Writer, Will You Go Anywhere God Calls You? The Problem IS the Path to the Solution

Thanks to Pixabay.com

Warning: This post is for Christians only.You can read it if you want to, but don't get mad if it's too religious for your taste!

Now, for those of you who are still reading, here's the question that's on my mind: Are you willing to go anywhere God has called you?  (Tweet that.)

I've been reading Erica Wiggenhorn's Bible study of the first twelve chapters of the book of Acts titled The Unexplainable Life (Moody, 2016). In Acts 8:26, an angel tells Philip, who was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, to:

"Go South to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza" (Acts 8:26, NIV).

 About this, Erica writes:

For Philip to take the route the angel suggested meant heading into the middle of the desert. With no means of transportation, this could easily mean death. Once Philip obeyed this unexplainable request, he now became led solely by the Spirit. God is so merciful, isn't He? Asking Philip to head out to the middle of the desert was completely contrary to anything logical. Philip was an evangelist. Who would hear the message in the middle of the desert? Was he supposed to preach to the sand? After witnessing such revival in Samaria, I'm sure Philip was eager to go to another largely populated city to see what God might do there in the hearts of the people. But God sends him an angel telling him to head out into the middle nowhere. (page 164)

There Philip meets an Ethiopian who becomes a believer in Jesus and is baptized on the spot. Then Philip is miraculously whisked away instantaneously to Azotus. But that unnamed, probably bewildered, Ethiopian continued on his journey.

Again, from Erica's book:

Look at the incredible intricacy of God's timing. One seeking heart, one page of Scripture, and one willing servant of God resulted in the gospel being spread to an entire nation! God sent Philip completely out of his way to present the gospel to one solitary individual... 

This eunuch's request to understand God resulted in the truth of the gospel being brought to another continent. (pages 164-65)

I'm writing this on a flight to Los Angeles. I never started out to be a screenwriter. That crazy idea came about ten years into my writing journey. It took another ten years after that for me to actually start. Now, another eight years later, I'm flying to Los Angeles to meet with people about my screenplays.

I never would have dreamed I'd be doing this. (Tweet that.) Talk about God doing immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine...

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).

I'll admit some frustration in publishing. I haven't got the books written (yet) that I've wanted to write, let alone not yet getting the book publishing contracts I've wanted to get. I'm not where I envisioned I would be this many years into my writing career. Why? I ask myself that often. I guess "life" intervenes. Plus, there are practical reasons, such as learning how not to constantly under-estimate how long things will take to complete. Or how much time we actually have to write.

I work hard five to six days a week. I'm in my office early and stay late. And  yet... projects remain unfinished.

What about you? Does this feel familiar?

But honestly, part of the reason, when it comes to book publishing, that I haven't written as much as I wanted to is because of this "side" journey of film and screenwriting. But when you get right down to it, this "side"journey isn't really that at all. It's right where the LORD has directed my steps to bring me. When I trace the steps I've walked on my writing journey, I never could have done this or gotten here on my own. (Tweet that.)I could not have orchestrated this. Where I'm at now is more than I could have ever asked or imagined.

I recently discovered an interesting television show on the Sundance channel on Sunday mornings. It's called Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter. Each show is a panel discussion with five or six Hollywood professionals, such as producers or directors or actors or writers. They discuss the challenges of their respective jobs, what they've learned, who their heroes are, etc.

On one episode, Greta Gerwig, writer and director of the film Lady Bird (with five Academy Award nominations) talked about the problems that came up on set as she was directing. (Tweet that.) She concluded that (this may not be the exact quote but it's close): "The problem IS the path."

Interesting. How often do we, as writers or other creative professionals, strive against the problems? Buck against the obstacles? Perhaps, like the characters in our stories, we should see the obstacles in our paths not as roadblocks, but rather as directing us to the right path. (Tweet that.)

What about you? Are you "detoured" too? Or are you right where you're supposed to be, even if you're not where you planned to be? (Tweet that.)

Are you fighting the direction you're going? Or could it be the LORD is directing your path? Are you willing to go wherever the LORD wants you to go, wherever God calls you? Even if it's different from where you thought you were headed?

Yeah, me too. I'll see you out there ... on the journey.

2018 Challenge: Mature as a Writer and/or Storyteller

www.pixabay.com

On January 1, 2016, I challenged writers to "Go Rogue" and use our power as writers to push the envelope for good. This year I've been thinking about how I might challenge writers for 2018. What's on my mind this January 1, 2018, is for each of us to mature as a writer and/or a storyteller. (Share that.)

I'm thinking about this because recently I've seen comments from writers, people who wish to write, writers who wish to get their books or articles published, as well as screenwriters who'd like their scripts produced, that reveal their work might not quite be ready. I can tell by what they say that their writing has not yet matured to a place where it is publishable or producible because of comments that reveal the don't understand genres or the differences in what publishers publish or producers produce.

Discovering we're not "mature" in what we do is hard to take. I know because I've discovered myself there at times. I can see in my past where I thought my writing had matured, and yet I was not seeing the publishing results that I wanted. Now, looking back with the distance of time, I can see how my writing just wasn't ready yet. I couldn't see it for myself at the time. I thought I was mature. Have you ever thought about why we always think we're mature and then later realize we're not?

Maturity, I think, can be deceiving and elusive -- even for writers. (Share that.) Doesn't it seem that wherever we are in life, we think we're mature?

Think of a young child telling her Mom, "I can do it myself!" and struggling to tie her shoes. Or a first grader who is so much more mature than a kindergartner. What about the senior in high school who is so much more mature than a sixth grader, or a college senior who is light years ahead of that high school senior. By the time we're twenty (or thirty...or forty) we're sure we're really mature now. And we are... comparatively.

But maturing never stops as long as we're on this earth. And writers are no different.

I'm sure wherever we are, we think we're mature. And we are... comparatively. As long as we've continued to grow. But we also thought we were mature writers two years ago and, if we've continued to write, we have matured more. Then, of course, we think we're really mature now! Two years from now, what will we think? That we weren't really as mature of a writer as we thought we were?

So, what's my point? My point is, as writers we need to continue to mature -- in our ability to write well, in our ability as storytellers, in every way -- so that at some point we will cross that elusive line that puts us in the place where we are finally published or produced. (And even then the maturing should not end.)  (Share that.)

How do we get there? I can think of three ways all writers can continue to mature in their writing. There may be other ways to mature in our writing, but without doing these three consistently, I don't believe any writer can mature. (Share that.)

Write

It is impossible to mature as a writer without actually writing. Occasionally I meet a wanna-be writer who is studying and preparing but who thinks he won't write until he knows enough that whatever he writes will be a success. Like riding a bicycle, you can't learn how to do it without actually doing it -- and failing.

www.pixabay.com

Don't be afraid of failing in your writing. It's all profitable because it's all training on the road to success. Rejection of your writing when you submit it is never fatal. (Share that!)

I don't think it matters what you write: articles, books, fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, short stories. Just write. If you're not sure where to start, write something short, like an article, a 1,200-word true story for Chicken Soup for the Soul, or a short fictional story. Write a children's book, either fiction or nonfiction. Any of that is great training for writing longer pieces like novels, novellas, or non-fiction books.

We learn and mature by writing.

Study

Study writing. Study story and story structure and how-to write books.

Study publisher's guidelines and writers market books to learn what they want to publish. Study grammar and good writing.

Take a workshop online or attend a writers conference. Get out some old tapes or DVDs of workshops and listen to them again.

Get a new book about writing (or get one off your shelf you bought but haven't read yet. I have lots of those.). Which overlaps with the next section...

Read

If we want to mature as writers, we cannot neglect learning from others who are ahead of us. Writers must make time to read.

          Read what you want to write.

If you want to write for magazines, read the magazines you want to write for. (Or, if you love reading a certain magazine(s), that's probably a good market for you to write for!)

If you want to write novels, read novels in the genre you want to write in. Learn from them. Pay attention to how the author did things, like how she presented information, introduced characters, gave backstory, grew suspense, did dialogue.

If you want to write screenplays, read screenplays.

If you want to write children's books, you should be reading them.

          Read how-to writing books.

I'm building a collection of writing books and products that I recommend. Find my recommendations in Dianne's Online Store.

          Read blogs.

There are so many great blogs out there it can be overwhelming. Here are a few of my favorites:

On writing books:

• Between the Lines from the literary agents at Books and Such Literary Management

On marketing books:

• Marketing Christian Books from Sarah Bolme at Christian Small Publishers Association

On writing children's books:

• The team at Reading for Research who offer mentor text to study for writing children's books
• Nancy I. Sanders' blog 

Finally, join Goodreads Reading Challenge and challenge yourself to read more this year. I love tracking what I get read each year. That helps me read more. I didn't get nearly as much reading done last year as I wanted to. I want to step it up in 2018.

I hope this coming year is a wonderful year for you of growing and maturing as a writer and/or a storyteller and making your publishing dreams come true.

Tweetables:  

#Writers, here's a challenge and helps for maturing in your #writing this year. (Share this.)

Related Article: 

• January 1, 2016: Calling All Writers, Novelists, Screenwriters: Dianne's Challenge for 2016 and Beyond - Go Rogue!

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Three New Free Sites You Can Use to Create Marketing Materials (PLUS Update on My Film)

I discovered some new sites which
helped me make this movie poster. They
might help you market your book
or other project.

I want to write a follow up article about what's happening with my short documentary, "The Door," but I know some of you are looking for ideas and helps for your own writing, so I'm also excited to share some new-to-me free web sites I discovered while making my movie poster (seen on the right). I used five different sites, all free, to accomplish these techniques. Two sites you probably already use, but three are new to me. With some imagination I'm sure you can use theses sites, techniques, and ideas to come up with great posters or images to market your books, e-books, your own short films, or whatever you're creating.

First, the update on my documentary film "The Door"

In my May post I wrote about my adventures and lessons learned while filming my short documentary, "The Door." Towards the end of the article I wrote this:

As I write this, the Camera/Editor, Mike, and I spent the past two days editing the film. I couldn't be more pleased. I can't tell you a lot more about it until it competes in the 168 Film Festival in August, but I'm thinking I'll write the August post about what happens between now and then. 

Since then a lot has happened! The film will premier at the 168 Film Festival at the Regal Cinemas Premiere House at LA Live in Los Angeles on August 26 - 17, 2017.

My film is scheduled to screen Saturday afternoon. You can see it on the 168 Film Festival Screening Schedule in Block 5.

I'm very pleased our 168 film, The Door, has now been nominated for two awards! Wow!

• Best Documentary
• Evangelista Award 

The Evangelista Award "honors the writer for creating the tool that best facilitates the telling of the Gospel of Jesus and the Method of Salvation. Directness, Simplicity and a minimum of distraction are core values. Evangelista has raised the bar for Gospel Films. All films except Write of Passage Spotlight are eligible."

Of course if you're in the area (or not!) and want to come the film festival you may. See 168 Film Festival ticket information here.

If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch the movie trailer for my film here: The Door Movie Trailer.

You can also catch a few seconds of my film in the 168 Film Festival Clip Reel 2017 here. We're at 1:03 - 1:06 seconds in.

I'm so pleased to also have had a part in developing the screenplay for another film in the festival. You may know that for many years I've been a "Development Executive" for the 168 Film Project's "Write of Passage" short film writing contest in October. Last year one of the writers I mentored, with the help of my Assistant Development Executive Sherry M. Cook, was Laura Woodworth. She wrote the script "In Tune" and this year she produced it for the 168 Film Festival! You can see "In Tune" on the schedule in Bock 7 Sunday afternoon. "In Tune" has also been nominated for five, count 'em, FIVE awards! I can't wait to see the film at the festival! Learn more about "In Tune" here.

Three Free Sites You Can Use to Create Marketing Materials

So are you wondering where I got my movie poster? I made it. It took some doing. And some learning. I'm thinking what I learned you might be able to use to create posters, postcards, images for Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, business cards, Facebook and Twitter headers, banners… or whatever else your imagination can come up with to market your own stuff — books, e-books, whatever you're doing. So here's the free sites I used to create my poster. (Tweet that!)

I took me several steps to get there. And each step took a different site. A few of these you've probably heard of or use yourself, but I'm pretty sure some will be new.

I have to confess that I did not keep notes (wish I had) and I was bouncing around so many sites trying to fix problems that were cropping up that now I can't remember everything I did. But I will do my best to reconstruct what I did here.

CREATING THE MOVIE POSTER

First, I needed to create an actual movie poster. (Tweet that!) I know we've all seen a million of them. I was thinking of all that information on them that tells who stars in it, who directed it, who produced it, etc. Actually, I was thinking of all the formatting that would go into that and it just seemed daunting. I didn't have the time for it. But didn't I remember seeing some free movie poster templates somewhere?

I was sure I'd seen one on Canva.com. But when I went to look I couldn't find it.

So I went searching for a free movie poster template. Some of the sites I searched out required a payment to remove watermarks or to get a higher resolution poster so it wouldn't be blurry, which was disappointing to discover after I created one poster.

Then I found a site called Poster My Wall.

If you go there, look at at the white poster with the woman's face. It says Recina Phalange (the woman actor's name, I assume?) at the top and the title of the movie below her chin is "Headline." That's the poster template I used for mine at the top of this page.

Obviously I switched out the photo with a slide my editor captured for me from our film. We chose a scene that captured an emotional image at a crucial point in our film and saved a frame for the poster. You could use your book cover or an image (if the rights allow) for your poster.

After I switched the image on my movie poster using the editing tools on Poster My Wall, I edited the text to insert the information for my own film, deleting what didn't apply, copying and pasting to duplicate where I needed more.

I had a little trouble editing it to look the way I wanted. I ended up taking the project to Canva.com (which you probably already use) to do some more editing. I couldn't get the production team information on top of the photo (onto the pavement under the actor's feet) so I had to figure out something different. I ended up removing the image and replacing it with a plain background. I first put a white background behind the text, which didn't work because the text was in white so it disappeared. I then tried a black background and the text popped.

I then saved that image as a jpeg and took it over to PicMonkey.com (which you probably also already use) where I cropped the rest of the picture out so I had just the image of the text on black at the bottom of the poster.

I had wanted that info at the end of my movie trailer like the "real" movie trailers, but I didn't know how to make it happen. Now that I had it as an image, I could go over to YouTube.com, make a new copy of my trailer, and add that slide at the end. Bonus!

Again, I had a little trouble making everything happen that I wanted so I ended up doing more editing with Canva.com. There I was able to get the picture as I wanted it, the movie crew info at the bottom, and the "168 Film Project" text at the top. Turns out it was very handy later to have the poster on Canva.com. I keep going back there for more editing.

ADDING LAURELS TO THE MOVIE POSTER

So that's how I created my movie poster. But then something interesting happened. The 168 Film Festival announced the list of award nominations and my film was nominated for two awards! Before I knew it, I saw other films' posters popping up on Facebook with that little thingy we've all seen (I didn't even know what to call it!) with the leaves and the award nominations or winner inside. I learned those are laurel leaves and so these are called "laurels."

I asked the 168 Film Festival where to get them and they made them available on FilmFreeway.com. But… but but but … Next dilemma: How do I get them from there onto my movie poster? Or web site? Or wherever I want them?!

Yes, download them, save them. But… but but but … they were black laurel leaves and text on a white background. I already knew black text wasn't going to show up on my dark poster. So where do you get the ones with white laurel leaves and text?

And furthermore, when I did try to add my new laurels to my poster, it made a big white square covering too much of my poster and being too loud or bold. How do people put JUST the image on top of another one without blocking out a whole square? (Tweet that!)

I've always noticed the Lord gives me the hints I'm going to need when I don't even know I need them. (Tweet that!) In the email from Mark at the 168 Film Festival letting me know where the laurels were available, he "just happened" to mention that I could "invert" the colors if I needed to on a "transparent background." Had he not said that, I wouldn't have even known what terms to google.

INVERT COLORS

So I knew I wanted to "invert" the colors. (Tweet that!) That's what it would be called to change the white background to black and the black text and leaves to white. (If you already know this stuff, please don't laugh.) So I googled for how to do that. I found ways to do it using MS Paint, which I knew was on my computer but that looked complicated. As usual, I was in a hurry and didn't have a lot of time for this!

Then I found the site Pine Tools and its "Invert Colors Online" function. It was so easy to figure out: click "Choose file." I chose the file of the laurel I had saved to my computer. Click "Invert!" Done. Save the new white text and laurels on black background to my computer.

I went back to my movie poster on Canva.com where I wanted to add the laurels. But I discovered a problem. The laurels now had solid black background, which meant they blacked out whatever was behind them. The transparent background was gone. Now what?

Back to google.

TRANSPARENT BACKGROUNDS

I tried a couple different sites before I found Lunapic and its "transparent background" at the bottom of the Edit menu.

Again, it was very easy to use and did a great job. Click "Choose file." Choose the white on black images of the laurels I'd saved to my computer. It asked me to click on the color I wanted to become transparent. I clicked on the black background. (Tweet that!) The background became gray and white checkerboard. Done. Save the new black on transparent laurels to my computer.

By the way: I was careful how I named each image when I saved them. "Nom Best Doc on trans bkgrnd" for example, so I could be sure of which saved image I wanted at each step. Plus each version of each laurel would be together and easy to find.

I took my new white text and laurels on transparent background images back to my movie poster on Canva.com and put them on top of my poster. Fantastic! The inverted color to white and the transparent background worked perfectly! HowEVer I had a very hard time getting the three of them the same size, lined up right, centered, etc. What to do now?

Then I had an idea…

PICMONKEY COLLAGE

I went to Picmonkey.com and used their "Collage" feature. I used the three images lined up like ducks in a row and inserted each of my three white laurels with transparent backgrounds. (Tweet that!)

Oops. Problem. The laurels had a lot of space around them, especially at the top so I needed to crop each one first. I was careful to crop them to exactly the same size (in pixels). Then re-saved them.

When I put the cropped version into Picmonkey's collage, they were perfectly sized and lined up. Then I saved THAT image and took it back to Canva.

(It seems now that somehow I had to make sure the background stayed transparent, but I can't remember now. If you can't figure that out, you can always take it back to Lunapic and redo the collage with a transparent background.)

CANVA

When I put my Picmonkey collage with my three white on transparent laurels on top of my poster, I was able to line it up and position it to look great. Then saved it to my computer.

"The Door" movie poster before the
laurels were added.

Whew. Yes, all this was a lot of back and forth and experimenting to figure out what worked, but I'm so pleased with my movie poster.

I can imagine ways to use these techniques to market my books. For example, when I revised one of my e-books that had become outdated, I wanted to put a "Newly Revised" image on the cover but I didn't know how. Now we can create it, invert colors if needed, make a transparent background, or keep a colored background if we need it to show up on our cover.

"The Door" movie poster after the
laurels were added.

And why not make a movie poster-style poster for your book? It could be fun! I hope you enjoy these three new free sites — Poster My Wall, Pine Tools, and Lunapic — you can use along with Canva.com and Picmonkey.com to create great marketing materials for your books, e-books, films, blogs, Facebook ads, and more.


In September I plan to post about the coming 168 Film Project's Write of Passage writing contest. If you're interested, sign up now for the best price.

RELATED ARTICLE:

• May 2017 article about filming my documetary "The Door"

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Writers, Authors, Screenwriters: Try Something So Big God Has to Show Up

Filming my 168 Film Project Documentary
"The Door"

Have you ever heard that saying? “Try something so big God has to show up”? I’ve heard it. But I can’t tell you of a time I’ve really practiced it. Until this year.

Whether you are writing for magazines or online outlets, writing books — either fiction or nonfiction — or writing screenplays, let me ask you some questions:

• Are you satisfied with where you’re at as a writer? (Tweet that!)
• Are you happy with where your career is right now? Or where it’s headed?
• Are you writing what you want to write, or have you been drawn into another area because you need the pay check or byline? Or because that’s where the opportunity is right now?
• Do you feel stale in your present course? Do you wish you could break out and do what you’ve always dreamed of doing?

If you connect with any of those questions, maybe, just maybe, a course of action you need to take is to attempt something so big God has to show up. (Tweet that!)

NOTE: I do not recommend this course of action without a lot of prayer in advance!

Even if you’re not a believer in Jesus, I hope you’ll keep reading because I still believe there is something important here for you.

My adventure in attempting something so big God has to show up didn’t start out as me purposely attempting that. I jumped into a project I wanted to do, and that I thought I could accomplish, and then I found myself there, in that situation where I needed God to show up big time or the whole project was going to fail.  (Tweet that!)

Since then I’ve toggled between sweating it out and trusting Him. It has been an adventure!

I’ve done the 168 Film Project before, but it has been five years. I wanted to do the project again, but I have scheduling conflicts with the dates of the project. Plus it’s a huge undertaking, especially when I don’t have a film crew put together who I’ve worked with before and who really wants to do the project with me. To have that, by the way, is a dream of mine! What better way to find that dream team than to start working with people. So I jumped in. Again.

Last fall I decided I would enter the spring contest again. Actually, I entered twice: once in the documentary category and once in the speed film making category. I started with plenty of time to find a team to work with for each entry. The documentary would be done first. The speed filming making takes place one week in mid-May.

This story is about the documentary.

I knew of a story I wanted to tell for my documentary. I would need to contact the people involved — people I did not know and didn’t know how to contact — and get their permission. This was my “fleece,” my way of asking God if He wanted me to proceed with the project.

Early this year I was able to track down the people and they said yes, I could tell their story. I had my answer: God said yes, do the project.

So on was on my way.

Here are four lessons I’ve learned along the journey that I hope will help you in your big writing dream:

Do Everything You Know to Do

I know the first order of business was to prayerfully and carefully do everything I could do. Some of the things this meant was:

The silver pickup truck (and police car) I was able to get
for the filming of "The Door" documentary.

Figuring out how I wanted to present the story. 

I wanted the people involved to tell the story. That would be far better than me telling it. That meant I would need to interview people. On camera. I also wanted to re-enact some of the scenes. For that I would need locations and actors. I would also need some specific items to re-enact the scenes, including a small red car, a silver pickup truck, and a police car. (Yeah, right. How was I going to get that?)

Putting together the film team. 

I would need a camera man to capture the story on film. I would need someone to capture good sound. And I would need someone to edit the film and put it all together.

Setting about finding everything I needed.

• I contacted a local college and found a camera guy, sound, and editor.
• I contacted the people I wanted to interview and they were willing.
• Now others were starting to offer help. I had an assistant. She showed me locations that really helped me out.
• I nailed down the locations I would need and agreed with them on a filming date. Now things were really picking up.
• I began looking for re-enactment actors.
• I asked churches to let people know of my need for extras to come.
• I found the red car I needed and the silver pickup truck.
• But I didn’t have a police car. Because I hadn’t asked. More about why later.
• I even ran a fundraiser. Didn’t raise as much as I’d hoped, but raised some and it would be enough.

So I had done, or at least was working on doing, everything I could possibly do to make this happen. It was a lot of work. But I was making good progress.

When it all falls apart… Put it back together.

It was Friday. We were a week out from filming. I had the locations. The cars (except the police car). Most of the actors. I’d put out the call for lots of extras to come. I had people excited about the project and helping me find everything I needed.

However I had an uneasiness. There was a lack of communication from some on my film team. Did I really have a team that was going to show up and get the job done? I needed to know. So I pressed them.

And then…

…my camera man let me know he wouldn’t be able to do the job. He had his reasons. But I suddenly had no camera man.

This is when I knew. I knew I had attempted something so big that if God didn’t show up to help me, it wasn’t going to happen. (Tweet that!) The whole project would fall apart. But God had green-lighted the project, right? So He had to help me. Right?

I had already done everything I knew to do. Or had I? I hadn’t quite tapped all my resources. So the first thing I did was sent an urgent prayer request to a group of strong pray-ers telling them of my need. They went to work praying and I went to work for the next 24 hours tapping every resource I could think of to find another camera man who could step in on short notice. People sent me suggestions. Even a friend on the prayer loop suggested her son who is a cinematographer and lived hours away, and doesn’t share our faith, but was willing to consider the project.

Michael DeHerrera, Camera and Editor filming
"The Door," a 168 Film Project Documentary.
Day 2 of filming, Saturday of Easter weekend 2017.

Another friend who was praying for the project sent me the name and number of a local man. I called. He said he’d let me know by the end of the day.

I had several calls out. All I could do was wait. I was waiting as long as I could before canceling everything. Finally late Saturday evening I had to make the call. I had churches who were going to ask people the next morning in their church services to come out as extras. I had to let them know before Sunday morning if we were filming the next week or not.

At 8:30 or so Saturday evening, I finally decided I need to cancel the film shoot. I made the necessary calls to the churches and canceled the call for extras.

As soon as I finished the phone rang. It was the local camera man. He was willing to come. But I had just canceled it all.

Did I act too soon? No. For the first time I felt at peace. I had felt I was rushing everything. I’d rather meet with this new camera man. Tell him the project. Put together the film shoot again later. It was the right decision.

Long story short - we met. He’s great. He’s experienced. He has great equipment (better than we had before). He was willing to sit down with me and edit the film so I could be involved in that (as opposed to sending the footage to the other editor who lived out of town and not being involved in the editing). He was even familiar with the story I was telling. He remembered  it. His assistant was also at this meeting and I learned he had witnessed the event. This felt right.

Filming the crowd scene in
"The Door" on Good Friday 2017.

I re-scheduled the film shoot. We filmed on Good Friday night and Saturday, Easter weekend. Because that’s the only day the whole month of April family could come to be interviewed. Even that felt right. It was Easter weekend, but God was in it helping me create a film to bring Him glory and make Him known. It couldn’t be more right.

Ask for Prayer

Two men I interviewed for the
documentary: Pastor Doug Cox (L)
and Pastor Roy Garcia (R).

It was the prayer and my prayer-warrior friends who made the difference. Their prayers created the break-through. I asked for continued prayer to put it all back together. (Tweet that!)

It was their prayers, I’m convinced, who found me the local camera man.

It was a lot of work to put it all back together, but the project was now bathed in prayer more than ever. And I’m convinced the project is going to be much better than it would have ever been before!

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

I felt intimidated to start asking skilled camera people to help me, but what else could I do? As a result, I met many highly professional people. Who knows? Maybe we’ll work together on a project at some point in the future. Maybe the Lord is preparing another project.

And about that police car. Okay, I’ll admit it. I was afraid to ask. Not because I was afraid of the cops. That wasn’t a problem. Hey, I’m married to one (retired). I was afraid that I’d open a whole can or worms that I didn’t know how to deal with. I was afraid the city would tell me I needed a film permit. I was afraid I wouldn’t have the budget to cover the expense of a permit. I was afraid they wouldn’t let me film. I was afraid I’d need to pay the cops (which is often required on larger film shoots like in Los Angels) and I definitely didn’t have the budget for that.

The Pueblo (Colorado) Police Department sent
me police cars to use in my 168 Film Project
Documentary, "The Door"!
L-R: Camera/Editor Mike DeHerrera, Production
Assistant Dominick Faust, Producer/Director Dianne E. Butts.

Plus, we were shooting the film on a Friday night. And, I’d learned, it was prom night. The police department would be busy enough without taking a car off the road to help me make my film.

It was the Wednesday before we were scheduled to shoot the film on Friday. My husband acted. He sent a message through a colleague to the local police department. Before the end of the day the Deputy Chief called me. Yes, he could get me a patrol car. Not only that, he went far beyond what I requested and he went to the city attorney who went to the city counsel and got me a waiver so I could use the police department logo, the uniform, and the uniform patch in my film! Wow!

That Friday night we had at least three police cars (though some had to come and go to respond to calls) and about six police officers! It was amazing. It made my film very real. Wow.

Lesson learned: Don’t be afraid to ask.

As I write this, the Camera/Editor, Mike, and I spent the past two days editing the film. I couldn’t be more pleased. I can’t tell you a lot more about it until it competes in the 168 Film Festival in August, but I’m thinking I’ll write the August post about what happens between now and then.

Apply these lessons to your project

So back to you:

What project do you have in your heart that you haven’t yet attempted? And why haven’t you? Is it a project that is so big God has to show up to make it work?

Or, is this the type of project you need? Do you need to create a project with God that is so big He has to show up to make it work? Is that the boost you need to re-start your writing career to reach higher, to stretch, to do the type of project you've always dreamed of doing?

Interviewing Pastor Roy Garcia
on the film set at the end of
Friday's shoot for "The Door"
A 168 Film Project Documentary.

What steps can you take now to start the process? Here’s a hint: Prayer needs to go before everything. This is something you can start now. Then He will show you when to move. Ask others to pray also. This moves the project out from your private thoughts and into the view of others.

If you’re ready to start, what are the things you know to do toward making the project happen? Make a list. Make a plan. Begin to do what you know to do.

Make a list of all the resources you have. Perhaps make it in an Excel spreadsheet so you can keep adding to it. Gather your resources so you know what you have and what you need. Look for backups for everything, so when it all falls apart — and expect it to at some point — you have resources to put it back together. Know that every big and worthy project will have challenges. This is a test to see if you’re willing to work harder and stick with it to make it happen. Also know that when you put it back together, it will be better than it ever would have been before. (Tweet that!)

Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. Ask for help. I found so many people were excited to help and get involved!

Do you know when I get the most scared, excited, and fascinated in a project? It's when I look around and see all these people and realize none of it would be happening if it weren't for me. I created something that gave dozens of people something to be a part of. They loved it. None of them would have had that opportunity had I not started the project. (Tweet that!) This, for me, is the most amazing and fulfilling aspect of a film project. When we’re in the middle of filming and I look around and I realize everyone is here because of me. It’s intimidating. It’s exciting. It’s amazing. And I love that.

So what is it you want to do? I hope you’ll attempt something so big that God has to show up to make it happen. It’s the thrill of a lifetime. (Tweet that!)

Related Site:

This is a short film project which will compete in the 168 Film Project. By the contest rules, I may not show it until after that film festival in late August. Hopefully I will be able to release a movie trailer earlier than that. And hopefully also a movie poster. Stay tuned!

Learn more about this film by visiting it’s web site. Please sign up for the newsletter to receive updates: bit.ly/ConnectFilms (Tweet that!)

Lessons in Beginnings for Writers

A swirl of books. How do you get into a story?
(VisualHunt.com)

As a writer, have you ever heard the term "throat clearing"? Over the years I've heard this term used when I met with editors at writers conferences and also in workshops. For me, this usually applied to a short piece I was showing them, like an article or devotional, but the principle applies to longer pieces like books and chapters also. The editors were telling me that I didn't really get to the heart of my piece of writing for several sentences or even paragraphs. (Tweet that!) In longer pieces, you may find your real beginning pages later.

I was reminded of this term recently by an article in the Christian Communicator:

…great beginnings often don't appear in the first draft. Or, if they do, they often aren't at the beginning. That's why the editing process is so important.

Many times you will discover that the first couple pages of your writing are no more than "throat clearing," and you get to your point somewhere around page 3. In a short piece, like a devotional or article, those first lines you type may not be the best beginning and will probably need to be deleted and replaced with a sentence currently in your fourth paragraph. 

("Your First Impression" by Linda Taylor, March-April 2017 issue of Christian Communicator, page 15.)

From my own experience, I find this principle very true for my non-fiction writing. And as I pursue writing fiction I find the same holds true. However I've learned a lot about beginnings and how to get started from working in screenwriting and making short films. (Tweet that!)

How do we get into the Story?

One of the first short films I produced was "Air Guitar." This was actually a practice film. I was preparing to shoot the first short film I produced on my own and I wanted to run through the whole procedure once just to perform the process from start to finish — including filming, capturing sound, then the film editing. I also wanted to run through the whole process with my small film crew — camera man, sound person, actors, film editor. So one day I gathered my camera man, sound, casting and acting coach with a couple young actors and we did a run-through. I'd worked with the camera man on a short film the previous year, so we both had that experience. He would also be my film editor.

In order to have something to shoot and practice with, I wrote a one-page script. It was actually a joke I'd made up and then wrote it to play it out with actors. I opened the script in a kitchen with my actors cooking brownies for a birthday party. We set up to film in my kitchen.

Then my camera man hit me with a question: Yes, it's a story about a birthday party, but how do you want to open up the film? What's our first image? What do we show?

Until then I didn't even realized that I had never considered how to get into the story. How do we get started? (Tweet that!) How do we introduce this world we're in and our story's characters. Thankfully my camera man also had a suggestion: he did a close shot of just our hands passing out festive-colored plates and napkins. In the editing he put jazzy music under the scene. And, of course, he added the title and opening credits. That's how we got started.

Had I left it as I had it, we would have just jumped into cooking and dialog. No title. No opening credits. The audience would not have known it was a party. We would not have set the festive tone with the jazzy music. My script probably would have stumbled around with some meaningless dialog — "throat clearing" — trying to get into the story.

If you'd like to see the short film we made that day, it's here: "Air Guitar" short film

Since then I've tried to think much more about how to start my stories, articles, and books — both fiction and nonfiction — as well as each chapter. How is it best to get into them?

Establishing shots

In film, it used to be popular to show what is called an "establishing shot." I'm sure you've seen them, you just didn't know what they were called. An establishing shot is usually a camera shot showing a city skyline or the outside of a building or house — something that shows, and establishes, where we are. The tone is often also given: a storm is brewing, or a sunny day, or scary bad-guy music. But there is no dialog or anything that moves the story forward.

For the film I'm currently producing, a documentary of a true-life event, so far my best thought for opening the film is to show an establishing shot of a certain street intersection in the small city where I live. Then we'll widen the shot to show more of the city skyline and mountains beyond. I'm thinking I may even superimpose the city's name, state, and population. Of course the audience won't understand the importance of any of this information at the beginning, but it's all important and relevant. It will tell them where we are (city and state). Then through the story they will learn that this busy traffic intersection is actually where the event took place, in a city of sufficient size that it's very interesting that so many people are connected to what happened that night. This establishing shot will help me introduce and get into the story. (By the way, I also plan to come full circle and end the film here at this intersection … with one important change that has taken place since the event happened.)

Films and television shows don't use establishing shots as much as they used to. In writing, it may be good to have a character in this "establishing shot" or something that moves the story forward, but that is one way to get into the story. (Tweet that!)

Thesis Statements

In non-fiction writing, whether articles or a chapter in a book, it's good to focus the piece of writing with a focus statement or thesis statement. I wrote on this topic in a previous post so you can find more help with that here:

• Keep Your Eye on the Ball: One Sentence that Can Elevate Your Writing to New Heights

The thesis statement typically goes near the beginning of the piece and then the rest of the article or chapter supports that statement. So finding an introduction that introduces or "gets to" that thesis statement is needed, and is the path to a good beginning. (Tweet that!) However finding that path is still challenging.

"Throat Clearing" is Necessary to Find Your Beginning

You may need to do a lot of writing, allowing yourself to do a lot of "throat clearing," before you find the best path into your article, chapter, or story. That's okay. Do it. (Tweet that!) Just be sure to let it rest (days, weeks if you have the time), and then go back and edit. Let it rest. Edit. It will most likely take several rounds before you get to a great beginning.


What about you? Do you struggle with great beginnings? Do you need to do some "throat clearing" in writing before you can find your best starting place? (Tweet that!) It's not bad or wrong to write this "throat clearing." I actually think it's necessary in order to find the best starting place. We just can't leave it like that. We need to edit all the throat clearing out and find our best beginning before we turn in a project or let a prospective editor or publisher read it.

That doesn't mean we can't let anyone read it. We often need the help of another writer. A friend and fellow traveler on the writing journey, because they understand what a great beginning is. And they can spot "throat clearing" in our writing far better than we can see it in our own.

Take a look at the beginnings of your previously written stories or articles. Can you see any "throat clearing" going on? How would you now edit that beginning?

Then take a look at your work(s) in progress. Have you found the best beginning yet? Or do you need to do some "throat clearing" to find a it? (Tweet that!)

When you look at your previously written projects and your current works in progress, what lessons in beginnings can you learn?

Related Article and Link:

• Thesis statements: Keep Your Eye on the Ball: One Sentence that Can Elevate Your Writing to New Heights

• "Air Guitar" short film

The Fear of Writing

© Maxim Golubchikov
Dreamstime Stock Photos

It was one of those email newsletters from authors for authors. I had just signed up for it and got my first edition on the first of the month. I opened it. But the lead article stopped me in my tracks.

The feature article was by a well known author. I like her writing and I've even met her in person. But the title of the article screamed that I dared not write if I was "behind-the-times." If I wrote, and if I wasn't up-to-date in my understanding of how things are done today, I might as well not write or else I'll become a laughingstock!

I tried reading the article. I really tried. But the first few lines told me I was doing it all wrong. (Tweet that!)

You're Doing It All Wrong!

My punctuation. My point-of-view. All wrong.

If I'm doing that wrong, what else am I doing wrong that I don't know about? And where do I go to find out?

The idea of having to figure out how to research in order to find out all the things I'm doing wrong and learn the current "right" way to do it seemed like such a huge, mountainous learning curve. I was overwhelmed.

Then I Felt Angry

Then I felt angry. Who was this author to tell me I'm doing it all wrong? (Tweet that!) I've been writing for publication since the late 80s. It angered me to have someone telling me I don't know what I'm doing. I've fallen behind. Get out of the way and let the younger people do it right.

What about the novel I wanted to start writing? The one I've wanted to write for years. The novel of my heart. Is it going to be a waste of time? Because I'm so old-fashioned and out of date and times have changed so much that I'm doing it all wrong? Good grief. Why even start?

I don't have a chance.

I Don't Have a chance?

For heaven's sake I don't want to write the novel of my heart and then find out it has made me a laughing stock. Nobody wants to be a laughingstock, right?

Can someone please tell me where does an author go to learn the so-called "right" way of writing?

The fear of doing it all wrong stopped me. I was dead in the water. I feared writing a single word. (Tweet that!)

Never thought that would happen to me.

But I'm a Good Writer

But wait a minute. I'm a good writer. I know I am. I've been off on other adventures the past few years: screenwriting and filmmaking and all kinds of exciting things. Now that I want to come back to write one of the novels I've always wanted to write, I'm told I'll never make it because I'm "behind the times"?! (Tweet that!)

Have you ever felt like that? (I hope not.) But have you ever feared writing? (Tweet that!) Maybe you've experienced it for a different reason. Like fearing what people will think of your story. Or fearing putting yourself out there. Or fearing something else.

Fortunately I have a friend who calmed me down and offered to help. "Just write your story the way you want to," she said. "Forget all that stuff. Write it and show it to me and I'll show you how to fix whatever is needed. I'll help you."

I melted. What a relief. What a great friend.

After she talked me down off the ledge, I could see that I'm not that behind-the-times. The few things that are different from twenty years ago are easy to change. I can make the transition. I'm going to be okay!

When the Fear of Writing Strikes, What Can We Do?

Looking back on my time of fear, I can see three things that can help in our time of panic when we feel afraid to write. (Tweet that!) I hope these will help you when you need it:

1.) Find a Friend

Writing is a lonely business. Writers spend hours at a stretch alone with our stories. When we finally come up for air, we can discover others don't "get" what we're doing. Or they don't "get" our story. Or they think they have better ideas.

Critiquing is good. It's a good way to grow and learn and help each other. But we also need a friend who isn't going to rip our writing apart. We need a writing friend who can help us.

My friend and I meet regularly -- at least twice a month. (Tweet that!) We talk about what we're working on, what difficulties we're having, and what we want to accomplish before the next time we meet. We help each other. I've been helped over stumbling blocks. I've been encouraged to try big things. I've offered her ideas which I hope help her. More than anything, I'm not in this alone. Someone is there with me, struggling along beside me. And on the rare occasion when I really need it, she talks me down on off the ledge.

2.) Write it Your Way

This takes courage. It takes daring. But I dare you! Do it. Go for it. Try it. (Tweet that!)

I learned a great lesson last fall when I had a new and exciting adventure. A film crew was filming a feature movie in a town about 30 miles from me. I applied to work as an extra on the film and was hired to work two days. What a great opportunity!

The film was based on a novel titled Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. Of course I had to find out more about this book and how it became a movie. In my research I discovered some interesting information.

The author was actually born in the city I live in now. He lived in Colorado and wrote several novels about a fictional Colorado town.

He also wrote without quotation marks.

"No quotation marks – ever. He said he liked the way it looked on the page,” according to an interview with the author's wife in The Mountain Mail (Salida, Colorado).

His wife did his editing before it went to his publisher, Vintage / Penguin Random House. I thought that meant she would put in the quotation marks. But when I ran over to Barnes & Nobel to get the book I discovered no, she did not put in any quotation marks. Nor did the publisher. There isn't a set of quotation marks in the book.

To spoof a line from the movie Back to the Future: "Rules? Where we're going, we don't need rules!"

This is what I mean when I say "write it your way." Ditch the so-called rules.

3.) Don't Let It Stop You!

The other thing I learned when I researched Our Souls at Night is that when the author wrote the book, he was dying. (Tweet that!) Kent Haruf learned it was terminal in February. Previously it had taken him six years to write a book. But he decided to write another story. He didn't tell his publisher.

By August 1 he had a draft. By September 15th he was ready to send it to his editor at the publishing house, as a surprise. In late November the publisher sent back a surprise: a mock-up of the book so Kent could see it. He died the following day, on November 30, 2014. His wife finished the final edits the next day.

You can read more about this story in the article, "'Our Souls at Night': Interview with Cathy Haruf reveals insight into author's work," The Mountain Mail, August 31, 2016.

This author knew he was dying and yet he wrote another book. And now his book is being made into a Netflix movie, Netflix's first theatrical release, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

Now that's a writer who didn't let anything stop him.

Dreaming of Seeing Your Writing Project in Film? Maybe You Should!

Morguefile.com

How are you doing in your writing? Are you on fire, it's flowing like crazy and you can't wait to get to the keyboard? Or are you feeling overwhelmed and aren't sure how to progress on your project? Or are you feeling tired and burned out, trying to decide if you should push on or quit? This month, just for the fun of it, let's talk about seeing your writing project in film.

Whether you're dreaming of becoming a screenwriter or not, if the idea of someday seeing your novel, short story, memoir, true story, nonfiction book, article, or other writing project reach a whole new audience by being produced into a movie, short film, video, documentary, web series, or other film project intrigues you (or even if you think that's impossible), let's talk about how can you better your odds or even make it happen yourself.  (Tweet that!)

Let's dream big...even if it seems like a crazy, impossible dream. I love that old image of a donkey pulling a cart with a stick extending over his head dangling a carrot in front of him urging him onward. Let's let the dream of seeing our projects on the screen dangle in front of us like a carrot, tempting us, moving us onward. (Even if you're not interested in seeing your writing project on the screen, or even if you're not dreaming of screenwriting at all, I'm betting there's something here that will help you in your writing journey anyway.)

In my journey in film so far, I've learned a ton. I'll share bits of that here. I've discovered many resources that have really helped me and I'll share those too.

In recent years and months I've seen a growing trend. More and more writers are interested in seeing their projects possibly make it to the screen. For some writers it's a big dream that once seemed nearly impossible, but as they see more projects become films, the impossibility is shrinking. I'd put myself in this category. For other writers, they've never even considered their projects could be produced on film. (Okay, well I was there too.)

Technology in Producing Films

Besides selling your project to a big production company, there are other ways to get your project to film. As with many other areas in recent decades, technology has made what was once nearly impossible possible. Where once only the big production companies or people with a lot of money had or could obtain the equipment to produce a film of the quality to be shown on the big screen to a large audience, today high definition (HD) cameras are available to all of us. Now HD cameras are available for under $1,000 (or even less). A few years ago I purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera in a package which came with two lenses, a bag, and more. This is the camera we used to film my short film, The Choice. (You can find it at http://bit.ly/TheChoiceFilm. Watch the 2-minute trailer for The Choice.) This camera does both still photography and video, so I can pursue my passion for photography (and finally move to a digital camera) as well as produce films (a bonus I didn't expect!) with the same camera.

Even your cell phone probably has an HD camera! And I've even seen short film contests for films created exclusively with cell phone cameras.

There are so many outlets for film these days, I don't even know them all. Besides YouTube.com and Vimeo.com, there are now over a thousand cable TV channels (according to The TV Showrunner's Roadmap by Neil Landau). Or you might create a web series or even see your series produced for NetFlix or Hulu.

So you see? Anything is possible.

It all starts with the Writer

But, as Robert McKee affirms in his Story Seminar, it all starts with the writer. Without the writer, there is no script to produce. There are no characters for the actors to portray. There are no lines of dialog for the actors to speak. There is nothing for the director to direct, nothing for producers to produce. There's nothing...until the writer writes. (Tweet that!)

It starts with you. So dream big. And write big!

And use your imagination. You don't have to be writing a novel or dreaming of it becoming a movie with a theatrical release to be thinking of film. Do you write short fictional stories? They can also become feature-length movies or short films.

Not a fiction writer? Then for nonfiction think not only of true-story films, but also of documentaries.

Am I still not hitting your writing-fancy? Then what about reality TV? (Yes, there are writers for reality TV. So I've heard. Don't ask me -- I don't know but you can research it.) How about a cooking show? What about a talk show discussing the topics that are your passions?

Have you considered a continuing series for TV or a web series based on the characters you've created? Or the story world you created? Isn't that what has happened with TV series like When Calls the Heart, Cedar Cove, Bones , Rizzoli & Isles, and A&E's (sadly, just canceled) Longmire?

If you're having trouble getting publishers interested in your books, don't you think they might suddenly be interested if your material is going to film? Absolutely. At least I should think so.

No matter what you're writing, the possibilities truly are endless.

Writing for Film Resources

Now that I've gotten you all excited, let me share some resources that I've found helpful. (Tweet that!)

Learning Screenwriting

If you're interesting in learning screenwriting, you'll need to learn about screenplay format and story structure. I'll include resources for both of these below.

If you want to jump in fast and learn quickly, consider taking part in the 168 Film Project's "Write of Passage" writing contest coming in October. Sign up now! This is a Christian-based speed screenwriting contest. (You don't have to be a Christian to take part.) 

In this contest you will have 168 hours (that's one week) to write a short film (10-page max, if I remember right). Plus, for your entry fee of about $40 (less if you register early), you'll get a mentor, called a Development Executive, to look over your screenplay up to three times during the writing week and give you feedback. That's a bargain! 

You can't start writing before the event begins or you're disqualified. How do they know? You will be assigned a Bible verse to base your story on. Obviously you can't start writing until you get your Bible verse. If you're interesting in taking part, use the link above to go register now.

If you'd like to take an online class on various aspects of screenwriting, I've taken some great classes, both free and paid, from ScreenwritingU.com. Sign up for their e-mail list to hear about their free teleconferences.

If you're really serious and wish to write stories that express your Christian faith, check into the Act One Program, which holds classes in Hollywood. They offer both a training track for writers and for producers.

Story Structure

My favorite book that not only made learning story structure easy but showed me how to use a cork board and index cards to structure my stories is Save the Cat by Blake Snyder.

By "story structure" we're talking about the Three Act Structure. Learn it. Love it. You'll need it.

Even if you're not dreaming of writing for the screen, this resource helped me get my stories organized for maximum punch before I ever start writing them as a short story or novel. So if you're not into screenwriting but are still reading this far, here's a promised resource for you too.

Screenwriting Format

Screenplay format means how you put your screenplay on paper: what is in all caps and what is not, where to put dialog on the page (hint: it is NOT centered), how to write a scene heading, what to put in direction paragraphs, etc. To do this I highly recommend getting some software to do this for you. (See Screenwriting Software below.)

But even with the software to put dialog in the proper place and put your scene headings in all caps, you're going to need to know what to type in. What goes in a scene heading? What is the proper order for each element in a scene heading? When do you use a transition? How do you tell the camera person to do a close up? For all this information you need the book The Hollywood Standard by Chris Riley. The Hollywood standard means the standard screenwriting format. This is your handbook for that.

Screenwriting Software

I use Final Draft, but there are others.

                        

If you're just playing with the idea or have a limited budget, there's a free screenwriting program called Celtx. (I haven't used it, so check it out yourself.)

Get "Coverage" (Feedback)

In the film business, movie companies have readers to review screenplays and write a short "review" of your script to let the production companies know if your script is worth their time to look at. The report these readers write is called "coverage." But you can also pay a company to read your script and give you coverage, which includes what we call "Notes," which is feedback on your script. When you're ready for that, I've heard these companies recommended:

• ScriptShark.com
• ScriptPipeline.com
• ScriptCoverage.com at Scriptapalooza

Writing for TV

As I mentioned in the opening, the opportunities for writing for TV are expanding like crazy. The source I read that says there are now over 1,000 TV changes is the book The TV Showrunner's Roadmap by Neil Landau. If you're interested in writing for TV I highly recommend this book. I haven't finished it yet, but I've learned a ton already.

I also read an interesting article, especially encouraging for those of us wanting to write faith-based material, in this article from Variety.com the entertainment-trade magazine:

• "Doctors, Procedurals and Spirituality Are Hot New Genres for Networks"

Film Related E-Newsletters

I enjoy reading Script magazine. They have blogs to read and will send you their e-newsletter for free. Sign up here: Script Magazine. I just discovered their blog posts for "Writers on the Web" which I can't wait to catch up on. This seems to be a series of articles about writing and producing a web TV series.

You might also be interested in subscribing to the free newsletter InkTip, which sends a weekly e-mail with up to three production companies that are looking for scripts to produce. You can get more with a paid subscription, but it's kind of expensive ($60 per quarter, I think), so just wait until you have finished scripts to offer before subscribing to that. Still, you can learn a ton from the free newsletter. 

Organizations

There are so many online organizations for screenwriters it's kind of crazy. A couple I've found are:

• International Screenwriter's Association (ISA) 
• Visual Story Network

Even if you're not interested in writing for the screen but are a Christian and want to make an impact on what comes out of "Hollywood" (meaning that as a synonym for the entertainment industry), you might be interested in

• the Hollywood Prayer Network

I'm writing next comment FOR CHRISTIANS ONLY. (If you're not one, move to the next section now.): Christians, have you seen something objectionable come out of Hollywood recently? Then let me ask you this: Have you prayed for Hollywood recently? If you want to make a difference in Hollywood and what comes out in our entertainment industry and influences the world, then sign up for the Hollywood Prayer Network's free monthly prayer newsletter.

Facebook Groups

I've found several screenwriting groups active as Facebook groups. Here are the names a few Facebook groups for Christians interested in film. The Facebook groups I know about happen to be for Christians but I imagine you could find similar secular groups. Use Facebook's search bar to search for the group, then ask to join. 

• 168 Film Project
• Christian Film
• Christian Movie Making Network
• Believers in Film & Video...DO SOMETHING!
• Churches Making Movies

Screenwriting Contests (Christian)

There are so many screenwriting contests it would be difficult to list them here, so I'm listing only a few that are specifically looking for faith-based, Christian entries. 

If you're writing something else, you should have no trouble finding screenplay contests by linking in to other resources listed in this post. For example, see Scriptapalooza.

The 168 Film Project has two different speed contests.

• 168 Film Project production contest is a speed film-producing contest which takes place in May. Here, you produce a film based on an assigned Bible verse in 168 hours (one week). There is a 10-day pre-production period to get your script written, find locations and actors, etc. Filming begins at a time and day and you must turn in your completed film the following day, same time. The contest takes place in May. All films are screened at the 168 Film Festival in September. 

• 168 Film Project's "Write of Passage" is the speed short film writing contest mentioned above.

If you have a feature-length film completed, here are two Christian faith-based contests:

• Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays  
• Gideon Screenplay Contest

Protect Your Scripts

Before you send your script(s) out to a contest or allow anyone to read them (producers, agents, your critique group, etc.), you should protect your script by copyrighting it or registering it with a registry or both, if you wish. This officially puts your script in the hands of an official third party so that if there is ever a question about whether someone stole your work, you have documented what your work is and the date you documented it.

You can copyright your written script(s) with the U.S. Copyright Office.

You can also protect your written script(s) by registering it with the Writers Guild of America (WGA). You don't have to be a member to register your script. Cost is $20 for five years. There is a WGA-East and a WGA-West (dividing the United States).   

What is IMDb? 

Finally, if you haven't heard of IMDb.com, it's helpful and fun to know about. IMDb stands for Internet Movie Database. If you have ever googled something like, "Who was the actor who starred in The Terminator movie?" you probably ended up on an IMDb.com page.

IMDb is owned by Amazon. It came installed on my Amazon Kindle device. You can look up actors or movies or TV shows and find out who starred in them, when they ran, actors by episode, trivia about a show...all kinds of information.

If you're moving into writing for film, it can be an invaluable source for finding out who the production companies and producers are who do particular projects. Publishing and film have so many similarities it's incredible. Just like in publishing where you want to research which publishers are publishing the type of material you're writing, you want to do the same in film. This is one place where you can find that information. You can use IMDb.com for free, but there is also a paid subscription site which gives you information a serious screenwriter might want, such as the budget numbers for a movie and contact information for a production company.

In one class I took we were told that whenever you are talking to anyone official about your screen project, they are online looking you up on IMDb to see what you've done. Not everyone can have a page on IMDb. You have to have a credit in a film that IMDb recognizes as created for public viewing. In other words, you can't make a "home movie" and then go get an IMDb page. The folks at IMDb weed out those types of films. If your film is shown at a film festivals, that might get your film qualified for be on IMDb.

I qualified for an IMDb page by taking part in my first 168 Film Project and working on a film titled Steel City. The other producer, Nancy Bevins and I were in the same Act One class and teamed up to do the 168 Film Project. Nancy already had IMDb credits so when she added our film, Steel City, to her credits, I could then apply for a page since I was credited in that film as a co-producer, writer, line producer, and production designer. Once I was approved for a page, then I could add the 168 Film Project I produced the next year, The Choice.

I also wrote a script for a 168 Film Project this year. It's called Swapped and is scheduled to premier at the 168 Film Project's Film Festival September 12 - 13, 2014, in Los Angeles. You can see it on the schedule for 4:00 Friday at that link. After the film premiers at the 168 Film Project's Film Festival, it should be qualified as an IMDb film and then I should be able to add that project to my IMDb credits.

So that's how IMDb works. If you're interested, you can see my page here: Dianne's IMDb page. Aspiring to having your own IMDb entry is a fun challenge to work toward.

Surely there's something here to help you in your screenwriting, film, or other-writer journey. I hope it also spurs you on toward a new carrot-like treat in your writing. For those of you with the big dream, I hope to be sitting next to you soon watching your dream of seeing your writing projects in film on the big screen or on TV come true. I'll buy the popcorn! (Tweet that!)