Writing Novels for the Movies

1. Michael Grais, Writer/Executive Producer/Producer

2008-12-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

MICHAEL GRAIS has written and/or produced internationally acclaimed movies (among them, Poltergeist, Stephen King’s Sleepwalker and Great Balls of Fire) whose gross revenues have exceeded $500 million dollars (from romantic comedies to thrillers) for seven Academy Award winning producers/directors.

Michael will explain how to make your novel more attractive to the film community, identify the genre, and introduce you to the structure that works for fiction as well as film. And, if you're interested in how things really work . . . and don't work . . . in Hollywood, you'll get a chance to ask him during the Open Season on Hollywood session.

Read more about Michael's impressive credits and his academic background on his website at http://www.michaelgrais.com.

2. Nancy Davis

2008-12-07T23:58:00.000-08:00

NANCY DAVIS has both a journalism degree and a Master’s Degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop and has won awards for her journalism, short stories and poetry. Her works have appeared in The Virginia Review, Candlelight Review and Stillpoint, among others.

She admits it . . . she's a cultural mongrel. Nancy grew up in Austria, Greece and the South.

Nancy will show you how the journalist's lens can help you to bring your characters into focus, and will perform surgery on your language, the novel’s largest organ.

3. Sheryl Dunn

2008-12-07T23:57:00.000-08:00

SHERYL DUNN won two awards from the Canada Council for the Arts for her psychological thriller, In All the Wrong Places (both literary and crime fiction categories.)

A Canadian lawyer, Sheryl switched careers—and countries—but not priorities. Her novel shakes, rattles and rolls conventional wisdom about justice . . . it makes you think.

Think of the novel as the human body:

the writer is the brain
the basic structure is the skeleton
scenes and sequels are the bones
the heart, nerves and muscles of the novel are its characters
and the language is its largest organ, just as the human skin is the body's largest organ.

Sheryl will dissect the bones of the novel, its scenes and sequels. She will spoon-feed you with the Do’s and Don’t's of language, and take the fear out of dialogue.

4. Workshop Agenda

2008-12-07T23:56:00.001-08:00

Be sure to bring a notebook, pens and pencils (with erasers) because we'll be giving you some fun and quick writing exercises during each workshop.

DAY 1 – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6

8:30 – 9:00 COFFEE and SIGN UP…to receive your materials and completed critiques

9:00 – 9:15 INTRODUCTIONS

9:15 – 11:15 NOVEL IDEAS, CHARACTERS, AND STRUCTURE (Michael Grais)

11:15 – 11:30 COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 12:30 DEM BONES, DEM BONES - SCENES AND SEQUELS (Sheryl Dunn)

12:30 – 2:00 LUNCH (not provided…bring a bag lunch if you’d like)

2:00 – 3:00 THE MAGIC OF THE WORD - Word, Sentence, Paragraph (Nancy Davis)

3:00 – 3:15 COFFEE BREAK

3:15 – 4:00 DEIFY AND DEFY THE RULES OF LANGUAGE (Sheryl Dunn)

4:00 – 5:00 ROUNDTABLE (Michael, Nancy and Sheryl)
This is your chance to clarify what you have learned so far and to get help on any problem you've encountered with your writing. Don't be surprised if you get three different answers.

DAY 2 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

8:30 – 9:00 COFFEE

9:00 – 10:45 LAZARUS – RAISE YOUR CHARACTERS FROM THE DEAD (Sheryl Dunn)

10:45 – 11:00 COFFEE BREAK

11:00 – 12:00 THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS BACKWARDS (Nancy Davis)

12:00 – 1:30 LUNCH (not provided)

1:30 – 2:45 ROUNDTABLE (Michael, Nancy, and Sheryl)

2:45 - 3:00 COFFEE BREAK

3:00 – 4:00 DIALOGUE THAT MOVES US (Sheryl Dunn)

4:00 – 4:45 OPEN SEASON ON HOLLYWOOD AND WRITING (Michael, Nancy and Sheryl)

4:45 – 5:00 WIND-UP

5. Workshop #1 - Novel Ideas and Structure (Michael)

2008-12-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

So, you want to write a novel, you are writing a novel, or you have written a novel.

Want to find out if your concept is marketable?

Michael will

ask you to describe your project to the class -- that's why it's a good idea to write down your concept and bring it with you (see Blog #16 for information on how to describe your novel),
tell you if your concept will attract the attention of movie/TV producers and studios,
explain how to make your concept even more attractive than it is already.

Want to find out how to structure your novel or improve its structure?

Michael will show you

how the Three Act Structure in film works equally well in a novel,
how to apply this structure to your novel

Want to make your characters more interesting and appealing?

Michael will

describe what the film industry looks for,
show you how to use archetypes,
lead you away from the run-of-the-mill archetype to your true destination: a compelling and memorable character.

Be prepared to laugh!

6. Workshop #2 - Dem Bones, Dem Bones - Scenes and Sequels (Sheryl Dunn)

2008-12-07T23:54:00.000-08:00

Let's hope Dem Bones are not dry bones!

You’re writing your novel, Poltergeist, and thinking about the sequel, Poltergeist II…
You may not know what a sequel is and how to weave sequels into the cloth of your novel (worry about Poltergeist II later)
Or, you’re having problems with Act II…that darn middle of your novel is too short
Or, your own novel bores even you and you don’t know how to fix it.

Find out how

to create scenes that move your novel and the reader…and to create enough of them to make a novel
to link your scenes together
to end your scenes with a hook . . . and without using cheap tricks
sequels help you to pace your novel, to create a roller coaster ride for the reader

7. Workshop #3 - THE MAGIC OF THE WORD - Word, Sentence, Paragraph (Nancy Davis)

2008-12-07T23:53:00.000-08:00

Get a facelift for your novel's skin, its words.

Words are powerful
Words make literature beautiful
You’re a writer, partly because you love words

Release the poet within and strengthen your writing by

tapping into all five senses
creating visual images with metaphor, or just plain talk
grabbing a lifeline before you go overboard
describing characters well
using The Rhythm Method

Nancy will draw on literature (e.g., No Country for Old Men, Conrad McCarthy; White Oleander, Janet Fitch; Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad), and so-called popular fiction (John Le Carré.)

8. Workshop #4 - Deify and Defy the Rules of Language (Sheryl Dunn)

2008-12-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

“Words are like wishes from a genie—don’t waste them.” (from Ann-Marie MacDonald's Fall on your Knees.)
‘The rules be damned,’ you say.
Yes, defy all those rules…rules should be tweaked, twisted and torn asunder.
But shame on you if you’re too lazy to learn the effects of defying the rules.

Learn

To deify and defy The Watching Syndrome and a host of Writing Tics
To avoid the ‘She Said Angrily.’
How not to be Lulled by Ludlum
To remove all those Basting Stitches and unnecessary words

You'll receive a self-editing checklist and lots of Precious Little Darlings -- easy ways to remember the rules and how to break them wisely.

9. Workshop #5 - Lazarus - Characters That Rise From The Dead (Sheryl Dunn)

2008-12-07T23:51:00.000-08:00

Characters are the heart, muscles and nerves of your novel (that's why all three workshops leaders are giving you advice about character)
Without moving characters, your novel is ‘in irons’ . . . stagnant
Without interesting characters, your novel is unmarketable
‘But,’ you say, ‘I love my characters. Why don’t you, the reader?

Raise your characters from the dead by

deepening their conflicts
giving them goals
using character arcs instead of Deus Ex Machina
showing not telling
intertwining backstory into story…stimulus and response
making them real, yet larger than life

This workshop will spoonfeed you with helpful checklists and give you a process that will help you bring your characters to life.

10. Workshop #6 - CHARACTER - Through the Looking Glass Backwards (Nancy Davis)

2008-12-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

Nancy, the journalist, takes reality into fiction through years of observing people (most of them famous) while writing personality profiles.

Yes, you can do it, too.

Apply your camera’s lens to character by

Reading People
Stepping out of the box
Observing the unusual
Multiplying the techniques you use to describe your characters (mannerisms, hobbies and homes, architecture, tics, facial expressions, clothing, etc., etc., etc.)

11. Workshop #7 - Dialogue That Moves Us (Sheryl Dunn)

2008-12-07T23:49:00.000-08:00

Dialogue is more than the words the character says…it includes interior monologue, body language and setting.
You’ve been recording dialogue on that flash drive in your brain since birth, yet when you put the character’s words on the page, they’re unnatural, stilted, even boring.
What’s holding you back? It might be FEAR PARALYSIS.

Get your dialogue . . . and your novel . . . moving:

Learn the basic do’s and don’t’s and say, “Goodnight” to ‘Good Mornings’ . . . and to your fear.
Use body language to fill in the ‘Beats,’ increase conflict, and deepen your characters.
Avoid ‘Cartoon Balloons’ by grounding your dialogue.
Make your dialogue go somewhere important . . . and go there fast.
Play ping-pong inside your Characters’ Cubes.
Learn how people really talk . . . in a novel and in a movie.

12. Final Workshop - Open Season on Hollywood and Writing (Michael, Nancy and Sheryl)

2008-12-07T23:48:00.000-08:00

Poor Michael! Nancy and Sheryl suspect that he'll be the one in the hot seat.

Want to find out the truth about writing for Hollywood?
Questions regarding genres, agents, managers, studios, indy films -- ask about anything and Michael will do his best to steer you in the right direction
Questions about writing...the process, the craft, publishing and self-publishing.

Hey! It's open season. Ask us anything you want and we'll answer (as honestly as possible.)

Note: Michael's attorney will be hovering in the background to ensure that his name won't appear in The National Inquirer . . . as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit.

13. Pre-Registration

2008-12-07T23:47:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to reserve your place in the workshop, just send an e-mail message to writingmovienovels@gmail.com and we'll put you on the list. Include your name and phone number in your e-mail message.

Then follow the registration procedure to confirm your attendance (Registration Procedure).

14. Registration Procedure

2008-12-07T23:46:00.000-08:00

Space is limited.

To reserve your spot for the workshop, payment is required in full by December 1, 2008 (non-refundable after December 1)

We'll accept your check or money order payable to Michael Grais . . . or cash (USD or peso equivalent).

You can drop off your payment at La Conexion, Aldama 3, Box 638 B.

Note: Submission of writing samples for critiquing purposes is entirely optional, but if you'd like a critique, then you can leave your sample at La Conexion, too. For more information on formatting of your writing sample, go to Submissions of Writing Samples or call 154-8032.

15. Submissions of Writing Samples -- To be critiqued

2008-12-07T23:45:00.000-08:00

Submissions of writing samples for critiquing purposes are entirely optional, but if you'd like to submit a sample, please

make it fiction -- a short story, a scene from a novel, even poetry
submit no more than 5 double-spaced pages (typewritten)
put your name, e-mail address and phone number on each page of your writing sample
drop your sample off at La Conexion, Aldama 3, Box 638 B, c/o Michael Grais

If you provide your sample soon enough, we'll give you your written critique at the beginning of the workshop.

If you bring your sample to the workshop, you'll receive your critique by e-mail with ten days after the workshop.

If you have any questions about this process, please call 154-8032.

Note: We don't plan on embarrassing you . . . or praising you . . . by critiquing your work in front of the other participants, but we will summarize the strengths and weaknesses of all submissions received before the December 1 deadline for registration.

16. Your Novel Idea - 1 page proposal/summary

2008-12-07T23:44:00.000-08:00

Do you want Michael's advice about your idea for a novel or your novel-in-progress? If so, then you can

simply bring your idea in your head to the workshop,
or, even better, type it on one page and bring the page to the workshop.

How to flesh out your idea or summarize your concept:

hook/logline: tell us in one to three lines what your novel is about (if Sir Winston Churchill can end a sentence with a preposition, then so can we!)
purpose: why do you want to write this particular story?
main characters: tell us about your main characters (e.g., protagonist, antagonist, love interest, best friend...of the protagonist, that is)

During our first workshop, Michael will help you to identify your genre, how to spice up your hook/logline, how to make your characters more interesting...and how to make your novel more marketable.