simplest genre to write for 'plot line' / 'story'?

Randall_Oelerich said:
I don't care to risk a libel suit so I had best keep my opinions to myself; let's just say I did not click with his mentoring style (which might be great for other writers, just not me, so I am not meaning to bash him as a mentor/teacher, he is obviously talented). Here is an interview that goes into his lateral movie in the industry to adult film--
http://www.sreviews.com/interviews/tom-lazarus/
I have generally had good experiences with the six or so UCLA writers extension online courses I have taken, this was an exception. I loved my UCLA course on writing better dialogue taught by Karl Iglesias, and several courses I took taught by Scott Myers (K-9, Alaska, Trojan Wars [Jennifer Love Hewitt])-- Scott's blog site (GITS -- Go Into The Story) is also great for any screenwriters looking for daily doses of sw how to (Scott usually posts daily if not more!).
R
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My sister so far says the UCLA extension course she's taking on screenwriting is not only not very helpful or informative, but that the guy isn't very qualified to teach it, either. I don't know who it is and wouldn't say even if I did, but she told me he said, "Screenplays are way harder to write than novels." He clearly isn't a writer because that's a ridiculous statement. I've written screenplays and non-fiction books, and I think novels would be at least as hard as non-fiction but screenplays are an absolute cake-walk by comparison. There is a clear structure to them, they are 100 pages long or so and that's with ridiculous spacing, and you don't have to bother with much description whatsoever, pretty much just dialogue and actions. You don't sit there writing, "As he stepped into the room a cool mist swept over him, reminding him of a spring day in his hometown blah blah blah," there is no flowery nonsense like that in a screenplay it's just to the point. I took a year or more to write both of my non-fiction books. I can write a screenplay in a month if I want to. I'd prefer to have a long time to polish it, here and there, let it sit, etc. But the point is that's such an absurd statement anyone who says that can no longer be taken seriously as a writer. Novels are extremely tough and about 5-10 times longer than screenplays, which are a lot more fun to write if you ask me partially because they are a lot easier.

It's not even an opinion thing, it's a fact, that's why it bothers me a writing teacher would say that. A screenplay is a blueprint for a product. A novel IS the finished product. OF COURSE novels are tougher to write, because if there's a bunch of little mistakes they are noticeable and speak to the quality of the work. You could write a great screenplay with some typos here and there and the only thing it might affect is your ability to sell it, but once it's being produced nobody cares, because nobody will know once it's a film anyway what the heck the script was like.
 
It is tricky to find a good screenwriter who is also a good teacher and mentor. I have been burned a couple of times. There are a few good teachers at UCLA online that I clicked with, some I did not. The problem is you gotta be careful naming names, or risk libel or being burned later when trying to sell your script. I think going with some UCLA teachers who won the teacher of the year award is a good start, as that reflects great feedback from the students; that award is usually listed in their catalog of courses next to the instructor.

I also got burned spending $750 on a phone consultation @$250/hr with a "guru" author on sw. I say burned because he had obviously not read my treatment ahead of time, which he was supposed to do, such that he was so far off on even knowing my antagonist it was a joke; this was a creature horror story, and the creature was unique, and he was thinking it was some sort of 'Sasquatch' monster which was so far off base as to be pathetic. Imagine having a treatment for Jeepers Creepers and your consultant is calling the creature a Sasquatch with furry hair -- geez. So I felt so ripped off. And had paid in advance (no choice). You do NOT always get what you pay for, just because a mentor / teacher / consultant has written a produced script, or teaches somewhere, or has written a book. Teaching awards and word of mouth are the best ways to learn who is a good sw teacher/mentor/consultant.
 
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JonathanLB said:
My sister so far says the UCLA extension course she's taking on screenwriting is not only not very helpful or informative, but that the guy isn't very qualified to teach it, either. I don't know who it is and wouldn't say even if I did, but she told me he said, "Screenplays are way harder to write than novels." He clearly isn't a writer because that's a ridiculous statement. I've written screenplays and non-fiction books, and I think novels would be at least as hard as non-fiction but screenplays are an absolute cake-walk by comparison. There is a clear structure to them, they are 100 pages long or so and that's with ridiculous spacing, and you don't have to bother with much description whatsoever, pretty much just dialogue and actions. You don't sit there writing, "As he stepped into the room a cool mist swept over him, reminding him of a spring day in his hometown blah blah blah," there is no flowery nonsense like that in a screenplay it's just to the point. I took a year or more to write both of my non-fiction books. I can write a screenplay in a month if I want to. I'd prefer to have a long time to polish it, here and there, let it sit, etc. But the point is that's such an absurd statement anyone who says that can no longer be taken seriously as a writer. Novels are extremely tough and about 5-10 times longer than screenplays, which are a lot more fun to write if you ask me partially because they are a lot easier.

It's not even an opinion thing, it's a fact, that's why it bothers me a writing teacher would say that. A screenplay is a blueprint for a product. A novel IS the finished product. OF COURSE novels are tougher to write, because if there's a bunch of little mistakes they are noticeable and speak to the quality of the work. You could write a great screenplay with some typos here and there and the only thing it might affect is your ability to sell it, but once it's being produced nobody cares, because nobody will know once it's a film anyway what the heck the script was like.
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I agree with this 100 percent...But I could see someone that is more practiced with novels finding the screenplay format too limited. It's like being used to having a full palette of colors and techniques to paint with, and then being limited to a number two pencil. You can still produce a great work of art with that pencil but it would be frustrating. But harder, no? I have done both as you have and found screenwriting easier...although as a writing experience, the novel was more rewarding. The most interesting difference was that dialogue had to be handled in an entirely different manner. In a novel, you are often writing what would be the subtext in a screenplay, so to write the same dialogue as you would in a script would be redundant.
 
The Nudist Western...

All genres are difficult, all screenplays are difficult. Just pick the genre you love and write.

- Bill
 
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