I've been a screenwriter for a long time and I'll save the self-promotion and just get to my point.
I've already mapped out about 4 seasons of a web series script I want to start writing. Far from complete in my opinion and in the world of professional screenwriting it's sometimes looked down upon to write more than one pilot script. However, I always enjoy having fun more than I do about having my scripts sell.
Anyway, I've been in bed with the flu for about a week and just started thinking about how I kind of miss old-school blogging. It's how I started my career. Not for money. Not for popularity. Just for fun. To teach people something of value. And so I thought maybe I could start a blog again and be a real mentor to people in a world where bad news is everywhere we look.
I kept asking myself what do I blog about? What do I teach people? And then my mind would immediately wander into the script I was writing and the badass female lead character I created. That's when a lightbulb went off in my head.
What if I create a blog as that character and treat her like a real person? Her personality, her adventures, her stories. I've been living with her in my head non-stop for about a week and at this point I probably know her better than I know my own family.
Her name is River and she created this unique business as a professional conversation listener. Which, I'm sure made you laugh out loud because it sounds hilarious. But, it's actually really awesome and badass! It's almost like a life coach on-the-go. There are people all over the world that just need someone to talk to but maybe don't have friends or family and they want something other than therapy. They want someone who will get coffee with them. Go bowling with them.
We first meet her in her mid 30's and on the surface she doesn't really have much going for her. A dead-end job. No education. A boyfriend who doesn't treat her all that well. She eventually turns her life around and becomes one of the most empowering women in the world.
I think it would be cool to write blogs as that character, but I could also see how that would be weird. Either way, it's different. It's unique. It's more than just another "here's 5 tips on how to get rid of stress!".
Someone like her can give a unique perspective on anything in life and turn it into art. Something like "here are the best 3 pizza toppings" can become "the reason most of us are comforted by pizza is because it reminds us of all the good things we enjoy in life. There are so many friends there to comfort us when we most need it."
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I recommend making it into a comic book.
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Preston Poulter that's definitely an interesting idea i never thought about it but now I actually kinda see it lol
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Let me know if you want to read any of mine. You can see some of the artwork on my page.
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Hi, Ryu Reeves. Sorry to hear you got the flu. I hope you feel better soon! Your blog idea is interesting, but I think a web-series or comic would be more entertaining. If you end up making a blog, maybe do a short test blog to try it out.
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Maurice Vaughan thanks! Oh yea I'm definitely still planning the web series! I've come way too far. The blog was just a separate idea I also wanted to do on the side of doing that.
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You're welcome, Ryu Reeves. Cool. Keep us posted on your web-series and blog. Your blog could even help promote your web-series. Happy Holidays!
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This is kinda how Diablo Cody got noticed. She was blogging about her adventures working as a stripper and, the story goes, an industry member figured she could pen a great script. There's a little debate if it was as simple as that, but that's the essence of it.
The thing is, blogs are very old hat and the internet is a much busier place now, where it's hard to get noticed. There are writing platforms though, where you can post chapters and gain followers. Some of those even have publishers scanning them.
I had a similar idea, to tell a horror story in the form of a blog. but I couldn't realize it, because suddenly my psyche refused to write from the perspective of a female character. I felt very uncomfortable trying to write in the first person as a woman. It was probably transphobic.
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You could turn it into a podcast and go from there... people aren't reading as many blogs as they used but listening to a podcast (you can cross post it to YouTube, etc) might give you a better shot.
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Youtube film critic Chris Stuckmann (2M youtube followers) was able to leverage his fame and directed a feature horror movie, which received lots of positive reviews. The thing is you gotta be better than average than your peers (in any occupation) for strangers to help you because they benefit themselves riding your coattail. GL!
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Dan MaxXx That's not entirely true though. I love Chris but he was lucky enough to have videos reach the algorithm and used that as leverage. Great for him but not everyone is fortunate enough to have the money he had for film school or lucky enough to have algorithm on their side. I know people that are way more talented than me and were inspiration to me getting started in screenwriting and yet I've had way more opportunities than them writing for TV and film. It's not as black and white unfortunately. Hard work definitely helps yes but it's also a lot of luck.
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Ryu Reeves whats true is CS had skin in the game (in his field), seperated himself from average YT critics. He didnt begin at 2M followers. Years ago, CS was talking shit about screenwriters and screenwriting and he posted his screenplay online for ppl to critique. He got canned. Learned a life lesson about humility.
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Dan MaxXx Yea I remember that lol. He definitely did learn a lesson because after that he completely changed his entire channel and now instead of rating films he just talks about them because he doesn't like to critique people's hard work. People called him a sellout but as someone who loves the industry I totally understand not wanting to hate on peoples hard work. I will never say "adam sandler sucks" or "this movie is trash" because I respect everyone who puts their hard work into anything. So, I don't think Chris sold out at all. I think he truly learned respect.
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You have to remember that the internet is one big negative reinforcement engine. A lot of people participate to hate on something. Just look at how butt-hurt Reddit still is about Netflix removing the ability to trash a show, or YouTube removing downvote stats. I used to have a podcast about cars and had people continually sending in stuff to hate on - it was all that was contributed.
Something happens to some creatives that turns them into critics, and many critics are far from creatives. Real artists don't go around hating on other artists. It's one of the main reasons I'm highly sceptical of anyone who goes out of their way to judge/rate/critique the work of others.
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CJ Walley don't even get me started on reddit lol 100% of people there on the screenwriting subreddit give writing advice. 1% actually have a decent amount of experience to give advice. Used to spend half a day correcting everyone's "advice". Even the mods are toxic as hell. I got perma banned because I called the mods out for basically telling a new writer to just give up because they're not good.
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The best thing you can do with r/screenwriting is to turn the comments upside down. People upvote what they like to be true, and most screenwriting communities have very few writers who've even so much as spoken to an industry member.
I got threatened with a ban on there for posting links to my numerous articles that answered questions in detail. You have to question a system that works that way. Meanwhile, anything I post gets trolled by a "consultant" who was driven out of here. They've also never added Script Revolution to their guide on how to get exposure, constantly allow posts calling Stage 32 a scam, all while the front page is full of content mentioning a certain platform over and over.
Regardless, I've little interest or respect for any community that allows people to post anonymously. That's always been the great thing about here. You can do your due-diligence on where advice is coming from, and that was a huge help for me in the early days.
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Ryu Reeves r/screenwriting used to be so amazing. ... you'd have great writers with real credits showing up all the time in the comments. I developed a writing group of guys who were great writers who gave great feedback that I'm still friends with from there.
Now it's like the rest of Reddit.... it's a lot of people who don't know what they're doing pretending to be experts.
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Indeed, r/screenwriting is just wallstreetbets for writers. Lots of people looking to get rich quick and lots of anonymous gurus with zero credentials happy to tell them how.
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CJ Walley That's.... a really good comparison. I used to think "dear blog" anytime half a dozen people posted there because it was these long, self congratulatory posts from people acting like big shots when they're just screen names. Kind of like a couple of people here but more obnoxious.
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Ryu Reeves It sounds like a great idea for a blog. Good luck.