John August is a screenwriter (Go, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Nines and many more) and director (The Nines). (And he’s currently working on the Dark Shadows screenplay for Johnny Depp, an actor whom I would love to write for with pretty much every fiber of my being).
The tag line of John August’s blog is “a ton of useful information about screenwriting,” and he’s not kidding. If you’re interested in learning about screenwriting and the movie business, there are more than 900 articles on his site, as well as downloadable film and television treatments and scripts.
(Looks directly through the internet at John August). John, it’s really generous of you, and I’ve learned a lot. Thanks very much. (Internet camera off).
Here’s a speech that August gave in 2006, and I wish I’d seen it before I taught Clarion West last year: I would have made it required reading. I think every aspiring writer (and every established writer, every artist, oh-gosh-everyone who works for a living) ought to absorb it at the cellular level.
(The text is long, but not as long as it looks — it comes with 55 comments attached.)
The speech begins with a Hollywood story and then moves into a basic nuts-and-bolts primer of how to behave like a grownup in the working world. Maybe you already know how to do that. But if you are an aspiring writer or screenwriter — even if you are already a grownup in the workday ways — the meat of the matter comes at Thesis #3 and just gets better from there.
I’m adding this piece to my personal cupboard of Advice to Aspiring Writers, along with the talent of the room, taking criticism, and not being an asshole.
And sometime soon, I’ll be answering a talk to me question about my experience of screenwriting so far — but let me note here that I’m glad that I’ve played it like a pro even through the hard times. I can see clearly how much difference it’s made in the producers sticking with me through my learning curve.