with discipline and stamina ... but even more importantly, when we simply give our all to what we love doing.
Whether yours is imagination or insight, fiction or non-fiction - take the above as examples. Read their books, follow their blogs, connect with them across the social media spheres and get inspired. Andy, Jason, Danny, Tim, John and Jeff are people like you and I. It's not about that elusive spark - it's about discipline and stamina, the will to go from having an idea to doing it - through it all - to the moment where you, too, will be an author.
June 12, 2016
Transition - my path from screenplays to novels
I've written screenplays for twenty years - I've been disciplined, I've had the stamina, I've loved the challenges and I've had the good fortune of being commissioned again and again ... and had eight of my scripts produced, with the great ratings as the icing on the cake ... the business remains - but I find that I have changed.
Everything I've done before was everything I had ever wanted to do - to write screenplays. I had discovered it for myself in 1992. I was prolific, I worked on my craft and I never neglected the business side of it. I've had so many blessings over the years and every maddening challenge thrown at me by networks, producers, directors and actors was a challenge I loved to rise to ... well, not anymore.
I never thought I'd write novels. I have always loved the crisp, the concise - boiling something that would fill ten pages in a novel down to that perfect five word sentence. Actually, I still love that. My writing's still crisp, my style still more cinematic than literary.
I've now written three novels
and find myself entirely fulfilled in the creation of those worlds and characters. The challenges are those I set myself, no longer is there a question of budget and time constraints, of network concerns and wants and needs, both good and bad, from egos of every kind. As an author, I am a free man.The reality of screenwriting is that, most likely, the final product nowhere near resembles the writer's vision. Thankfully, in the new world of television where show runners rule - the writers are far more in the driving/deciding seat. Me, I've been a solid writer - a steady hand, reliable. I've always delivered - on rewrite requests for good and bad reasons, on rewrite demands that clearly negatively impacted the story. I would argue, I would laugh, I would find a way and make it happen ... and then sometimes the network would tell me that I had been right and could we please just all go back to a previous draft. Like I said, I actually used to love that - the joyous battles on the way to the shooting script. If you want to be a screenwriter, your heart's got to be in the fight. It's not just about a passion for film, it's about a passion for collaboration with all the good and all the bad.
I've written countless drafts on dozens of projects and, as mentioned, I've had eight of my scripts produced ... of those eight scripts, I'm proud of one. One. One time where I truly felt that, what I had set out to achieve, what I had worked my ass of to put to paper, showed up in the final product. From an end product point of view, one complete satisfaction ... in twenty years. Some of the films I downright hated and with some of those the ratings were still stellar. But it isn't about that - it's not about the final product, it is about how I feel along the way. Collaborating on a film is messy and glorious and that's the journey a screenwriter must embrace with a passion. I did, for a long time, and realized at some point that I just didn't feel like taking any of all of that anymore. It's fun when you love it - it's soul-sucking if you don't.
And so I had started writing novels. Writing novels harbors the same joys you experience when you write a first draft - when it's just you, your imagination, your worlds, your characters - you and the blank paper and nobody gets to weigh in. Who's kidding who, I've always loved writing the first draft more than anything else. The collaborative process came in a close second - but nothing beats the solitary freedom of the first draft. That's what I get to have, as an author, at any given moment now - that freedom. I still need the same discipline, the same stamina, the same passion to write - but it's my writing and will remain my writing and the final product, the novel, will be me, every single word of it.
Around the end of last year I had accepted one final (in my mind) screenwriting assignment. I had worked with them before and the collaboration had always been first rate. But when I handed in a treatment I was thoroughly happy with and word came back that the development with input from others was about to begin, I politely opted out. It's only honest. If you don't have a passion for it, do everyone else a favor and get out. They understood as I knew they would, as I said, great people to be working with. Since then, the focus is on novels only ... I couldn't be happier.
So is this the end of screenwriting? It's the good old "never say never". One truly does never know. It may or may not happen but I most certainly won't push it. The screenwriter within me, however, is alive and well in my novels. I've even written the second novel as a script first, just for the fun of it. And the third is actually based on a spec I had written more than twenty years ago. Oh, by the way, this is something I can only recommend - use your specs! You all have them. Don't let them collect dust, revisit them and turn them into novels. Stories of yours can either be lost forever, or can be discovered by thousands of readers around the world (and that in turn may breathe new hope/life into one of those dusty specs).
... Why now, you might wonder. Why the change ... age undoubtedly has a lot to do with it. Experience has even more to do with it. I've done it, I've been there - again and again. I'm at a place in my life where I look at everything and ask myself "Is this worth my time?" ... When it comes to the collaborative screenwriting process, the answer is a clear no. When it comes to writing, the answer will always be a resounding yes. In a nutshell, put your energy where your heart is.
PS: People keep telling me that my novels should be turned into films ... that may or may not happen one fine day. In the meantime, I'm happy.
January 30, 2015
An old Star Trek script page, annotated by DeForest Kelley
Came across this page and I can't help loving them, annotated scripts - pages of screenplays that weren't "only" filmed - but a bit of the production process, a bit of the personality, stays fresh with these notes.This one is from a Star Trek episode that was aired as "Spectre of the Gun" and the notes are by none other than "Bones" DeForest Kelley. The front page lists the scene numbers Doc McCoy was in and the name and phone number apparently were those of one of the stuntmen, named Bob Orrison.
