BTW: Screenplay rules that affect “Readability” DO MATTER.

Break out of the box of traditional screenwriting assumptions! In this excerpt from Writing the TV Drama Series: Second Edition, Pamela Douglas gives you some new rules for writing television that have changed significantly in just the past couple of years.

An hour show has to fit in an hour

Actually, a network hour is less than 50 minutes, with commercial breaks, though pay cable may be longer, and syndicated hours are shorter. Usually, scripts for drama series are around 60 pages, though a fast-talking show like The West Wing sometimes went to 70 pages. On networks that break shows (for example Lost) into five acts plus a teaser, writers are stuck with reduced screen time, and find themselves with eight page acts and scripts coming in around 48 pages. Each script is timed before production, and if it runs long (despite the page count), the writer needs to know what to trim in dialogue or which action to ellipse; if it runs short, where a new beat could add depth or a twist, not padding. And you need the craft to get it revised overnight, which leads to the next rule:

Series deadlines are for real

Your show is on every week, and that means there’s no waiting for your muse, no honing the fine art of writing-avoidance, no allowing angst to delay handing in your draft. If you can’t make the deadline, the show-runner has to turn over your work to another writer.

From the time your episode is assigned, you’ll probably have one week to come in with an outline, a few days to revise it, two weeks to deliver the first draft teleplay, a gap of a couple of days for notes, then one week to write your second draft – a total of around six weeks from pitch to second draft (though polishes and production revisions will add another couple of weeks or so). Maybe that sounds daunting, but once you’re on a staff you’re living the series, and the pace can be exhilarating. You’ll hear your words spoken by the actors, watch the show put together, and see it on screen quickly too.

It’s fun until the nightmare strikes. On a series, the nightmare is a script that “falls out” at the last minute. It may happen like this: the story seems to make sense when it’s pitched. The outline comes in with holes, but the staff thinks it can be made to work. Then they read the first draft and see the problems aren’t solved. It’s given to another writer to fix. Meanwhile the clock is ticking. Pre-production, including sets, locations, casting have to go ahead if the script is going to shoot next week. Tick tock. Another draft, and the flaw – maybe an action the lead character really wouldn’t do, or a plot element that contradicts the episode just before or after, or a forced resolution that’s not credible – now glares out at everyone around the table. Yet another draft, this time by the supervising producer. Tick tock. Or maybe it’s not the writer’s fault: the exact fictional crisis about a hostage has suddenly occurred in real life so the episode can not be aired. The script has to be abandoned – it “falls out.” Meanwhile, the production manager is waiting to prep, and publicity has gone out.

I once heard a panel discussion where a respected show-runner told this very nightmare. The cast and crew were literally on the set and absolutely had to start shooting that day for the episode to make the air date. But they had no script. In desperation, the show-runner, renowned as a great writer, commenced dictating as a secretary transcribed and runners dashed to the set bringing one page at a time. A hand shot up from an admirer in the panel audience, “Was it the best thing you ever wrote?” “No,” he laughed, “it didn’t make sense.”

Drama series have a 4 (or 5) Act structure

Put away your books on three-act structure. Television dramas on networks have for decades been written in four acts, though some shows now use five acts, and in 2006, ABC began mandating six acts for all hour dramas. For now, think about what happens every 13 to 15 minutes on a traditional network show. You know: a commercial break. These breaks aren’t random; they provide a grid for constructing the episode in which action rises to a cliffhanger or twist (“plot point” may be a familiar term if you’ve studied feature structure). Each of the four segments are “acts” in the same sense as plays have real acts rather than the theoretical acts described in analyzing features. At a stage play, at the end of an act the curtain comes down, theatre lights come up, and the audience heads for refreshments or the restrooms. That’s the kind of hard act break that occurs in television. Writers plan towards those breaks and use them to build tension.

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll discover act breaks don’t hamper your creativity; they free you to be inventive within a rhythmic grid. And once you work with that 15-minute block, you may want to use it off-network and in movies. In fact, next time you’re in a movie theatre, notice the audience every fifteen minutes. You may see them shifting in their seats. I don’t know whether 15-minute chunks have been carved into contemporary consciousness by the media, or if they’re aspects of human psychology which somehow evolved with us, but the 15-minute span existed before television. In the early 20th century, motion pictures were distributed on reels that projectionists had to change every 15 minutes. Then, building on that historical pattern, some screenwriting theorists began interpreting features as eight 15-minute sequences. Whatever the origin, four acts are the template for drama series on the networks, but not off-network. Syndicated series, like the various Star Trek incarnations, have to leave time for local advertising on individual stations which buy the shows, and that means more commercial breaks. So syndicated series are written in five acts, and may also have a teaser which is sometimes almost as long as an act, giving an impression of 6 acts, each around 10 pages long. On the other side of the spectrum, cable series like those on HBO have no act breaks, and may be structured more like movies.

Each series fits a franchise

Not Starbucks, though enough caffeine is downed on late rewrites to earn that franchise too. Some typical television franchises include detective, legal, medical, sci-fi, action-adventure, teen, and family. Each brings expectations from the audience that you should know, even if you challenge them. For series creators, franchises are both boundaries and opportunities. You can get a clue why franchises are useful if you ask how hundreds of stories can derive from a single premise.

The solution is to find “springboards” that propel dramatic conflicts or adventures each episode. Those catalysts occur naturally in most of the franchises: a crime sets the cop on a quest for the perp; someone in trouble beseeches lawyers who must mount a case; a patient is brought for a doctor to save. The hook for each episode is rooted in a specific world in which sympathetic main characters must take immediate action. In other franchises – family dramas especially – springboards are less obvious, relying on conflicts between characters rather than outside provocations. In these, a personal inciting incident (even if it’s internal) sets each episode in motion.

Decades ago, audiences expected the franchises to deliver predictable story-telling where any problem could be resolved within the hour. Take Westerns, for example. The template was the frontier town threatened by bad guys (black hats). The good guy marshal (white hat) wrangles with weak or corrupt townspeople, gets a few on his side (room for one exceptional guest role), defends the town against the black hats, and rides off into the sunset.

With that old franchise in mind, think about Deadwood that ran on HBO (now available on DVD). Yup, there’s the bad frontier town of rough nasties. And it has an ex-marshal, a lead character who left his badge in Montana to forge a future on the edge of the abyss. But similarities to the franchise are superficial. Everyone in Deadwood is surviving any way he can in a world without an outside redeemer, struggling to make sense of life in a moral wilderness.

Clearly, ER, House, and Grey’s Anatomy all use the medical franchise, where doctors must deal with new cases each week. But if you compare them to examples of the historic franchise such as Marcus Welby, M.D., you’ll see how far ER and the others had to stretch to reflect contemporary life. Welby, the kindly doctor, free of deep introspection, worked alone in his nice little office. But real doctors face ethical and legal issues as they treat both the victim of a gunshot and the man who shot him, and they cope with their own humanity – guilt, exhaustion, ambition, and the competing pulls of the job and the rest of life including romance on Grey’s and a doctor’s own physical limits on House. To express today’s medical whirlwind, the form itself needed to change, so ER developed “vignette” techniques in which multiple short stories flit by, some on top of each other, and Grey’s continues that layering.

From the moment ABC slotted Grey’s Anatomy to follow Desperate Housewives, the network mandated the tone: “Sex and the Surgery.” Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes responded in Los Angeles Magazine, “I don’t think of it as a medical drama. It’s a relationship show with some surgery thrown in. That’s how I’ve always seen it.”

For a different tweak on the doctor franchise, watch Nip/Tuck on FX about two plastic surgeons, where the real cutting edge is in the relationships and contemporary families.

Meanwhile, the family drama franchise is flourishing – like Big Love and Weeds. Some families. I suppose you could call Showtime’s The L Word a family drama too because episodes emanate from relationships among the continuing cast (some of whom are related or living together) rather than external events. Not exactly Leave it to Beaver. On the networks more traditional family dramas do exist, of course, such as Judging Amy and Gilmore Girls. But take a closer look and see if you can identify the elements which update the franchise.

In the detective franchise, a light show like Monk on USA plays out the traditional form: one detective gets one new crime mystery each week and, after investigating red herrings that fall mostly at the act breaks, cleverly solves it by the end of the hour. Though Monk’s obsessive-compulsive characterization is a fresh, entertaining element, structurally this is a basic “A” story series.

But if you check out high-profile detective series now on the air, you’ll see mostly ensemble casts and complex intertwining plots that are propelled by issues in the news or social concerns. Some use cutting edge forensic technology, as in CSI, where the real star is science that engages the intellect. Detectives have always solved puzzles, of course, but the show’s audience seems fascinated with futuristic tools that try the bounds of human capability.

Series that rely on stories that are solved by investigative procedures are called “procedurals” and include forensics (CSI), detective work (Law and Order), and medical diagnoses (House) that follow clues to wrap up a new case each week. Procedurals have always been attractive to syndicators because they can be aired in any order, and after saturation with deeply-serialized shows like 24, Lost and others, some networks are backing off and looking for more procedurals too.

At first, viewers were watching densely plotted novelized series with the kind of passion network executives crave. Dana Walden, president of the 20th Century Fox Television studio, told The New York Times in October, 2006, “It did sort of filter into the ether. We were all having conversations about event drama, and an event drama is a serialized drama.”

But how many hours will people devote every week to intense serialized dramas? And if you miss the first few episodes, it’s like reading a novel beginning in the middle. Would audiences become commitment-phobic?

Several solutions exist: catch-up marathons (as HBO has always run), replays available on internet sites and DVDs. In fact, sales of 24 after its first year validated the whole business of selling DVDs of entire seasons of series, which was just emerging at that time. On Showtime, Dexter, a character-driven psychological thriller, offers an interactive clues game on the network website to hold its fans. Still, networks wonder if it would be prudent to return to reliable procedural franchises.

And yet, those are volatile too. For example, the action-adventure franchise that thrived in the days of easy bad guys like The A Team and Starsky and Hutch has transformed to shows like The Closer in which a character said “I’m in America observing an empire on its deathbed, a tourist doing charitable work among the addicted and sexually diseased.” In this context, Showtime’s Sleeper Cell is an ambitious attempt to dramatize a range of characters and motives that are unfamiliar to most Americans. The action and adventure in shows like those emanate from the terrain, rather than having the franchise itself control the story.

Nor could NYPD Blue be defined solely by its franchise, though it’s obviously a detective show. And obviously a family drama built on personal relationships among the ensemble. And obviously a spiritual quest built on the “dark knight” in search of redemption. Forget about detective work in the episode when Simone lay dying and viewers dramatically experienced his awesome spiritual transition. “Breakthrough” has been over-applied to various series, and when used for NYPD Blue, the accolade has sometimes missed the show’s real strength by referring to its nerve to bare the rear end of a middle-aged man, when that’s not where real innovation lies.

I haven’t even broached the crazy notion that anyone would watch an insider series about politics, or the hybrids of “reality” shows mixed with dramatic storytelling. For instance, try mixing adventure, romance and even “family drama” with sci-fi/fantasy elements on Lost. A lot is going on!

Speaking of sci-fi elements, now there’s a genre that has boldly gone where science fiction hadn’t gone before on TV. While the Sci-Fi Channel (owned by NBC) continues a predictable roll-out of fantasy adventures like Stargate SGI and New Atlantis, which serve its niche audience without extending it, the channel also lucked into the critically-acclaimed Battlestar Galactica, which has sometimes been more a searing political allegory than even West Wing was, while venturing into contemporary relationships on the level of premium cable dramas. It deserves to be seen by audiences beyond the Sci-Fi Channel. At the same time, Heroes, using a traditional sci-fi genre, is a hit on NBC, attracting viewers who are not traditional sci-fi fans, featuring an international cast who struggle over having supernatural powers.

If I had to guess the frontier of science fiction writing on television, I would look towards the characters. In 20th century sci-fi series, the leading edge was technology as used by fantasy heroes, usually “perfect,” in action-heavy battles between good and evil, which tended to play to children and adolescents. Though contemporary sci-fi shows are as different as Lost is from Heroes or Galactica, they all follow flawed human beings, and the questions they explore involve relationships as much as philosophy; and they’re watched by wide demographics. With so much range in this franchise, if you’re interested in trying it, I suggest reaching up towards real dramatic writing based on honest characters, and leave cartoon-like thinking to the movies.

The vitality of 21st century television drama has re-interpreted traditional franchises. But that doesn’t mean they’ll disappear. When I was a beginner freelancing any show that would give me a break, I landed an assignment on Mike Hammer, a network detective series. At my first meeting, the producer handed me two pages of guidelines. The first was titled “Mike Hammer Formulaic Structure.” On the second were rules for writing Mike, for example, “Mike speaks only in declarative sentences.” To be a strong man, he could never ask questions, you see.

The formula went something like this: At the top of the show, a sympathetic character approaches Mike for help. At the end of Act One, the sympathetic character is found dead. In Act Two, Mike is on the trail of the killer, only to find him dead at the Act break, and yet someone else has been killed (proving there’s a different killer). In Act Three, the real bad guy goes after Mike, and at the Act Three break, Mike is in mortal jeopardy. Act Four is entirely resolution, one-to-one, Mike against the killer. And guess who wins. As I started, I thought such a rigid form would be stultifying, but I discovered it was fun. Relieved of certain structure choices, I felt free to be inventive with the guest cast and the kinds of situations that could lead to the turns and twists.

Years later, an executive of the Children’s Television Workshop (makers of Sesame Street) asked me to develop and write a pilot for a children’s series, later named Ghostwriter, that would be structured like primetime network dramas, complete with long character arcs, parallel stories, complex relationships among a diverse ensemble cast, and even references to controversial issues. I’d never written for kids, but I was intrigued. In forming the series with the CTW team, we began by identifying a general franchise – in this case, detectives because solving mysteries was a way to involve the whole cast and incite each episode’s quest. Beyond that, we stayed close to what human beings truly care about, how they reveal themselves, and what makes people laugh, cry, be scared and fall in love – people of any age.

Ghostwriter was originally intended for kids around eight years old to encourage them to read. But CTW was astounded when research reported that the audience went from four years old to sixteen. That’s not even a demographic. I think the show exceeded anyone’s expectations because the realistic characters rested on a franchise that was so robust it could carry not only a very young cast but also some educational content while moving the stories forward with high tension.

But when is a franchise not a franchise? In 2004, Dick Wolf, creator of Law and Order, told Entertainment Weekly, “Law and Order is a brand, not a franchise. It’s the Mercedes of television. The cars are very different, but if you buy a Mercedes, you’re still getting a good car. CSI is a franchise – like the Palm Restaurant. CSI is the same show set in different cities, while the Law and Order shows are all very different from each other.” No doubt, CSI, which competes head to head with Law and Order on several nights, would describe itself as an even bigger car.

When you’re ready to plan a script as your showpiece for a series, ask yourself what the underlying franchise is. Even if the show is innovative and evolved beyond the tradition, the franchise may give you tips for constructing your outline.

Writing primetime TV drama series is an adventure into an expanding universe. If you rise above outdated ideas about television, and have pride in your talent so you never write down, you can create for the most powerful medium in the world.

Pamela Douglas, based in Los Angeles, is a winner of the Humanitas Prize and numerous other screenwriting awards and nominations including Emmy, Writers Guild of America, and American Women in Radio and Television. Her produced credits range from network movies to such dramatic series as A Year in the Life, Frank’s Place, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Trapper John, and many others. She was the creator of the acclaimed series,Ghostwriter. And she is a professor in the USC School of Cinema-Television, where she teaches screenwriting.

This article was reprinted with the permission of The Writers Store.

Part 1: Getting Started – Writing with Celtx

Covers:
- Splash Page
- Format Templates
- Editors & writing elements
- TypeSet
- Title Page
- Mores & Continueds
- AV demo
- Adapt To
- Annotation – Scratch Pad
- Notes
- Index Cards

Part 2: Adding Media, Breakdown and Visualizing your Script

Covers:
- Media Sidebar
- Breakdown Sidebar
- Tagging
- Project Samples
- Master Catalog
- Character & Item Forms
- Storyboard
- Sketch Tool/Art Packs
- Storyboard Player

Part 3: Scheduling, Reports, Using Celtx Studios and Mobile

Covers:
- Project Reports
- Production Schedule
- Adding items to Project Library
- Production Reports
- Celtx Studios Overview (storage, sharing, permissions, adding subseats)
- Celtx Sync
- Celtx Script for iPad/iPhone

We would like to thank all the members from all around the world that entered the contest. We hope everyone had as much fun creating their adaption and storyboards as we did judging them. The adaptations ranged from faithful to reimagined departures. The storyboards where even more diverse. Methods varied from hand drawn, found images, South Park style shapes and the built in Celtx Sketch Tool.

Thank You to Celtx

We would also like to thank our sponsor Celtx for supplying our winner with a Celtx “Super Bundle“, containing the Writers Pack of 3 pro writing add-ons plus the full set of 365 Celtx ‘Sketch’ tool images. They will also receive an Official Celtx embroidered fleece jacket.

Download Celtx for FREE and start planning out you next film!

Don’t forget to also download the iPhone/iPad app for Celtx Writers. Celtx Script is the only mobile screenwriting app that syncs directly with Celtx desktop software, making it easy to write a screenplay from any place at any time.

Celtx has also released ClipSketch iPad app is available in the Apple App Store for the introductory price of $1.99!

And the Raven Storyboard Contest Winner is….

The winning entry for our Raven Storyboard Contest comes from Singapore by Ting Szu Kiong (szukiong). He takes a headon approach to adapting Allen’s Poem, condensing the story but staying relatively truthful to the original. Behind the stylistic and artistic drawing, there is a strong directorial sense utilizing low angles and strong compositions.

Download: Ting Szu Kiong’s THE RAVEN Screenplay (pdf)
Download: Ting Szu Kiong’s THE RAVEN Storyboard (pdf)

Images From Our Winning Entry:

The Other Entries

Thanks again to everyone that entered.

Member mhamelli Screenplay
Member mhamelli Storyboard

Mmber nyarlitharn Screenplay
Member nyarlitharn Storyboard

ClipSketch is based on the Sketch feature included in Celtx and has all the same capabilities, including the ability to design overhead lighting and camera setups.

While you are at the App Store don’t forget to also download the iPhone/iPad app for Celtx Writers. Celtx Script is the only mobile screenwriting app that syncs directly with Celtx desktop software, making it easy to write a screenplay from any place at any time.

Even if you don’t have a iPad you can still download Celtx for FREE and start planning out you next film!

ClipSketch

The drawing app for people who can’t draw.

ClipSketch is pre-loaded with over 570 scalable images, so anyone can draw most anything.

• Draw a sketch.
• Create a comic.
• Plan an event.
• Storyboard a script.
• Block a scene.

Get ClipSketch – the fast, easy and fun drawing tool for the rest of us.

Introductory price – $1.99

Features:

• 571 images.
• Resize images with no loss of definition.
• Choose from popular categories – Characters, Animals, Kitchen, Living Room, Bed and Bath, Office, Vehicles, Exterior, Equipment, Arrows, Comic, and Sci-Fi.
• Tap to select images and drag to position on screen.
• Rotate images.
• Add lines, arrows, text, boxes and ovals.
• Email sketches as pdf, png or svg.
• Save sketches to iPad ‘Photos’ folder.
• From the developers of Celtx and Celtx Script. Celtx syncing coming soon.
• You can export any sketch as a PNG, PDF or SVG.

New Sketch Images

We’ve added 260 new images to the full Art Pack bundle, for a total of 625 images.
http://celtx.com/addons.html#/add-ons/nav-artpacks

If you have previously purchased the full Art Pack bundle, you can get the 260 new images for free via Purchase Support.
http://celtx.com/support/purchase_support.html

Future Development of Celtx

Celtx 3.0
Work on the new version of the Celtx desktop software is going well. Among other things, they are adding support for Novels, a new design for the Media and Breakdown sidebar, and tackling some of the remaining bugs.

New export options will enable you to more easily share data from a Celtx Project to your team. Celtx hopes to ship version 3.0 just before (or just after) the New Year.

Mobile – Celtx Studios Integration
The Celtx Studios will soon support opening scripts and sketches directly to the iPad/iPhone.
Edits made to either type of file, while mobile, will get saved back to the Project in the Studio, providing a much better experience for Studio users.

Mobile – Celtx Script
They are adding support for additional templates (eg. AV and Stageplays) to the Celtx Script app. These too will work directly from a Celtx Studio.

Feedback

As always, Celtx is keen on receiving feedback. In the case of ClipSketch they have a dedicated email address for any suggestions – info@clipsketch.com.

If you have any other suggestions, like how you think they should integrate the mobile apps with Celtx and Celtx Studios, or what new features you would like to see added to the Celtx desktop software, please chime in with whatever you think would help – info@celtx.com

In the world of open source filmmaking programs, nothing comes close to competing with Celtx. It is the essential all-in-one media pre-production software package that combines script writing, scheduling, storyboarding and much more all in to one software package.

It’s been well over a year since we last gathered the tutorials and since then there have been many new how-to articles and video tutorials created, so this time we doubled the list.

So now you really don’t have an excuse – download Celtx for FREE and start planning out you next film!

Celtx Support

• FAQ
• Online Manual
• Community Forum

The iPhone/iPad app for Celtx Writers

Celtx Script is the only mobile screenwriting app that syncs directly with Celtx desktop software, making it easy to write a screenplay from any place at any time.

Download the User Manual

Celtx Studio

Join the thousands of media creators world-wide using Celtx Studios to manage their Celtx projects. Securely store all your projects. Keep a backup & history of all your versions. And share projects & manage team workflow.

Download the Owner’s Manual

Celtx Add-ons

Get more creative with add-ons for your Celtx software. Customize your writing setup, add images to your sketches and setups, and get inspired by other media creators. Click the tabs below to learn more.

Celtx Motion Sketches

Built around Celtx pre-production software, Motion Sketches is an online video series that explores contemporary approaches to media production.

Articles

• How to Write a Screenplay Using Celtx
• How to Write a Screenplay With Free Software Tools
• How to Use Celtx Script Writing Program
• How to Convert a Word Document to a Celtx File
• How to Write a formatted Script for Film, Theatre or Audio Visual Works

Videos

• Add Actor Descriptions to Celtx Project Library
• Add Character Descriptions to Celtx Project Library
• Add Items to Celtx Project Library
• Add Location Descriptions to Celtx Project Library
• Add Prop Descriptions to Celtx Project Library
• Add Scene Details to Celtx Project Library
• Add Scenes to Celtx Production Schedule
• Create an Account in Celtx Web Services
• Folders & Options in Celtx Project Library
• Format Your Script in Celtx Screenplay Editor
• How to Download Celtx Free Screenwriting Software
• Index Cards & Celtx Screenplay Editor
• Learn the Audio Play Editor in Celtx
• Learn the AV Script Editor in Celtx
• Learn the Project Library in Celtx
• Learn the Text Editor for Celtx Screenwriting Software
• Options in the Celtx Production Scheduler
• Preferences in Celtx Free Screenwriting Software
• Print Options in the Celtx Production Schedule
• Share & Publish in Celtx Web Services
• Snapshots & Profiles in Celtx Web Services
• Start a New Project in Celtx Screenwriting Software
• Tag Production Items in Celtx Screenplay Editor
• The Screenplay Editor of Celtx Screenwriting Software
• The Stageplay Editor of Celtx Screenwriting Software
• The Storyboard Feature of Celtx Screenwriting Software
• Tips for Using Celtx Screenwriting Software
• Tips for Using the Celtx Project Library
• Title Page & Typesetting in Celtx Screenplay Editor
• Toolbar Options in Celtx Screenplay Editor
• Understand Reports in Celtx Screenplay Editor

• Celtx Tutorial: How to Add a Storyboard to Your Celtx File
• Celtx Tutorial: Tips and Tricks for New Celtx Users
• Printing & Exporting Celtx Files
• Creating a Production Schedule in Celtx
• A Look at Celtx My Studio and What it is Used For
• Celtx Tutorial: Tips for Adding Character Descriptions
• Celtx Tutorial: Celtx Quick Keys for Apple Computers
• How to Add Scene Details to Your Celtx Project
• Using and Adding to the Celtx Master Catalogue – Celtx Tutorial

• Celtx Tutorial for Playwrights Part 1
• BitnappingTV #111 CeltX
• 4 Minute Film School Writing a Script

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Apple iPad Tips : Video Features on the iPad

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Folders & Options in Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Toolbar Options in Celtx Screenplay Editor

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Learn the Text Editor for Celtx Screenwriting Software

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Location Descriptions to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Actor Descriptions to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Prop Descriptions to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Index Cards & Celtx Screenplay Editor

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Tips for Using the Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Format Your Script in Celtx Screenplay Editor

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Items to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Options in the Celtx Production Scheduler

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Preferences in Celtx Free Screenwriting Software

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Learn the Project Library in Celtx

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Snapshots & Profiles in Celtx Web Services

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Print Options in the Celtx Production Schedule

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Tips for Using Celtx Screenwriting Software

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Character Descriptions to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : The Screenplay Editor of Celtx Screenwriting Software

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Title Page & Typesetting in Celtx Screenplay Editor

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Options in the Celtx Production Scheduler

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Items to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Format Your Script in Celtx Screenplay Editor

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Tips for Using the Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Index Cards & Celtx Screenplay Editor

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Prop Descriptions to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Actor Descriptions to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Add Location Descriptions to Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Toolbar Options in Celtx Screenplay Editor

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Folders & Options in Celtx Project Library

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Celtx Free Screenwriting Software Tutorials : Understand Reports in Celtx Screenplay Editor

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How to Write a Screenplay : What are Screenplays?

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CELTX - Importing a Script from a PDF File (works for Final Draft scripts)

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CELTX - Creating a New Script in Celtx

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CELTX - Adding a Title Page and Printing Your Screenplay or Script

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CELTX - Installing the best free screenwriting application ever

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How To Use CELTX 1.0 To Write Your Next Famous Screenplay

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Free Script Writing with Celtx (Screenplay Basics)

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How To Create a Script Breakdown Report in CELTX

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Celtx

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Creating a Shot List in Celtx

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Write Screenplays - Celtx - Ubuntu 9.10

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Celtx Walkthrough

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Scriptwriting Program

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iPad Photography App: Celtx Script: Adorama Photography TV

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CeltX - Tutorial \ Review

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Script writing software: Celtx

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Indie Production Source - Episode 001

If you have any other Celtx or Screenwriting questions please post them in our Discussion Groups.

FilmmakerIQ.com has teamed up with Celtx, the creator of our favorite open-source filmmaking tool to give you the opportunity to enter the Dark Gothic World of Edgar Allan Poe. Here’s your chance to really show off your screenwriting and pre-visualizing skills by adapting and storyboarding Poe’s poem “The Raven.”

You cannot copyright a idea, only the execution of it. If you give one idea to ten different filmmakers you will end up with ten original works. For this contest we went a step beyond an idea and we are giving you a story: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”

So we’re asking for a short script (up to fifteen pages) and an accompanying storyboard. Your task is to first download the latest version of Celtx for FREE, create a Celtx project file, write a screenplay that adapts “The Raven” for film, and storyboard it using Celtx tools. Then submit the project file by midnight November 7th. Only this and nothing more…

How do I create a Storyboard?

In conjunction with this contest we created a feature article “500 Storyboard Tutorials & Resources.” The guide is full of video, images, links, tutorials and more. Everything you would ever need to create great storyboards. Also, check out all our Storyboard Articles on IQ.

What is Celtx?

Celtx is the world’s first ALL-IN-ONE media pre-production software. It has everything you need to take your story from concept to production. Celtx replaces ‘paper, pen & binder’ pre-production with a digital approach that’s more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share.

Celtx Support:

• Celtx FAQs
• Celtx Online Manual
• Celtx Forums
• 110 Celtx Tutorials

What if I can’t Draw?

Can’t draw? Don’t worry about it – Entries will not be judged on the artwork but rather how well you communicate your direction. Plus, the free open source program Celtx has a Sketch Tool, it lets you draw in the project. There are Art Packs available for sale and Celtx has created a FREE Raven Art Pack just for you to use on this contest!

Can you help me with my contest entry?

Not sure on how to use Celtx? Do you have a screenwriting question? Having a hard time creating your storyboard? IQ is all about helping filmmakers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or seek help from our large group of professional members. IQ is the perfect place to network and make friends. We setup a special Group for all your adaptation, storyboard and Celtx questions. We want everyone to create the best entry possible, and we are here to help!

Check out our Sample Celtx Entry in our forum to get an idea of what we’re expecting to see.

What can I win?

Our winner will receive a Celtx “Super Bundle“, containing the Writers Pack of 3 pro writing add-ons plus the full set of 365 Celtx ‘Sketch’ tool images. They will also receive an Official Celtx embroidered fleece jacket.

In addition every member that enters will receive 500 IQ Points added to their account.

How do I enter?

• Download and install the latest version of Celtx, available free at http://celtx.com.
• Start a New Celtx Project using the Film Template.
• Adapt “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe into a Screenplay.
• Screenplay adaptations must be between 1 – 15 pages.
• Create a Storyboard for your Screenplay Adaption, using the built in Celtx Sketch Tool and/or by importing your images.
• Storyboards will NOT be judged on your drawing abilities, only their ability to convey information and direction.
• Submit your completed Celtx Project File containing your adaptation and storyboards to us via email attachment at: contest@filmmakeriq.com before the deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST November 7th, 2010. Please include your IQ member name along with your real name and address.

  If you are not able to email your file due to size please use one of the free online file sharing sites and send us the download link.

  http://www.rapidshare.com

  http://www.easy-share.com

• Celtx Project Files that are submitted without an entry form will not be judged.
• There is no limit on the number of Celtx Project Files someone may submit.

When is the deadline?

The Raven Storyboard Contest video contest until 11:59 p.m. EST November 7th, 2010.

How do you choose a winner?

After the contest closes, Celtx Project Files will be judged to see if they comply with the requirements of the contest. Those entries that do not comply will be disqualified. All other entries will advance where they will be rated by judges from FilmmakerIQ.com based on the adaptation’s; proper screenplay formating, creativity, style, and the Storyboard’s; ability to covey information and direction. The winners will be selected and notified by email. The winning entry will be posted on FilmmakerIQ.com.

I still have a question.

Post all you contest questions in our Raven Storyboard Contest group.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`’Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.’

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; – vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,’

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,’ said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you’ – here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!’
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!’
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
`Surely,’ said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
‘Tis the wind and nothing more!’

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,’ I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!’
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning – little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as `Nevermore.’

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered – not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.’
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.’

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
`Doubtless,’ said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of “Never-nevermore.”‘

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.’

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
`Wretch,’ I cried, `thy God hath lent thee – by these angels he has sent thee
Respite – respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!’
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’

`Prophet!’ said I, `thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted – tell me truly, I implore -
Is there – is there balm in Gilead? – tell me – tell me, I implore!’
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’

`Prophet!’ said I, `thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us – by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?’
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!’ I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! – quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!’
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!

Submit you entry:

Submit your completed Celtx Project File containing your adaptation and storyboards to us via email attachment at: contest@filmmakeriq.com before the deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST November 7th, 2010. Please include your IQ member name along with your real name and address.

If you are not able to email your file due to size please use one of the free online file sharing sites and send us the download link.

http://www.rapidshare.com

http://www.easy-share.com

Good Luck!

Alexa Adams from Milford, CT asks:
My scene count is making my screenplay too long, but I can’t see cutting any of the scenes I’ve written. What should I do?

Expert Martha Alderson replies.

The job of a good writer is to know which scenes to cut and which ones to keep. You, as a writer, needed to write each and every one of those scenes to better understand the characters. A movie-goer or reader needs only scenes that work on a multitude of levels at once.

Tips:

1) Write your project all the way through each draft. If you continually go back to the beginning, you will find the earlier scenes harder to cut because of all the time and work you have devoted to them.

2) Track your scenes using the Scene Tracker Template or some other technique that shows you which scenes provide all seven essential elements (See my article Create Scenes that Sizzle – 7 Essential Elements) at once. The harder your scenes work, the greater the weight they carry and the more they probably belong in the project.

3) Plot out your scenes on a Plot Planner or by using some other technique. Being able to see which scenes are episodic and which ones flow through cause and effect improves your ability to know which ones to cut and which ones to keep. A scene that has been foreshadowed in an earlier scene or one that grows from the proceeding scene becomes an essential piece of the overall picture that emerges.

4) While you plot out your scenes, look to see if the stakes in each scene rise in intensity one step at time. Chances are that the scenes that do not carry more conflict, tension and suspense than the one that came before may need to be cut.

5) A good writer knows that in order for a certain passage or sentence or character or plot turn to be in a story is not because of the beauty of the writing or the cleverness in the plotting or the depth of the characters, although these things are important in order to captivate the reader. A good writer knows that each line and each element in each scene belongs there because it has a definite purpose in the overall scheme of things.

Martha Alderson is an international plot and story consultant for writers. Her clients include best-selling authors, screenwriters, writing teachers and fiction editors. She created a line of plot tools for writers, including a book, dvds, and the Scene Tracker Kit. She has taught plot workshops through University of California at Santa Cruz extension, Learning Annex, writers clubs and conferences, and privately. Contact her via contact@blockbusterplots.com

Source with permission: The Writers Store