Screenwriter Robert Gosnell ~ It's Not Complicated

It's Not Complicated

There seems to be confusion among some writers about complications within a story. What they often wind up with, as a result, is a story that is complicated.

That is not what we want.

Complications are reserved, primarily, for our protagonist. We need problems for them to solve; obstacles to overcome; issues that make them think and make difficult choices.

Complicating the story simply means making it too hard to follow. If it's too complicated, we risk losing the audience. They like to think, but they aren't in the theater to solve a Rubik's Cube.

I'm sure you've experienced it, just reading someone's novel or screenplay. If you have to keep going back and re-reading to keep up with what's going on, that's a problem, especially today, when audiences have such short attention spans.

What we do want, and this is where the confusion seems to lie, is a story that is complex, meaning a multi-dimensional story and characters. Every personality has dimension. Think about opposing characteristics as an example, or character flaws that can threaten the goal.

Everyone has an agenda. Sometimes, it's a surface agenda and sometimes it's a hidden agenda. So, how does one character's agenda either complement or conflict with another?

Story-wise, we want subplots, relationships, and actions by the characters that create positives and negatives. When does the worst thing that can happen turn out to be the best thing that can happen, and vice-versa? Does a positive action lead to a positive result for one character, but a negative result for another character?

I don't mean, a protagonist's positive result leads to a negative result for an antagonist. That's a given, and the simple choice. 

But, what happens when a positive result for one protagonist character leads to a negative result for another protagonist character? Or, if a protagonist's positive result also leads to an antagonist's positive result? The good guy thinks he's achieved a victory, not realizing that it's exactly the action the bad guy wanted him to take.

That is complexity, which creates...wait for it...conflict.

Conflict is at the core of every story, and finding every little angle in every character that creates conflict adds complexity. Basically, we don't want the story to be simple or the characters to be superficial. It's a matter of using every tool in the toolbox to add depth and dimension to the story.

~Robert

"The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" is currently available at:

Amazon digital and paperback |CreateSpace | Barnes & Noble |
Smashwords

Find Robert:

Website (with information on classes) | email

BIO: 

A  professional screenwriter for more than thirty years,  Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.

Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five.  As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home andRocky Road.  In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring  Jennie Garth. 

In 1998, he wrote the  Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace Awards, in the Comedy Special category.

In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in the local independent film community. His screenplay Tiger Street was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the independent feature Siren for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006. 

Robert is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations,  served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.

Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to this blog. 

Screenwriter Robert Gosnell ~ The Ten-Percenters

It's always a pleasure to bring you a post from my mentor, a multi-produced screenwriter, and fabulous teacher/writer. And yes, he has a book out about screenwriting that Hollywood is taking notice of--see below. 

The Ten-Percenters

Hollywood agent: "Hello," he lied.

As the above joke illustrates, agents are often the subject of ridicule and scorn in Hollywood. Producers and studios see agents as bloodsuckers, who try to drain every penny and perk they can from them. Writers use them as excuses for why they aren't getting work.

The reality is that you are in charge of your career. An agent will work for you only if they see you working for yourself. They get ten percent of your script fee because they only do ten percent of the work. If you want them to do a good sales job, you must give them a good product.

Acquiring an agent without living and working in Hollywood is an uphill climb. They want to be able to shop you for assignments and rewrite opportunities and set up "get to know you" meetings. None of that can happen when you're a thousand miles away.

It is possible to change their minds, though, and, you already know how, don't you? Yep. The right script. Bowl them over with the material, and all things are possible.

Agents can be invaluable to you, if for no other reason than to release you from the burden of business requirements that you can't, and shouldn't have to deal with. It may be a profession that is looked down upon, but it's a profession screenwriters rely on. They get bad-mouthed because part of their job is to be the bad guys when they negotiate on your behalf.

I once had a producer I was working with say to me, "Man, your agent is tough." He was right. My agent could be tough. Better him than me.

The truth is, you want a bad guy in the room, hammering out your deal, and you want him to be good.

~Robert

"The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" is currently available at:

Amazon digital and paperback

CreateSpace 
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords

Find Robert at:
Website (with information on classes)
Email

BIO: 

A  professional screenwriter for more than thirty years,  Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.

Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five.  As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home andRocky Road.  In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring  Jennie Garth. In 1998, he wrote the  Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace Awards, in the Comedy Special category.

In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in the local independent film community. His screenplay Tiger Street was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the independent feature Siren for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006. 

Robert is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations,  served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.

Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to this blog. 

Screenwriter Robert Gosnell ~ Pants On Fire

 Pants on Fire

Lying has become a nebulous thing, of late. In the good-old-days,  facts were never up for debate. Now, for far too many of us, our facts are driven by emotion and ideology, rather than reality.

As writers, we lie. That's our job. We make up stories and tell them, and by definition, that's a lie. Even stories about a real-life incident or person must be embellished, compressed and dramatized. Truth sprinkled with lies.

What we have going for us is that our audience knows we're lying, going in, and they're fine with it. They're willing to suspend their disbelief in order to be entertained. To a point.

While they will accept our stories as fiction, the way we tell those stories is the subject of great scrutiny and held to a high standard. The world we've created must be accurate.

I recently encountered a blog discussion regarding the bear attack on Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the film "The Revenant." There were many comments criticizing the filmmakers for a lack of authenticity in the scene. Some were valid, some picky, some far-fetched.

The bear wouldn't do that. The character would have done this. The season was wrong. The cub was too young. The bear didn't look real.

It harkens me back to a classic Hollywood story concerning the TV comedy series, "Mr. Ed," about a talking horse. A writer on the show pitched a line for Mr. Ed to George Burns, who was a producer. Burns listened to the line, then shook his head.

"The horse wouldn't say that."

The writer responded, "I got a flash for you, George. The horse wouldn't say anything!"

"No," George replied, "the character we've given the horse wouldn't say that."

Mr. Burns put himself in the audience. He was willing to believe a horse could talk, even knowing it wasn't true. He just didn't believe Mr. Ed would say that.

Mistakes can come in many forms in the making of a film. Sometimes, it has to do with continuity.

"Hey, the top button of his shirt was unbuttoned in that last shot!"

"Her drink was almost empty. Now, it's full!"

They point out these little flaws because they feel cheated when they encounter them. They were totally involved in your story, and now you've lied to them. You've rudely jerked them back to reality.

Other times, the problem stems from a choice based on time considerations, editing issues, lack of research or just plain laziness.

It's such a little thing, they tell themselves. The audience won't notice. Except, they do. They always have and they always will.

No place in our world for alternative facts.

 ~ Robert

 "The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" is currently available at:
Amazon digital and paperback

CreateSpace 
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords

Find Robert at:
Website (with information on classes)
Email

BIO: 

A  professional screenwriter for more than thirty years,  Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.

Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five.  As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home andRocky Road.  In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring  Jennie Garth. In 1998, he wrote the  Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace awards, in the Comedy Special category.

In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in the local independent film community. His screenplay Tiger Street was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the independent feature Siren for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006. 

Robert  is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations,  served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.

Screenwriter Robert Gosnell on Opposing Characteristics

You Think You Know Someone 

"Once upon a time, there was an ocean,

but now, it's a mountain range

Something unstoppable was set into motion

Nothing is different, but everything has changed."

                                      Paul Simon

Shortly after I joined the Navy, while in Radio School at the Naval base in San Diego, I made a friend. He was older than I, in his mid-twenties, while I, having joined the military right out of high school, was still in my teens. He was a bright, articulate guy, but what impressed me the most about him, and what I hoped to learn from knowing him, was his self-confidence. He was fairly brimming with it, and I was envious.

During one class, we were instructed to engage in teletype messaging, a common mode of communications between ships and military installations at the time, and I was online with my friend. One of us would send a message, and the other would reply.

In the midst of this exercise, he suddenly began to "jam" my efforts to send messages. I would begin to type, and he would immediately start typing simultaneously, turning my message into a garbled mess. I laughed it off, at first, seeing it as a harmless practical joke. But, it continued. Every time I tried to type, he over-rode me. I asked him to stop. He wouldn't. I asked again. He still wouldn't. It went on this way, until the end of class.

Afterward, I asked why he had done something so rude and inexplicable. At first, he wouldn't give me an answer, but I badgered him about it until he finally gave in. His explanation? He was intentionally trying to make me angry, because, in his view, when people got angry, their true feelings came out. In short, he wanted to know if I really liked him!

I was flabbergasted! Here was a guy whom I admired for his self-confidence, and now had discovered he was riddled with insecurity! For me, it was a real head-scratcher.

Though I didn't know it, at the time, my friend had taught me a valuable life-lesson. He had introduced me to the concept of opposing characteristics. Later, when I began writing, I reflected back on that event, and others of the same ilk, and became aware of what a valuable tool that particular aspect of human nature can be in developing a character within a story.

Because, we all have opposing characteristics, in some form. The best of us have our dark side, and the worst of us have some  positive qualities to offset the negatives. It's human, and if we want our characters to be human; to be realistic, we must instill those characteristics within them.

Opposing characteristics provide two basic elements to enhance a story: first, they reveal an internal conflict within our character, and conflict is critical to story-telling in any form. We allow the audience to see those conflicts at work, and it gives our character depth and dimension.

The second benefit of the opposing characteristics tool is its ability to demonstrate a weakness within our character. A potential fatal flaw changes the tenor of a story by leaving open the possibility that winning or losing may hinge on this very internal conflict. It did just that in the courtroom drama "A Few Good Men," wherein our villain, Jack Nicholson's Col. Nathan Jessup, was brought down by his own arrogance.

My friend from Radio School and I remained friends until the class ended and we were sent to different duty stations, but I never regarded him in quite the same light. He had shown me a chink in his armor; he had revealed his opposing characteristics.

Nothing was different, but everything had changed.

~Robert

 "The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" is currently available at:
Robert's book, 

Amazon digital and paperback
CreateSpace 
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords

Find Robert at:
Website (with information on classes)
Email

BIO: 

A  professional screenwriter for more than thirty years,  Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.

Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five.  As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home andRocky Road.  In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring  Jennie Garth. In 1998, he wrote the  Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet  starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace awards, in the Comedy Special category.

In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in  the local independent film community. His screenplay Tiger Street was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver, and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk  from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the  independent feature Siren for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006. 

Robert  is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations,  served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert  regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.

Screenwriter Robert Gosnell on The Word - It's Awesome

The Word - It's Awesome

Thus far, my posts have been focused on the nuts-and-bolts of building a story, specifically as relates to screenwriting. That is generally followed by an excerpt from my book (shameless plug to follow) titled "The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay."

I won't be doing that, today. Instead, I'm going to narrow the subject of writing down to its minutia: the word.

I've always been enamored by words, even before I realized I would be utilizing them as tools in my chosen career. The phrases and descriptions; the pictures we craft and emotions we stir with them hold unimaginable power. The way words are used, specific to personalities and geographic influences, their inflections and subtleties have always fascinated me. Add to that the fact that they are malleable; ever changing in usage and meaning.

The adjective "awesome" was used facetiously in the title of this blog, only to demonstrate how certain words are hijacked to represent a contemporary social idiom. "Awesome" came into popular slang during the eighties, and is loosely attributed to the valley girls and surfer dudes of the San Fernando Valley in California. It spread throughout the country, aided greatly by Hollywood, where they have a penchant for exploitation, and it's persistent. It won't go away.

Nowadays, it seems like an awfully lot of things that weren't, previously are now "awesome." At times, I fear we've gone too far.

The Grand Canyon is awesome. "World of Warcraft" isn't.

The pyramids are awesome. Taylor Swift isn't.

The first moon landing was awesome. Kim Kardashians booty is oddly fascinating, at best.

"Awesome" is only one of many hijacked words given new meanings which have entered and eventually departed our vocabulary, over the years. Take the word "cool."  Now, this one has been with us since long before "awesome" came into vogue, probably traceable back to the forties, as part of the language of jazz musicians and ultimately inherited by the "beat" generation of the fifties. Like "awesome," it seeped into our collective vocabulary, until now, it wears like an old shoe.

But, what about "hip," (either you were or you weren't) or "dig" (either you did or you didn't?) We rejected those terms outright. And calling someone "Daddy" now takes on an whole new, and rather creepy connotation.

In the fifties, around the time rock-and-roll launched its initial assault on our national conscious, we were taught that having a "blast" with some cool "cats" in our "pad" was "way out." That sounds silly, now, especially since everyone knows a "pad" is actually a "crib." 

The sixties gave us new meanings to a lot of words. These days, I often hear news anchors freely use the word "bummer." Can you imagine Walter Cronkite telling us how the Cold War was a real bummer? Yet, I haven't met a "teenie-bopper" in decades, though I'm not opposed to it, and thankfully, "far out" didn't survive the cut, either.

Personally, I think it's time for "awesome" to fade into oblivion. It's so overused that it has lost its impact. Along with "excellent," it peaked with Wayne and Garth, and its time to put it into retirement.

But, even if it stays with us, and even if its overuse is a source of irritation to me, I can't fault the status quo. For writers, manipulating words is our bread-and-butter. It would be utterly boring if everyone communicated like grammatically correct robots, programmed for tedious uniformity. It would make for a dull world, and dull is something writers cannot afford.

No, the ever-evolving play on words is a good thing, for us. The fluctuating use of language and terminology aids us in defining personalities and adding color to the worlds we create. It provides us with more ammunition for our arsenal.

All in all, that's pretty awesome.

Robert's book, "The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" is currently available at:
Amazon digital and paperback
CreateSpace 
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords

Find Robert at:
Website (with information on classes)
Email

BIO: 

A  professional screenwriter for more than thirty years,  Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.

Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five.  As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home andRocky Road.  In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring  Jennie Garth. In 1998, he wrote the  Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet  starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace awards, in the Comedy Special category.

In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in  the local independent film community. His screenplay Tiger Street was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver, and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk  from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the  independent feature Siren for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006. 

Robert  is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations,  served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert  regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.