Writing for a Genre That Doesn’t Exist (Yet)

Source: blakesynder.com & @HilaryGraham

#screenwriting #fiction #film

“Hilary Weisman Graham is a screenwriter, Emmy-nominated TV producer, filmmaker, and the author ofReunited (Simon & Schuster – June 12, 2012), her debut young adult novel. You may recognize Hilary from her stint as a contestant on the 2007 Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg-produced reality show On the Lot: The Search for America’s Next Great Director. Out of a pool of 12,000 submissions, Hilary made it onto the show as one of the 18 finalists and stayed in the competition until only nine contestants remained, making her the longest-standing female director. Visit Hilary at her website, her blog, herFacebook page, or on Twitter @HilaryGraham.

Any time I take on something new—be it screenwriting, motherhood, or writing my first novel—I’m consumed with a desperate need to orient myself in that endeavor, to educate myself Fodor’s Guide-style to the rules, customs, and currency of this uncharted world. I surround myself with teetering stacks of how-to books and trade magazines, fill my in-box with blog feeds and e-newsletters, and solicit the expertise of anyone willing to share it. Then, when my brain is reaching capacity, I toss out the bits of information that don’t resonate with me, keep the ones that do, and let the remainder of accumulated knowledge ferment into its own special concoction.

I had just begun to transition into this phase of my screenwriting career when I met Blake Snyder. Meeting Blake was part of my prize package for winning the 2008 Silver Screenwriting Contest (for my spec Freebird) and in the fall of that same year, Blake, Julie Gray, (who ran said screenwriting contest) and I spent a lovely evening at the Chateau Marmont, talking about our craft.

I read Save the Cat! a few days prior to my meeting with Blake, mostly because I was meeting Blake. And even though I was burnt out from the numerous how-to screenwriting books I’d just read, Save the Cat! was so funny, engaging, and practical that I was hooked right away.

Up until that point, I hadn’t done much outlining when it came to my scriptwriting, preferring the “seat of my pants” method to the hard labor of crafting a plot. But the spec I’d just written had been a torturous experience of taking wrong turn after wrong turn, until finally, with a bit of luck, I just so happened to stumble across the road that would get me where I needed to go. So, having been charmed both by Blake and his book, I decided to give the Save the Cat! method a try.

The very next screenplay I wrote (outlined meticulously, according to Blake’s beat sheet and index card system) was my first spec sale. After that, more sales followed, as well as a book deal for my debut young adult novel, Reunited, (Simon & Schuster) which comes out this June. I’m not implying that my writing career wouldn’t have……”