The ISA Podcast

Countless screenwriting books have offered what is claimed to be the definitive structural paradigm, what you might know as the "classical structure beat sheet," for feature films, but none have tackled the daunting task of defining a beat sheet for EPISODIC TELEVISION.

Until now.

Daniel Calvisi, author of "Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay," brings you the results of his deep analysis of the story structure behind the best series currently available in our multi-platform universe of ad-supported networks, pay cable and streaming content websites. He will first introduce you to the key formats, genres and terminology of modern TV shows, and then he will take you step-by-step and page by page through the major signpost beats of a teleplay and the crucial characteristics that must be present in each scene, using specific examples from the best of our "Golden Age" of television.

I cannot stress enough the importance of educating yourself. It seems so simple and could spawn a reaction of, "duh". Of course education is essential. You never hear a point/counterpoint or debate over whether or not education is important. We all know it is, but I need to point something out here. It seems that a lot of writers - and I mean a LOT of writers - do not think they need to take a class on writing. It blows my mind, thoroughly frustrates me, and consistently makes me wonder why a writer would never invest in some form of a writing class, course, consultant, writers group, something! Every person that moves to Los Angeles with the intent to become a working actor is immediately given what? A list of all of the acting classes available to them. And there are a TON of acting classes available. But what does that person do? She nods her head and says, "Oh, ok. Cool. I'll find one and sign up." How is it that the screenwriting side of this business hasn't taken on the same mindset as the acting side? The craft of acting is no different than the craft of writing. It's something that is learnable, and it's something that if given enough time will result in...? Being better! I can't simplify it any more than that. I'll play hardball for a second, and whether or not you agree with me, well, I really don't care, but if you're a writer who thinks you can just figure this out on your own, maybe read Robert McKee's book, Story, and then think that you can write a marketable and ready-made screenplay...you're wrong. You are, very simply, wrong. I am sorry if that offends you, but if you're a regular listener to my podcast you know that it is my intent to be real with you. It's my intent to give a bit of a wake up call.

Investing in yourself and finding the right writing class or course, or even hiring a consultant to work with you, is so necessary that I wish there were billboards all over Los Angeles that announced a new law that forced all writers to take a class before they ever attempt to submit a screenplay to an agency or production company.

This week, we're going to be talking about Swiss Army Man by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. This is an extraordinary script, and one of the great examples of just how far outside of the rule box you can actually go as a screenwriter or director. It's also a prime example of how a really out-there script can sometimes attract the biggest talent in Hollywood, in this case, Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano.

There's an exercise that I often do with my Write Your Screenplay students that I call the "Bad Screenplay" exercise. We put a list up on the board of all the students' greatest fears about their writing. We hear all kinds of things: "bad dialogue," "cliché," "redundancy," "no structure..." the list goes on and on, as the white board fills up with increasingly egregious fears.

And then I give my students a challenge: to write a scene that embodies every one of the fears about their writing that we've put up on the board. To strive not for good writing, but for bad writing. In fact, I tell them that if their writing starts to get good, they should look up at the board, find the idea they find most horrifying, and strive to integrate it into their script. 

In many ways this is exactly what the Daniels did in the creation of this screenplay. Daniel Kwan has spoken about the fact that he hates fart jokes, hates buddy movies, hates a cappella music, and many of the other fundamental elements of Swiss Army Man.

He built Swiss Army Man out of the things that he hated most in screenplays. 

So why would somebody do that?

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Sean talks about his latest indy dramady, Hard Sell.

"11-22-63" cleverly twists time travel but keeps its screenwriting structure straight.

Television is enjoying a new "golden age", giving big screen fare a run for its money in quality and storytelling. It's also doing genre proud. Case in point? Hulu.com's "11-22-63", based on Stephen King's sci-fi novel, is one of this year's stand-out miniseries. It stars James Franco as a teacher who travels back in time to try to thwart the Kennedy assassination and this thriller will place you on the edge of your seat from its very first moments. It's a crackling yarn, full of twists and turns, and yet it expertly follows the tried and true tropes of proper screenwriting structure.

For starters, it employs the ticking clock and the great hero's journey as Franco's modest teacher is given a set period of time to travel back to the past and alter the world for the better. The series also uses flashbacks properly, never turning them into a crutch to shorthand exposition. Finally, the show honors the sense of morality present in all good science fiction. The hero here creates many new tragedies in his efforts to undo a huge historical one. "11-22-63" is like a darker version of "Back to the Future" as fate pushes back hard against those who try to rewrite the past.

In this interview, Laura talks with Danny Manus about pitching, log-lines and the importance of having your script read those knowledgeable in the industry before sending it to people to read. Laura and Danny met at the Nashville Writers' Conference which is a part of the Nashville Film Festival. Danny Manus is an in-demand script consultant and CEO of No BullScript Consulting, and was ranked in the Top 15 "Cream of the Crop" Script Consultants by Creative Screenwriting Magazine. He is the author of "No BS for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective" and was also named one of Screencraft's "25 People Screenwriters Should Follow on Twitter". We discussed how one of the biggest mistakes people make is pitching too soon and rushing the process of submitting rather than working the script until its ready. He also talked about the importance of having the 4 Cs and H which are: Concept, Character, Conflict, Context and Hook. We also discussed lots of specifics for pitching in the interview and discussed specifics for handling big pitch events like Nashville Writers' Conference or the Great American Pitch Fest.

If you want to learn more about Danny you can go to his website www.nobullscript.net or follow him on twitter @DannyManus. Danny has several events and classes coming up and he will be at Willamette Writers' Conference in Portland, Oregon in August. If you want more information on Laura Powers, you can go to her website www.laurapowers.net. You can also find updates on the podcast by following the Write Hot Podcast on Facebook.

Laura with Dave Chesson, author and founder of Kindlepreneur about using key words to market your book and even choose to write on a topic for which there is a market. There are generally two ways to make money as an author. One is to have a large platform and the other is to have a discoverable book for which there is a good market. Two ways you can help ensure success: write about something the customer is looking for and if the books out there are something you can beat. As John Lee Dumas said, "Its' better to go a mile deep and an inch wide versus a mile wide and an inch deep." Look into Amazon Best Seller Rank or ABSR. Do some research on what is out there in terms of books on a topic and what their sales rank is. There are about 4.7 million books out there right now. Then look at the books out there, are the covers good, are there poor ratings? Ask yourself if you could write a better book. If their ABSR is good and the quality of what is out there is poor, you have a good chance of selling well. You can also search the Google Key Word Planner and google will tell you how many people a month are using those key words. It will also give you suggestions, synonyms, etc. You might find out there is a huge market or none.

Dave has written seven books via pen names and he has chosen to use pen names due to his work for the military. Each book makes between $700 and $2000 a month per book without building an author platform. Good for authors to know that while an author platform is good to build, there are alternatives to this approach. This approach is also good for those who write books that are not part of their public persona like erotica etc. This approach is also similar to what Tim Ferriss did with market testing his book title for "4 Hour Work Week." Basically doing market research for your book prior to releasing the book or even writing the book can really help you sell well and make more money. Dave is about to launch a service called KDP rocket - it is an amazon book idea validator and it will tell you how many people type a certain term into amazon and it will also tell you how books with those keywords make. The tool will help you figure out if there is a market and if you have a chance in that particular market. It will launch end of June. KDP was designed to provide book marketing tactics for writers and currently has 45,000 subscribers. Dave is also the one who answers the contact page questions himself directly. We also discussed the importance of marketing and writing your book simultaneously.

Most authors will wait to market until they are done writing or almost done writing. If you do it simultaneously, not only are you increasing your marketing but you will likely create a better product as well. Dave also is a big advocate of paying it forward so if his works helps you, he asks you to pay it forward for others. You can connect with Dave and Kindlepreneur at www.kindlepreneur.com. If you want more information on Laura Powers, you can go to her website www.laurapowers.net. You can also find updates on the podcast by following the Write Hot Podcast on Facebook.

David Silverman is a screenwriter and a tv writer, producer and a licensed therapist. He also works as a script consultant. He suggests selling your stuff first and then seek representation. We discussed the difference between agents and managers and how for new writers a manager can help you develop your career. He also suggested a few resources for getting your screenplays seen and sold:

Blacklist: https://blcklst.com

InkTip: https://www.inktip.com

Script Shark: http://www.scriptshark.com

Scriptblaster: http://www.scriptblaster.com

David also noted that writing a blog is a good way to get connected in the industry. He is also an advocate of networking with new directors or actors that are looking for work to get your scripts made. Common mistakes writer make is writing something that is really off the wall. David suggests writing something that is different but not too different. Also a bad to work on the same script for years. If you want to make your own work that can be a great option for beginners. David recommend looking at the movie Tangerine by the Duplass Brothers. They made it for $1,000 on the weekend with their friends that got picked up for $300,000 and won many awards as well. David also suggests getting hired as a story analyst or a reader if you are interested in developing your skills as a writer and connections in the industry. Writing assistant or a personal assistant to a producer is also a great way to get started in the industry as a writer.

If you want more information on David Silverman, you can find him on Hollywoodscriptwriting.com. Laura also attended both Book Expo America in Chicago and The Great American Pitchfest in Burbank. She will be featuring interviews with those she connected with at each event in upcoming podcasts. If you want more information on Laura Powers, you can go to her website www.laurapowers.net. You can also find updates on the podcast by following the Write Hot Podcast on Facebook.

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Pearry talks about his new thriller film, The Curse of Sleeping Beauty.

Joel Friedlander, blogger and book designer. We talked about the importance of good book cover design as well as his well-designed Microsoft Word templates. Joel Friedlander started self-publishing before self-publishing was a thing. Joel has two websites that are a resource for writers:

http://www.bookdesigntemplates.com/ and www.thebookdesigner.com. Joel offers a book cover design competition on his website every month and every submission gets feedback. Joel addresses what to do for a good book cover: Make sure the style matches the genre so make sure you follow the genres, bring on someone to design it (unless they are a designer), making sure the book communicates what the book is about, and of course hiring a good designer. He also mentioned his free Book Construction Blueprint which is a great guide for putting a book together. If you want more information on Laura Powers, you can go to her website www.laurapowers.net. You can also find updates on the podcast by following the Write Hot Podcast on Facebook.