Reading about writing?!

My last got post me thinking about screenwriting... NOW I'm not claiming to be some great writer or screenwriter as I'm still learning like all of you... BUT before I made HSM I bought and read all the "writing" and "screenwriting" books I could find... I read through them all... took tons of notes... started applying the theories... wrote some drafts of the HSM screenplay... now by definition it was a "good script" according to these books BUT it felt LIFELESS to me... and IT LACKED my UNIQUE VOICE...

Then I started researching the authors of the screenwriting books... NOT ONE OF THEM has EVER written a script that ended up being a GREAT FILM... so ummmm I thought WAIT why should I follow the "rules" of these people who have never made anything great?! The answer was... I SHOULDN'T!

Now in these books they try to reverse engineer scripts from great films BUT that is bullshit! Its all conjecture... they don't know if the scripts authors used their various processes... they are just grasping at straws making their own screenwriting systems so they can sell books and make money doing seminars and classes and shit... they try to convince the inexperienced writer that before you can write a good script you NEED to learn these rules...

Now it might be good to know some of this stuff BUT you don't NEED to know it... The only way to get good at writing is TO WRITE... I don't think I'll become a better dancer by reading dance theory books... I need to get out there and do it!

Actually most of these books TOOK THE FUN OUT OF WRITING for me as they tried to make it a mechanical process especially the Robert McKee bullshit... its not fucking rocket science?!

A PERSON'S ADVICE ONLY GOES AS FAR AS THEY HAVE GOTTEN... and in screenwriting these chaps haven't gone anywhere EXCEPT to the bank on account of dumb bastards like me buying they books haha... so why listen to them? Again if they haven't WALKED THE WALK... FUCK THE so called "EXPERT'S"!!!


<p><a href="http://mdotstrange.bandcamp.com/track/ichange">ichange by M dot Strange</a></p>

Brought to you by professional weirdo M dot Strange.