One of the things I want to spend my new "free" time on is writing. Those familiar with the ol' BinkBlog will remember I've been doing some writing lately. And since "starving writer" isn't a vocation that particularly interests me, I'm going to try to move right into the "makin' a bathtub full of money writer" stage.

See, your average novel writer gets beer money and invitations to book signings at Borders, but not much more. Short story writers, not even as much as that. The big money, from what I can see, is in writing scripts. God knows the bar is set low enough - have you seen some of the garbage on the big screen these days? My inspiration is Mike Rich, a fellow Portlander who won a screenwriters competition and got a six-figure contract. He's written several movies that have been actually produced, like "Finding Forrester" and "The Rookie."

To that end, I've decided to try my hand at penning screenplays. Movies, that is. I have at least two really solid ideas, one of which I've been noodling for several years - sort of autobiographical, but not really. Another idea struck me after reading about Peak Oil (see previous blog entry). That one could be fun. But both are still only ideas, albeit fairly well fleshed-out ideas.

So a month ago, I bought a book simply named "Story" by Robert McKee. I thought all I needed was some advice on script formatting. I was wrong. The book demonstrates, in detail, the elements of what makes a good story - and why those elements work, or don't. Highly recommended for anyone interested in professional storytelling, be it for film, TV, books, comics, or campfire. I've read it twice, the second time with a highlighter in hand. The important bits of the book could be fit onto a handful of 3x5 cards, really - it's the examples and real-world samples that take up the time, and what make it a good book.

So the next step was to get the tools of the trade. Some web searches and advice from professionals pointed to one thing: "Final Draft" screenwriting software. Henry Gilroy (writer of the first Bionicle movie) mentioned this when I talked to him several months ago. (Henry was extremely generous with his advice, I really appreciated it.) Then, on another forum I visit, some of the writers of Kim Possible also recommended Final Draft when I asked for advice. Finally, Jane Espenson, who is a professional TV writer with a cool blog, has also let drop several times that Final Draft is pretty much a requirement for the aspiring professional. (She's written for Buffy, Firefly, and now Battlestar Galactica. So she's got some street cred as far as I'm concerned.)

UPS delivered the box today.

So now I have the tools I need to actually produce a screenplay. I'm starting some travel for my new job next week, and I'll take some of the extra time I'll have available to get up to speed on FD. Then, 3x5 cards in hand, I'm going to see just how far I can get with writing a real live actual honest-to-goodness script.