Uh, yeah. Hi.

Uh... not really sure what to say in an introduce yourself post. But hello to everyone.

I've been casting around for somewhere to learn how to write a screenplay, and simplyscripts seems to tick my boxes better than the other sites out there. There's some good sripts, and some good feedback going on too. I'm not just saying it neither.

I've done a bunch of creative writing classes, mostly prose and poetry, but I always intended once I'd finished it was films and TV shows I wanted to do. It's stuff like Die Hard and Fargo that I really get off on, or The Fast and The Furious (only only the first one lol)... genre movies that do their genre well...

And then I put it off for a year or two, and watched a lot of TV... and then I saw Let the Right One In and, well, it kicked my ass into action because well. What can you say? Like Fargo but with vampires. And let's face it that combination is pure win.

The thing is I'm more interested in commissioning or editing or producing, because it's story I love - not writing. I have a massive issue with being inside 'text-world' that no advice will solve  (goes way back to formative years when I lived nowhere BUT text-world). If you read the short I submitted you'll see what I mean, the narrative voice is clearly awful. I can't 'flow' in my writing, it makes my skin crawl to inhabit that imaginative world... literally makes my skin freaking crawl.

Only, it seems my only route in is through writing my own screenplay first. So if that is what it freaking takes, then grrrr darn it... that is what I am gonna have to do...

So  far I've got a short badly done, and I keep on meaning to finish a Die-Hard-in-a-Retirement-Home-for-the-Elderly. I'm also trying for a couple of pilot episodes for series, with things like NCIS series 1-3 (before Bellisario left) as my aiming point because I like the clean style. Nothing wasted in those early series, hell knows why it still airs now though [/gripe].

Er... advice always welcome, and as I mentioned in another post but thought I'd repeat - I'm a better reader than I am a writer, so I'd rather help someone else than write my own. I think I'm pretty good at understanding character, plot, dialogue etc... and although I'm not totally straight on the format yet I'm learning.

So.

..er.

That's it.

Welcome Marriot

This is a great place to learn... It's free and everyone gives their valuable time and honesty to help each other.

It's also quid pro quo... You give feedback and you'll get feedback.

Good luck

Mark

Hello Marriot,

Welcome to SS.

This place has been a god send for my writing and thats largely because you get reads and honest feedback, even if you don't like it. As have you already shown, the key thing is to read and review for others and in that way you earn reads back.

I note your comment about being a better reader than writer. All i will say is, like the person (can't remember their name) who said, "the more i practice, the lucky i seem to get", that the more i write, the better i become - i think. So don't forget to practice.

cheers

Welcome Marriot. Seen you on the boards already which is good and a fellow Brit too.

Hey Marriot

Nice to meet you. Best way to contribute here is just be honest and straight with your opinion. Don't be afraid to hurt someone. We're writers. We're here to be hurt!

Good luck with your projects.

Kevin

Cheers everyone, hope I can contribute my little piece of value-added to the boards.

Hey Marriot.

Welcome to SimplyScripts.

What's the name of the script you submitted called?

- Mark

Hello Marriot!

Great to have you. Look forward to reading your work!

Cheers!

PY

Hey Marriot!

You've come to the right place! Welcome aboard. Hope you find this site as awesome as the rest of us do :)

I'll see if I can find your short. Not sure if I've read it yet.

Daniel

Thanks for all the replies - the short's called boy racers and it got submitted last week so hopefully it'll be up soon.

//spoiler: I had a reread last night and will get in this excuse early - there's way too many noun - verb - noun constructions (my voice my voice is no good!)

"Michael looks at the clock expectantly.

The teacher catches Michael and tuts.

Michael returns to his work."

....oooooooooooh dammit. (still, at least it's fixable). But that's what I mean by my trouble with narrative writing - it always ends up stilted and awkward because I can't really get "in" to the world.

But with the help and advice of fellow ss members then hopefully it'll get a bit easier...

Thanks again everyone, not just for the replies but for all the scripts you've put up yourselves - there's nothing so inspiring as reading someone else's darn good bit of writing. And I've read a fair few inspiringly great scripts so far. (lol, might be sucking up, but it's also true!)