An Update & Possible Genre Change

Tomorrow I leave for my second residency at the Solstice MFA program in Boston.  My first time around left me with a whirlwind of ideas as well as a fantastic bunch of writers to count as friends and comrades.  This time I head back with one semester under my belt, a yearning to catch up with my Boston buddies, and a strong desire to learn as much as I can.

For the first semester I read twelve books and wrote around fifty pages (more than that but fifty semi polished pages) for my Dystopian novel.  This novel does have the potential of being marketed as YA but I'm not going to push that at all.  However, this time around, I have a list of several YA books that I want to read and I am suddenly inspired to work on a very clear cut YA story.  I actually wrote out this story in screenplay format several years back.  I never finished the screenplay but I did chart out the entire ending up to the 'FADE OUT' via long notes.  One reason I'm wanting to rekindle this story is because of the strong female lead (and I don't write many females even though I am one), and another reason is because it's already plotted.  This plot may change here and there but the fact that it is plotted will help me write out scene after scene and also give me a chance to really tackle writing a synopsis. 

In order to work on this however, I would need to change my major from Fiction to Young Adult Fiction.  From what I understand this is totally doable and that it's only in my third semester that I have to decide on what genre to graduate out of - some people switch in their second semester and never go back, but I think I will return to Fiction a better person for having honed another side of my literary interests.  

Amanda LaFantasie (Skoora) 

Screenplay Writing

This is just a shout out to the art form of the screenplay.  I adore the form and even though I didn't put screenplays directly on my fatty list of goals, the 'finishing what I start' includes several screenplays.  One of my friends sent me this site years ago and, ashamedly, I never followed up on it.  I think this may or may not be something that those of us who wish to work on screenplays as per their goals (*cough* Dani *cough*) could benefit from. 

Screenwriting Unit

And then there is also Syd Field.  His books are a great resource for screenwriting.  I own one of his books (please see the purdy, purdy picture) and it was part of our required reading in my college screenplay class.  I recommend some of his articles which can be found if you scroll down a bit here.  For further information on Syd Field and his seminars and what not, check out his official site: Syd Field.Com.  

This is the book we used in my class. I have this in my bedroom right now.  

And yes, the very mention of bedroom is exciting to me.  

And if you are looking for contests there are several for this art form. I entered one years and years ago and made it to the second or so round which was quite tickling at the time.  Also, as Dani has mentioned to me, maybe we could make April (or some other agreed upon month) an honorary 'Script Frenzy' month for the members of this blog and then we can track our progress here and be a support group for each other.  I would love to revive the screenplay in my regular writing endeavors and Script Frenzy is a great motivator.

Amanda LaFantasie (Skoora) © 2012