3 Benefits to Joining a Screenwriter's Group

I've been a member of the Marietta, Georgia based screenwriter's group the Blank Page for almost two years now and it has helped me and other screenwriters immensely in making our screenplays better and more marketable to the screenplay buying market. The Blank Page was started by filmmaker Brent Brooks originally to help develop films that could be produced with a small to no budget but have screenplays that were top notch. The Blank Page meets bi-monthly on the same day and time. Brooks who has worked in the commercial film industry for years and directed several shorts and the features "Art of Suicide" and co-directed "Between Love & a Hard Place" has fostered a place and atmosphere where screenwriters can get together and discuss, critique, and analyze scripts so that many problems can be addressed and fixed prior to being sent out to the market place. In the following article I will discuss three ways in which being a part of the Blank Page has helped me become a better screenwriter and how a screenwriting group can help all screenwriters.

1. Getting Your Screenplay Read Out Loud in Front of Your Peers.

There is no better way to judge the potential of your screenplay than by your peers which is the chief responsibility of any good screenwriter group. At the Blank Page, Brooks has all the writers sit in a large circle so that everyone can see everyone. There is no table in the center to distract. Each person is given a copy of the screenplay and then the writer chooses roles for each person never taking a role for himself because part of the experience is listening to your screenplay being heard. This process helps especially in terms of dialogue because there is no better judges of dialogue then hearing people speak the lines you've written and realizing that some work while others need to be tweaked a little. This helped immensely on my screenplay "The Nocturnal" in which several of my characters spoke in a highly stylized manner and I needed to make sure that what I had written didn't sound too cartoonish or surreal. Needless to say, I went back and adjusted several pages of dialogue to fix some of these problems. In this same screenplay I also realized that some of the dialogue spoken would better suit being in the action rather than being said out loud so hearing it our loud allowed me to make these adjustments as well. Knowing that your peers are reading your screenplay puts you at ease as you know they will be reading, interpreting, and understanding your words from a writer's perspective rather than an actor's perspective.

2. Feedback from the Reading of Your Screenplay.

There is no better barometer for the viability of your screenplay than from your peers who have read your screenplay out loud and then are given the opportunity to give the writer feedback on what worked, what didn't work, and how to fix the screenplay so it can be taken to the marketplace. At the Blank Page Brooks allows each person of the group to comment on the screenplay about things they liked and didn't like about the story. This can range from technical and formatting errors in the script to continuity errors, story & plot holes, or items that just didn't make any sense whatsoever, to name a few. Writing is a solitary job (with the exception of those who have a screenwriting partner) and therefore many times what is in the writer's head does not always translate to the written page (despite what the writer thinks). This feedback from other writers helps the screenwriter address these issues at the onset of the writing process. Feedback may also consist of ways in which the screenwriter will be able to fix these problems and make the script that much better. For my screenplay for the "Friday the 13^th" fan film "The Man in the Lake" many of the death scenes seemed too simple. Many of the other screenwriters gave me alternatives for making the death scenes much more in the tradition of the real films. This was something I didn't even think about when writing the film but since the group consisted of several horror fans, I was able to look at the screenplay from their perspective and cater the film towards the people who were going to watch the film in the first place. In my screenplay "The Nocturnal" one of the creatures in the screenplay the other writers continued to think was a vampire when in my mind she clearly was not. They helped me rewrite certain traits and scenes with the character so that no other readers would not also make the same mistake. They also gave me suggestions on how to spruce up the climax of the script so that it was bigger and more dynamic than the quiet ending I originally crafted.

3. Networking & Info on How to Make Your Screenplay Better & Where to Sell it.

One of the greatest assets to being a part of the Blank Page is the fact that Brooks uses the group as a way for screenwriters to network with one another. In addition to the bi-monthly meetings there is also the Facebook page and a link from his company's website Blank Stage Productions. On both of these pages screenwriters can go to find the latest links on screenwriting techniques and screenwriting competitions and even screenwriter opportunities. Several of the screenwriters have written commercials and short films that have been produced by Blank Stage Productions. Brooks has even added a new feature to the Blank Page which is the Blank Staged, which are readings of the finished screenplays with an actual cast of actors so that the screenplay is given another opportunity to fix anything wrong with the screenplay. All this wealth of info is ultimately put into play for the screenwriter to be able to take their screenplay to the marketplace so that it can be produced.

Now these are only a few ways in which a screenwriter group can help screenwriters produce the best possible version of their script. There are screenwriter groups everywhere and even if there is none in your area, start one up yourself. Gather 3 to 5 screenwriter's and just start your own group. The Blank Page started off with only five people who showed up on a regular basis but now it has on average 12 to 20 people and it just continues to grow. A screenwriter group can be very helpful if you remember that it is designed to be a creative and positive way in which to communicate and foster ideas amongst your peers.