Screenwriting : FUNK IT UP screenwriters and authors -- and THRIVE! by Douglas Glenn Clark

The nonfiction book idea I briskly explained to a lit agent wasn’t pulling much interest, and I was annoyed. The story involved a genuine hero during one of our nation’s most cataclysmic natural disasters. What was the problem? The central character did not emerge from the crisis as a celebrity—think Rudy Giuliani post-911. I argued, “But the story has never been told to a broad audience. It’s a diamond in the rough.” Still no go. Explaining this defeat to my ghostwriting client would be disappointing. So I sat with it for a few days. Then I had an idea. Write the screenplay. The story has sensational visuals, moral courage, and a dramatic court battle against corporate idiocy. “Based on a true story” also gave us some leeway in how we told the story. Movie now, book deal later. I was excited. No, more than excited. My multiplatform thinking had— Funked me up! (Thanks Bruno Mars for "Uptown Funk.") Get Your Funky On! We get stuck. We think a book is a book that needs a publisher. We think a screenplay must absolutely be a film. Or a novel has to remain a work of narrative fiction, forever and a day. Wrong. When stuck in one platform, move to another. That’s the Multi-Platform ethos. (First it was a notion, now it’s an ethos, I hope it will someday evolve into a trend or major religion that offers free blended beverages.) The reasoning for changing platforms may seem obvious when considering how hungry entertainment firms are for content. Netflix, Amazon and so forth are now competing with cable and the networks. Go where the action is. But the reverse idea also has a proven track record. A friend who enjoyed an enormously successful screenwriting career could not sell some of his best work. Two particularly good screenplays are now published novels. What gives? Story has no gender, political affiliation or particular yearning to be a book, movie or Broadway musical. We, the creators of story, insist that “I’m writing a book” or “This is going to make a great film” or … “I see this as a choreographed tone-poem.” But the story itself just wants to be told. Your Funky is Your Bliss! Have you ever felt the lightness of being that occurs after you’ve finally let go of something that just wasn’t working—a career or a Napoleonic yoga instructor? The multiplatform artist seeks the right way, the correct path. And sometimes that might mean moving in a direction he or she would never think to go. This nervy sense of needing a trans-media confirmation procedure began happening to me as I discussed projects with prospective ghostwriting clients. I’d be talking book but thinking HBO television series. Why not both? Or I might be staring at an outline for a movie that was actually the skeleton of a story that deserved to be an expansive narrative. I had written in these various forms, why not offer those mediums to clients? These days I now answer queries with this question: “Why does this project have to be a book?” The question began to take shape after too many lit agents and publishers became evermore picky and choosy. They wanted a winning lottery ticket. Authors without a huge platform, or other obvious selling point—Mr. Giuliani, the explosive new hip-hop musical—were not welcome, in some circles. Granted, selling any project can be challenging. Writing a screenplay does not preclude rejection. Yet how many times can you hear ‘no’ without then wondering, would this story be better served in another medium? Funk You Up Tips for MultiPlatform Success! While giving notes on a chapter for his nonfiction book, my client said, “When in doubt, go deep. That’s me.” But going deep also meant his 60,000-word title would likely soar to 80,000. I questioned whether his budget or target audience would want the extra poundage. What’s that got to do with Funk You Up techniques? Less than deep worried this man. It went against his sense of self. Exactly, my fellow MultiPlatform Artists. Disrupt. Reverse your natural inclinations—as a way of exploring other media, applications and roads to glory. What’s to lose? You can always go back to your original idea. Start with a beat sheet. TV writers “beat” out a story by making a list of scenes, actions, that must occur to fulfill a one-hour or half-hour episode. This forces them to nail the essentials. So before you insist your book is a book, see it as a TV series. Create a beat sheet for three episodes, which may portray sections or mere chapters of the book you wish to create. Trans-Genre procedure. If you believe the tone of your story is noir, imagine it as sci-fi or YA in the style of Hunger Games. Jot down ideas that appall, excite or make you laugh. The goal is not to deny your choice of genre, but to juice your imagination and make the process fun. Be brave: accept the discoveries that may follow. Be Repurposeful. Grab a book, film, poem, grocery list or diary you have already created. Now make it into something else. For example, the grocery list might become a murder mystery—I never did trust those gluten-free granola morsels. Since repurposing content is a staple of blogging and online marketing, embrace the notion that even your beloved accomplishment might gain new traction if you— Funk it up. Douglas Glenn Clark Multiplatform Artist