10 Websites for Dramatic Writers

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Now... GO WRITE DAMMIT!

So, this is my first token effort at sharing some websites for dramatic writers. There are many sites that are useful and this is not by any stretch of the imagination a comprehensive list. However, it will give you insight into a small sample of what I keep in my bookmarks.


1. Celtx.org

OK... So this first one could double as a plug for one of my favorite, free script writing software programs. If you don't have the money to put out for a copy of Final Draft or Movie Magic this is a good alternative.


2. The Dramatists' Guild of America

If you are into playwriting this is an organization with a slew of resources.



3. Georges Polti's 36 dramatic situations (Download the full text)

We all would like to think that our story has never been done before. Well... so much for terminal uniqueness. Welcome to the post-modernist age, or err... is it now the post-Michael Jackson age?



4. The Auteurs

The Criterion Collection's online cinema and social networking site. A great place to see films online that have defined and pushed the boundaries of cinema and then discuss them.



5. Gutenberg Project

If you are like me and keep an oppressive reading list of plays that "need to be read" in order to torture yourself, this is a great first stop to look for free open source downloadable copies of older manuscripts to fill your hard drive. I haven't paid for a Shakespearean tragedy yet.



6. Sonnyboo.com free downloads

Shhh... I haven't met Mr. Sonnyboo yet but this Ohio film director has got some very useful forms on here that includes everything from screenplay templates to legal documents to help you manage the business end of getting your screenplay produced.


7. The Burry Man Writers Center

What list would be complete without a link to the Burry Man. This place is a clearing house for writing opportunities. That green prickly guy is kind of freaky though. Looks like something out of a Dr. Who episode.


8. Script-O-Rama

There are many screenplay repository sites on the net. However, this is the one I have used most frequently.


9. Penn State's Integrative Arts 10 class: Narrative Structure, Plot Devices, and Stereotypes
I always keep a file in my bookmarks for reference material posted from college and university courses I find on the web. Who said you needed to go get an MFA in creative writing?


10. Jeem's Cinepad.com: List of 100 best movies of all time

This list is supposedly compiled from a compilation of sources (like the AFI and National Film Registry). I think the list is too biased towards American cinema. However, I find it to be a good reference for anyone trying to expand their cinematographic vocabulary.


What are some of your favorite sites? What other resources are you looking for?

Friday, May 10, 2047

I was inspired to go and check out my calculated day of death at The Death Clock this evening. So I have about 38 years, if all goes my way, to follow my passion and create a body of work and get it produced.

Photo by: Esparta Palma

from the Dia De Muertos Set

CC Attribution Generic 2.5

I share this because a little over two weeks ago I had an appointment with my doctor on a Wednesday afternoon after experiencing ever-worsening pressure headaches, dizziness, and weakness. The doctor told me after prescribing me an antihistamine that if the symptoms didn't go away that he was going to schedule a ct scan of my head. I, of course, asked why, and he proceeded to tell me that I may have a brain tumor. Hence, the reason I have been less active on the blog in recent weeks.

Well... the symptoms didn't go away. To make a long story shorter, I am getting billed $2500 to find out I am normal, errr... I mean that I don't have a brain tumor. (If you ever wondered what it says on your cat scan results when you get them back and everything is okay, it says you're "normal".) What came from this experience was a reminder that I need to follow my bliss. This is one of the several motivations behind my efforts in working to organize this group. I have been reminded of this pretty regularly since I started helping my mom who has stage 4 breast cancer.

However, I guess the universe needed to give me a much stronger reminder. Up until about two weeks ago, I had this mentality that every time I got sick I would get better. I no longer can be confident of this youthful optimism. Another, result from this mortal experience over the last two weeks is that I am starting a new series of shorts on the topic of acceptance.

Lastly, I was thinking about how I could use this experience to develop my writing. A really great technique to develop characters that I have used is to write a few pages of monologue of them talking about themselves. However, I wonder if anyone has ever written an obituary to develop a character.

Painting by Albertus Pictor (1440-1507),

Täby Church, Diocese of Stockholm

Photo by: Hakan Svensson
CC Attribution Generic 2.5

Life is truly precious and I am grateful to be alive... What are some ways we could share our personal inspirations with the group as a way to help each other think about developing our writing?

The purpose of this blog

I have used this site for the last year as an online medium for sharing my narrative in starting The Drama Foundry. This has included sharing my progress in getting this organization started, using it as a brain dump, and as a way to get feedback from folks.


Things are starting to come together nicely and I plan to continue using the blog for all of the above purposes. Also, I want to use the blog to convey organizational information, conduct surveys, pass along useful information, to shine the spotlight on the success of artists and organizations and every once in a while talk about writing. I have plans on porting this blog to an ISP (GoDaddy.com) and to get a new template with more pages and to start using the TDF domain name that I have been waiting to use for the past year.

How else could this blog be helpful to you? What other ways can The Drama Foundry help you in your development of new work?

Pictures of where we'll be meeting

Here are some pictures from where The Drama Foundry Writer's Group will be meeting. The address is:

Junctionview Studios
889 Williams Avenue
Grandview, Ohio


Williams Avenue is actually right off of Northwest Blvd near Goodale Avenue.

View Larger Map


Just in case you have never seen the front of Junctionview Studios, here it is.









The Front door is on the right.













Here is the elusive enigma (or err... camera shy) Adam Brouillette head of Junctionview studios. He really does have a nice smile, if you can get him to look at the camera. He also is the man responsible for letting us meet at JVS.


This is a picture of the amazing BBQ sandwich I had the other... Oh, How'd that get on here?

Roland Tec is GOD the Almighty

I just got off the phone with the Director of Membership, Roland Tec, at the Dramatists Guild of America. He gave some great feedback in how to run the meetings with the Drama Foundry. I am soooo grateful to him. He also said he would be letting all the DGA members in the state know about upcoming meetings. Finally, he also told me if I needed any further support in the future in regards to organizing a workshop here in Columbus that the DGA would be able to help out. If you are an aspiring playwright, join the Dramatists Guild of America! They are here to help.

The Drama Foundry Writers' Group is Legit

http://www.junctionviewstudios.com/classes.html

Stay tuned for more publicity.

Thank you Robert!

Feedback is always appreciated and going to MOFA was a great suggestion.

Critiquing: Or, how to tell someone their baby is ugly politely

We will have a list of suggestions in how to conduct the meetings in order to make sure things run smoothly and cultivate an environment that is conducive for developing work. One particular subject that has been discussed recently is the critiques themselves.

How the critiques are conducted will depend a great deal on how the moderator directs the discussions and what kind of feedback the writer wants. The first few meetings will be moderated by me, Arvin Donner. This is so as to get the ball rolling and provide a consistent tone for the group. Critiques will focus on the writing and not the writer so as to keep comments depersonalized. This will allow the discussion to be framed in such a way as to avoid having the writer feel a need to be defensive. Also, it will be suggested that the critiques not focus on what individuals like and dislike but instead on what works and what does not work and why.

One idea is that during the critiques we will probably encourage the writer to not respond to the initial critique. After the initial critique, the writer will ask questions to the group about the piece. Before the reading beginnings, the group will probably allow the writer to ask the group to focus on certain aspects of the work. (i.e., what is your sense of character A's obstacles in the scene? Does it work? How does this event in the scene work to propel the plot?)

Some of this will be brought up in the first meeting. A discussion will take place where we will ask participants about what type of etiquette and structure they would like to see in the group.

More later...