Author: Martin Johnson

Where It Begins

Over Valentine’s weekend, I decided to re-watch one of my all-time favorite movies. I decided to do a commentary video on the beautiful foreign movie, A Very Long Engagement.

Not only is the movie one of the most romantic and hopeful movies I’ve ever seen and have some of the most beautiful cinematography and subtext ever filmed. It has all the key elements of a great movie, just not typical screenwriting format.

Clear plot
Both internal and external conflict
A great inciting incident

The unique thing about this movie is it is a perfect example of nonlinear storytelling. These types of stories aren’t told in chronological order. This means the story can switch from different points of the characters’ lives, all the pieces of the story are there, just jumbled up in different order.

For instance, this movie begins with the inciting incident, but then halfway through the movie, we see the main character’s childhoods and how they met which goes back to the inciting incident at the beginning of the movie. In storytelling the inciting incident is where the conflict and story begin, it is where a movie begins.

Where It All Begins?

An inciting incident is an event that occurs and disrupts a protagonist’s life sending it out of control or in another direction. It puts the events of your story into motion.

“The stronger your inciting incident, the more dramatic, compelling, and engrossing your novel will be.”
Jerry B. Jenkins, author and writing coach

In a sense, the inciting incident creates the conflict of a narrative.

Five characteristics from The Write Practice, that qualify an event as an inciting incident.

Early: They occur early in the story, sometimes in the first scene, almost always within the first three to four scenes.
Interruption: They are an interruption in the main character’s normal life.
Out of the protagonist’s control: They are not caused by the character and are not a result of the character’s desires.
Life-changing: They must have higher-than-normal stakes and the potential to change the protagonist’s life.
Urgent: They necessitate an urgent response.

It is critical to a story’s success for the inciting incident to happen as soon as possible in your screenplay. It doesn’t have to be in chronological order as with A Very Long Engagement, however, the audience needs it to occur sooner rather than later in the story.

“The inciting incident is indispensable because the inciting incident is the hook.”
Scott Myers, screenwriting coach

The hook is the lift-off moment of your story!

Story?

All stories follow a basic structure to some degree, they may not have the same events, but they follow a typical pattern. Think of it as a stream flowing from a lake, there can be multiple streams heading in the opposite direction of the lake, each one can follow their own paths.

But ultimately they are all flowing away from the lake towards a new destination. Using this analogy we can view the lake as the inciting incident if the lake boundary is breached. The CEO of Storybrand Donald Miller says, “The inciting incident is how you get (characters) to do something. It’s the doorway through which they can’t return, you know. The story takes care of the rest.”

The inciting incident is simply the starting point of any story, however, it complicates your story and sets the events in motion.

“The inciting incident is the primary cause that follows that puts in motion the other four elements.”
Robert McKee

Progressive complications
Crisis
Climax
Resolution

As you can see the inciting incident is a critical part of the plot of every story, regardless of what structure you use. Because the inciting incident is where it all begins!

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Tags basic elements of screenwriting, screen writing, screenplay, screenplay differs from novel, screenwriting, script to screen-stage

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Take Your Time

We’re almost 3 months into the new year, and unfortunately, a lot of people have already given up on their goals for the year. How are you doing with the goals you set for yourself?

One study shows that 40% of Americans give up on their New Year’s resolutions. Doing anything new is hard for everyone. One of the reasons people give up, is they aren’t getting the results they want quickly enough. We cannot apply the “microwave” mentality to life.

While goal setting is beneficial, having an effective game plan is critical to achieving your goals. Regardless of what your goals are for this year, understand achieving them is a process and processes take time.

Below are a few of the top goals people have each year.

Getting in shape
Financial freedom
Relationship goals

Writers have their own specific goals for the year, I have a couple myself. Goals are great for pushing ourselves to make progress. After my accident, I learned the importance of setting daily, weekly and yearly goals.

“Maybe it won’t be famous. Maybe it won’t be a movie. But that’s not why I started it. And that’s not why I’ll finish.”
Ryan Reudel

As with everything else in life, recovery is a process, it’s best to learn how to take your time.

Take Your Time

I had to relearn everything in life, and how to do them despite my limitations. Disabled persons want to get back to their “old” lives as quickly as possible. However, for most of us, it means accepting the “new” normal.

Sometimes rushing a recovery can do more harm than good. If your body and brain aren’t ready, a disabled person can hurt themselves and will suffer a setback in the process.

As with anyone else disabled persons must deal with growing pains that come with their recovery. There are unnecessary consequences many have to learn the hard way. It took me falling off of the toilet in the hospital to realize just how bad off I was.

Setbacks can make you want something more or give up. Understanding trials are part of the recovery process can help us enjoy the process better. Injuries take time to heal and each patient must do their part if they want to get better.

7 tips for recovering from injury from Social Elite Physical Therapy.

Critical original entry stage –When your injury first takes place, your initial response can have a drastic impact on your overall recovery outlook. For any injury that does not require an instant visit to the emergency room, there will always be a period of time before you meet and strategize with a physical therapist or doctor.
Rest and ice- After assessing your injury, the very first step is to take it easy and rest the affected area for at least a few days. The resting stage can perfectly coincide with the period of time that you set up an appointment with a physical therapist.
Compression, elevation –The second half of the fail-safe RICE method involves compression and elevation. Like step number 2, you should compress and elevate the injury the same day it occurs, or immediately if possible.
Light activity/exercise –If you are still at the stage where you are attempting to self-diagnose the severity of your recent injury, this can be a great step to lightly test the affected area. Make sure to never try your regular workout regimen.
Every case is different –There are so many factors that vary with each person’s body that could affect injury recovery and progression. Every case is truly different. That’s why you need a physical therapist to help guide you.
Balance of injury versus exercise –This can be one of the trickiest steps to execute within the injury recovery process. It’s important to stay in shape, but not at the expense of your injury recovery. Once you have received a diagnosis from your physical therapist or doctor, you will need to strictly follow their guidance for day-to-day activity.
Be aware of setbacks –Recovering from an injury in many cases can be very difficult. There is potential for setbacks. It can be fairly easy to tweak an injury and worsen your condition. Even if it has begun to improve.

The recovery process is a marathon just like the path to publication. Writers must take their time to learn the craft, hone their skills, and polish their writing.

“Assuming you already have your manuscript completed, it can take a writer nine months to two years for their book to be published once a contract is signed.”
Writers Digest

The writing process is long, but it gives us time to become better writers and to grow in the craft.

Grow As You Go

When we rush a process, we lose the time necessary to receive the best results. When we take our time we allow our muscles and skills to grow. Muscles grow and heal when our bodies are resting, not when we are working them.

After my accident I was in such a hurry to get out of the hospital, I didn’t realize the limitations of my eyesight. On one occasion I walked into a door frame while talking to my neuropsychologist.

The doctors decided to keep me in rehabilitation for a few weeks longer until I was better prepared. Novelist PD James observes, “Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer- however happy, however tragic- is ever wasted.” The recovery process serves numerous purposes.

Allows the body to heal
Helps us understand our weaknesses
Helps us to grow stronger

Likewise, a writer’s journey takes time. As writers, we understand how important it is to grow our platforms and brands. Writers also must learn the craft, develop their voice and learn how to polish their writing; each of these is why we must take our time.

Tags resolutions, Writing with a Dis-ability, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability), Writing with Humor

Screenwriting

Conflict in StoryTelling

By now most of you know I am a big Marvel junkie and escape into the marvel cinematic universe whenever I can. For the past six months, I’ve been binge-watching the Daredevil series on Disney plus.

It honestly has some of the best storytelling on the small screen I have ever seen and I’m not saying that just because I’m a big fan of comics, in college I had a collection of over 3000 comic books. Yes, I am an action and superhero junkie.

While, books and novels both contain conflict in their storytelling, writing for the big and small screens focus on different aspects of conflict.

External conflict
Visual storytelling
Layered subtext

WARNING: The movie clip in the following paragraph is from a fight scene and be considered graphic.

Sure movies and television shows have inner conflict but they express them more visually. The writers of Daredevil masterfully combine both inner and external conflict beautifully, sometimes in a not so family-friendly way. These writers understand the importance and need for conflict in storytelling!

Conflict

First, we must understand what conflict is. The dictionary defines conflict as, “A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one.” By definition conflict is continuous, it isn’t some brief break in harmonious living.

As long as the conflict continues in our stories, they will have the necessary momentum to keep our narrative going and hopefully keep our audiences interested. Many writing coaches describe conflict as the fuel of storytelling.

“Conflict generates drama. Conflict is entertaining. But perhaps most important is this: Conflict concerns struggle.”
Scott Myers, screenwriting coach

Below are six types of struggle found in storytelling according to Masterclass.

Character versus self: This is an internal conflict. Meaning that the opposition character faces is coming from within.
Character versus character: This is a common type of conflict in which one character’s needs or wants are at odds with another’s.
Character versus nature: In a nature conflict, a character is set in opposition to nature.
Character versus supernatural: Pitting characters against phenomena like ghosts, Gods, or monsters raises the stakes of the conflict by creating an equal playing field.
Character versus technology: In this case, is in conflict with some kind of technology.
Character versus society: A character versus society conflict is an external conflict that occurs in literature when the protagonist is placed in opposition to society, the government, or a cultural tradition or societal norm of some kind.

The age-old teaching of show versus tell is more pertinent to screenwriting because these stories are visual. We never want to bore the audience by telling when it is much easier to show regardless of its internal or external conflict.

The audience must see conflict either through action, acting or inaction. The audience needs to know what is at stake and how it affects the character or the world in which they live. There is a struggle somewhere in their life. Ultimately, the struggle will bring change to the character or their world.

Change

Conflict always brings a change in a story, whether internal or external.

“A film isn’t just moments of conflict or activity, personality or emotionality, witty talk or symbols. What the writer seeks are events, for an event contains all the above and more… ‘Event’ means change. A story event creates a meaningful change in the life situation of a character that is expressed as an experience in terms of value. To make change meaningful you must express it in the audience must react to it, in terms of a value values are the soul of storytelling.”
Robert McKee

If conflict occurs, the events change things, McKee notes story values are the universal qualities of human experience that may shift from positive to negative, or negative to positive, from Beaumont to the next.”. Below are a few types of conflict change can bring.

Alive/dead
Love/hate
Freedom/Slavery
Truth/lie
Courage/cowardice
Loyalty/betrayal
Wisdom/stupidity
Strength/weakness
Excitement/boredom

This change will be obvious as your story and characters progress from the beginning to the end of a screenplay. Conflict can build scene by scene, story value to story value. Along the way, our characters and their worlds will be changed when they face conflict.

Tags basic elements of screenwriting, internal conflict, screenplay, screenwriting, script to screen-stage

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

New Opportunities

With the arrival of each New Year, we all have an opportunity to experience, learn, and go on new ventures. While most of us groan at the thought of having to learn something new, it is even more difficult for persons with a disability.

After my accident, I had to take up new hobbies due to the limitations I had preventing me from enjoying my old hobbies (gaming, billiards, and playing guitar.) Instead of grieving my losses and focusing on my old life, I chose to learn new hobbies and activities that would benefit my physical health.

• Mountain biking/cycling

• Regular exercise routines

• Healthy lifestyle habits

Businessman Jack Welch once said, “Change before you have to.” Most writers like to write within certain niches and resist change. We like our comfort zones and we hate it when our creativity is hindered.

However, with the new year comes new opportunities for writers also. Winston Churchill once noted, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” In life, we each need to learn how to embrace the new.

New

Let’s face it the pandemic forces us to accept “new normals” and a lot of us feel like a fish out of water in one aspect of life or another. Many of us still long for the old ways of life, the glory days of the writing community.

But, we can choose to live in the past or adapt and press on in our careers and lives. I wasted years trying to play the guitar again, grieving the loss of my gaming skills, and trying to force my left hand to type. When I finally let go of things, I was able to move on and make progress in other activities. Below are a few benefits for the mind and body, of learning new skills from Piedmont health.

It gives you motivation– A new hobby or skill can give you the motivation you need to get out of bed in the morning.
It helps beat boredom- Doing the same thing every day can get boring and sap your zest for life.
It boosts confidence- If you engage in a new skill, you’re going to thicken the brain’s prefrontal cortex,” says Buttimer. “As you develop a new skill, you’ll gain courage and confidence, which helps you override fear and anxiety. You’ll feel more empowered.”
It keeps you healthy– “Learning is great for your brain at every age,” he says. “As you take on a new skill, the mind begins to reshape itself because the physical brain is malleable.
It helps you be flexible- By consistently educating yourself and trying new things, you’ll learn you’re capable of change and growth, which keeps you open to new opportunities in life.
It can benefit others- Think about how your new hobby or skill can help others at work, at home, or in your community.
It can boost your happiness– “When you learn a new skill, you increase your level of happiness,” he says. “It was thought for a long time that a person’s baseline happiness couldn’t be lifted. [1]

While change may be difficult, it can be beneficial and good for writers. Learning and writing new things help writers grow and expand their skill sets.

“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
John Rockefeller

Change doesn’t happen overnight and neither does greatness.

Growth Takes Time

The first time I got on a bicycle after my accident, I fell off of it after moving 2 feet forward. A month later I was biking 21 miles in 100-degree temperatures. Now 26 years later I am biking even further. What if I gave up and quit after falling off that first time?

Trust me I wanted to quit because I was embarrassed and discouraged. But I didn’t and over two decades later I am still reaping the benefits, while learning new things is difficult, challenges can either make or break us.

Learning prepares us for bigger and better things; it strengthens our mentality and physical bodies. Over the last two years, I have gotten into YouTubing and had to learn video and audio editing. Since I began focusing on my YouTube channel it has grown 400% and my creative tanks are overflowing with ideas.

Learning new things gives us new opportunities. Below are a few possible careers for writers to explore if they’re willing to explore new opportunities.

Technical writing
Editor
Magazine writer
News reporter
Social media manager
Blogging

Keep in mind, learning new things helps keep us inspired. Stephen King once said, “When you are consumed by thoughts write. When you are uninspired, read.” By reading we are learning new things and that gives us new opportunities!

Tags new year goals, new year opportunities, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability), Writing with at disability

Screenwriting

Screenwriting Basics

Recently, I had a local writer friend reach out to me about how she could adapt her book into a screenplay. I get that question a lot; although I am not a successful screenwriter, people for some reason believe that anyone can write a screenplay, just because they’ve written a story or book.

Just because a book is successful and is a good read, doesn’t necessarily mean it will make a great movie. Studios have lost billions by producing popular books that bombed in theaters. Hollywood generally believes that novelists should not write screenplays.

So this year, I want to explore the basics of screenwriting and some of the different conventions, concepts, and features that novelists may not know about. There may be some similarities, but screenwriting has its own unique needs.

Tight writing is a must
A lot more show than tell

While the general rule in storytelling is to always show and not tell, this rule applies more to screenwriting, because screenplays are visual art forms. So in writing a screenplay, writers always must visualize their stories first, this is a basic element of screenwriting.

Elements of Screenwriting

“Screenwriting has no rules, it has conventions to help tell a story.”
Robert McKee

The number one convention of screenwriting is the story is seen. Screenplays are written with characters we will literally see and don’t have to imagine—always write from that perspective. If you cannot visualize your characters on screen, then they won’t parlay to the screen.

Seven tips for adapting a book to a screenplay from the Creative Penn.

Read screenwriting books- Reading some how-to screenwriting books will give you a solid grounding in writing characters, plot, structure, dialogue, theme, etc. for the big screen.
Read screenplays- The reason many screenplays fail, whether they’re adaptations or not, is because the writer simply hasn’t read enough screenplays.
Outline movies- It’s also important to become familiar with movies are put together structurally. Novels may contain some structural tropes within certain genres, such as Mystery or Romance, but screenplay structure is generally much more ‘formulaic’.”
Write an outline of your novel- Once you’ve spent some time on the first three steps, apply the same principle of writing outlines as described in Step 3 to your own novel.
Refine your movie’s core conflict- Take some time to think about the story from the point of view of someone watching it up on screen in a movie theater. What’s the core conflict here that’s going to make them pay money to want to go and see it?
Finalize your outline- Some screenwriters like to write outlines, synopses or treatments of their story before starting on the script. Other’s don’t. But I would strongly advise you have some kind of document to follow while writing the actual screenplay.
Start writing your screenplay- Once you have your outline, it’s time to finally start writing and I’d recommend purchasing some professional screenwriting software first, such as Movie Magic or Final Draft. (WriterDuet is a great free alternative if you’re strapped for cash.)

Screenwriters know the conventions of the art and resist the need for a formula. As I begin this series, I have to address the age-old debate of structure versus story. Not from my perspective, but that of the greats. While screenplays have conventions, never let structure kill your story.

Screenwriting, as with novel writing, is the art of storytelling. The story must dominate your script. However, according to Screencraft Magazine, “novels focus on the internal emotions of the story’s characters, screenplays are the outer emotions of the story’s characters.”

Story Matters

Typically when novelists try to adapt books to screenplays, they either kill their story by trying to use a bad writing structure or they don’t know a screenplay format at all. Either way, their narrative loses its beauty.

Sometimes no matter who adapts a book to a screenplay, the story just does not work as a movie. The readers’ imagination is better than the visuals on the screen. Before you attempt to adapt your screenplay, read the five story elements needed to make a great film from totalstoryteller.com.

A sympathetic hero: Having a ‘save the cat’ moment can help you create a sympathetic character. This ‘save the cat’ term was coined and popularized by writer Blake Snyder.
A vital quest: It’s no joke. There are real stakes to this quest.
Insurmountable obstacles: It seems impossible for the hero to achieve victory, at least as he is now.
Surprising ending: Ingenuity and creativity sees the hero achieve victory through unusual means, finding help in unexpected places or with unexpected allies.
Inevitable ending: The ending is logical. It seems obvious after-the-fact that it would end as it did.

Remember, it is the screenwriters’ job to take these elements and combine them into a visual cocktail to help the audience understand the narrative. It is like combining poetry with painting. Screenwriters need to know the basic elements of screenwriting.

Tags basic elements of screenwriting, from page to stage, screenwriting, story matters, tips

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Gifted

Now that Christmas has come and gone, most of us are enjoying the new items we received as gifts during the holidays. I remember when I was a kid, I would spend the entire day playing with my new toys, it didn’t matter if I had anything to eat that day, I just wanted to have fun.

Gifts are useless if we don’t put them to use, isn’t that why we want them in the first place? What good is a new car or bicycle if we’re not going to go anywhere on them? We have each been blessed with gifts; some material, others physical. Even the simplest things in our lives can be gifts.

Disabled persons have unique gifts that most people don’t understand. Unfortunately, most of us don’t consider them gifts, because they make us different from average people.

Experiences
Expectations
Encouraging stories

In the brain injury community, there is a saying, “Every brain injury is different.” There are different forms of brain injuries, each with different effects on the body and mind: concussions, strokes, traumatic brain injuries, and acquired brain injuries. Each of these affects the individual’s ability to function. For the last 25 years of my life, I’ve learned to appreciate each day for the gift it is.

Gifted?

Most people look forward to and expect big things in life, as I stated before persons with disabilities understand that the simple things in life are a gift also. If you have ever gone through a health struggle, you have experienced this realization that we take for granted so much in life.

What most people take for granted, disabled persons cherish. We all have different gifts and abilities that we must learn to appreciate and celebrate. Even within the writing community, there is a diversity of experiences, voices, and even types of writing.

5 Basic Types of Writing Found in Literature

Narrative writing
Descriptive writing
Persuasive writing
Expository writing
Creative writing

It is common for these categories to overlap as writers attempt to convey their message, but their purpose for writing remains. A writer’s goal is always to communicate, but these are the different ways we flex our writing muscles.

“Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and the only thing you have to offer.”
Barbara Kingsolover

If you have ever broken a bone in your body, you know how quickly your muscles weaken; you also experience the agony of being limited to certain actions. A flexible writer is like a flexible muscle.

Flexible writers have the ability to flex their writing muscles and different ways to convey a specific thought. The gift of the written word is often taken for granted by many people.

Let me encourage you by saying this, if everyone wrote and communicated beautifully through this art, we would all be jobless because no one would need us.

“Writing is a hellish task, best snuck up on, walked on the head, robbed, and left for dead.”
Author Amory McDonald

Writers Write

In the early days after my accident, I spent a lot of time wanting to walk again, but I wasn’t able to even attempt it. It was then when I first heard the word ambulatory, which is the medical term for being able to physically move on your own.

If you’ve ever watched little children learning to walk, you know they don’t start out walking, they must first learn and be trained to walk.

Stages of learning to walk:

Creeping
Crawling
Stepping
Pulling up
Cruising

Each phase is meant to build up a child’s strength and muscle memory, the gift is when they finally pass each stage of the process.

A writing career works the same way; writers must first learn the craft and then begin writing. Writing a lot is the only way will build our muscles. But, as Jerry B Jenkins teaches, “Don’t start your career by writing a book or a large project, even the best writers have to start somewhere.”

Every writer must build their writing muscles, even if they are gifted!

Tags beginners, gift, gifted, Gifts, how to begin writing, Writing with a Dis-ability, Writing with a disability, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

Final Draft

For the last six months, I’ve known what I wanted to write about my final post of the year. If you go back and read my posts, you will see hints of the direction I was going. However, I didn’t want to make it to this post until the end of the year, so I tried slowing down the points I was trying to make by discussing how writers tackle this in storytelling.

Pacing
Subtext

These two aspects of storytelling give writers the means to control the information the audience receives and helps build momentum and anticipation toward the final act of the story. This post is where the column has been heading since I discussed first drafts earlier this year, the final draft.

Final Draft

This is not to be confused with the screenwriting software most of us use to write, Final Draft, the industry standard. A final draft is the final phase in the screenwriting process.

“The first draft is just the writer telling themselves the story.”
Scott Myers, Screenwriting Professor

Storytelling is a hard process, even if the writer already knows what they want to say because storytelling is the vehicle writers convey the message and at first, most writers don’t know how to get from plot point to plot point.

Along the way, a story can get rough or pick up extra baggage from the journey, each of which can help slow the narrative down and not in a good way. Like in the game of chess, each character and event needs to fulfill its specific purpose if the writer is going to win the game.

Furthermore, the writer needs to know when to move each character or let a particular event occur. One domino out of sync can ruin the flow. Each draft of a screenplay is a refining process to make sure the pieces (characters, exposition, action) come into play at the right time.

Rewrites and drafts are a necessary part of screenwriting; the average screenplay goes through at least 30 drafts before reaching the final draft. Along the way is not uncommon for the story to change drastically.

4 steps from Script Lab on how to write a final draft in 10 days.

Day one-You already have your beginning in your head. Remember that you have to open your script in a compelling form. There has to be a physical or emotional hook that will take hold of the reader and force them to need to read on. Your task is to write ten pages. We’re shooting for a 100-page screenplay, which is right at the sweet spot of where you want your spec script to be. So you’ll be writing ten pages for each writing session/day.
Now, you can choose to write over the span of ten consecutive days if you want. Maybe you’ve taken vacation time to write this script in a week and a half. Perhaps you’ve dedicated X hours of each day or night after you come home from work or school. Or maybe you can’t commit to ten consecutive days of writing. That’s perfectly fine. A break in between writing sessions allows you the opportunity to visualize what you’re going to write for the next.
Many scripts from novice screenwriters fail to offer a consistent tone, atmosphere, and pace. This is primarily because most novice screenwriters take upwards of six months to a year to finish a single script. Their writing sessions are sporadic. They get bored with the story. They get frustrated with the process. And they become complacent to the point of just wanting to get it done. When you reread and rewrite pages as you go, immediately before you continue on writing from the point you’ve left off, you are in constant connection with the tone, atmosphere, pacing, characterization, and beats of your story. You also want to use this reread and rewrite process as a way to maintain a consistent format as well. There’s nothing more frustrating for a reader than inconsistent format, which includes scene headings, character names, scene description, etc.
Before you continue, you need to ask yourself some additional questions before you rewrite the first 30 pages of your script. Is there enough conflict in those 30 pages? Is the protagonist well on their journey (physical or emotional)? Has the major conflict caused many additional conflicts that the characters must face? You want to have some conflict injected into the story every few pages. That’s what creates a true page-turner. Now it’s time to write pages 31-40!

To save space, I only shared half of the list, so I highly recommend you going the original article on Script Lab and read the full list. The Takeaway is, the final draft isn’t just a leaner script, it has a clear message, and a focused story.

The golden rule of screenwriting is to cut whatever doesn’t move the narrative forward. A chunky description isn’t necessary to describe a scene, endless exposition isn’t the best way to develop your characters. And finally, always remember to enter the story at the latest possible point and get out as quickly as you can without confusing the audience. Every piece of your screenplay needs to count towards the bigger picture.

Make It Work

Remember, a screenplay is like a puzzle. If a piece is missing, then you cannot complete it; likewise, if you have too many pieces that aren’t necessary, they only get in the way. If you don’t make the cuts, the studio which purchases your script will likely cut them along with a lot more. Studios are notorious for changing screenplays drastically before the movie is made. Below are a few notable movies that changed drastically before being made.

As long as a screenwriter knows the key components of a screenplay, they can just fill in the blanks with their ideas and write a clear final draft!

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries, he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Tags Final draft, Page to stage, plot point, plotting, screen writing, screenplay differs from novel, screenwriting

Uncategorized Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Appreciate the Little Things

Post author By Martin Johnson
Post date November 29, 2022
1 Comment on Appreciate the Little Things

As I spent Thanksgiving by myself this year, I had some time to reflect on not just 2022, but my life since my accident. Part of me grieved the things I lost due to my disability. Those things aren’t in my life for a reason; I gained new skills and insights that appeal to me more now.

I purposely choose not to entertain things I used to enjoy because I know it would only disappoint and depress me more now. If I choose to focus on what I cannot do, I become bitter and ungrateful. Instead, I choose to concentrate on what I can do and try to get better at it.

Because not everyone in life gets a second chance, last month a childhood friend died in an accident, leaving behind his new wife and children. I can choose to grieve forever or learn to be grateful for the gift of today that I have.

” When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. “
Philosopher Marcus Aurelius

I have learned to be grateful for the small victories since my accident. Things that I once took for granted until I lost them.

Being able to smile.
Eating on my own
Simply walking

For a disabled person, it’s the small victories that give us hope, bigger goals are more challenging and harder to accomplish. After relearning how to talk and smile, I was content not to return to college or my old life, I chose to focus on the simple things of life.

Appreciate the Little Things

Audre Lorde stated, “We are all more blind to what we have than to what we have not.” Before my accident I was so busy with getting from school to work and having a social life that I never bothered to tie or untie my shoes, I just slipped my feet in and out.

I took for granted that I could tie my shoes and chose not to until I had to tie my shoestrings. It two weeks for me to retrain my left hand to tie and untie my shoes, and button and unbutton my shirts. Still to this day, it takes me more time to accomplish those tasks than the average person.

Brain injuries affect people’s fine-tuned motor skills drastically, so we must celebrate the little things that we can accomplish. The same principle applies to our writing careers. We will never achieve our goals without first making small achievements because we won’t be prepared for the bigger picture of a writing career.

Below are some small steps writers can take from author Jerry B Jenkins

Don’t wait to call yourself a writer.
Don’t quit.
Write from your passions.
Work at it every day.
Create your water’s website.
Look for opportunities.
Seek like-minded writers.
Network, network, network.
Focus

Jerry Jenkins also advises writers to never start their careers with big projects like a book, they start with smaller projects like articles, reviews, or a blog. One of the takeaways I learned from going through rehab is to start with smaller goals before attempting larger tasks.

Large endeavors can be too physically or mentally overwhelming for persons with brain injuries before they are ready to attempt them. Smaller victors keep us motivated and help us get stronger in the process.

Before trying to walk after my accident, I had to do physical therapy in my hospital bed and work my way up to trying to stand for certain periods. A month and a half of lying flat on your back causes the body and muscles to become weak.

I can still remember the excitement and gratitude I felt the first time I was able to walk from my bed to a chair in my room. After months of getting around only a wheelchair, I was very grateful to be walking again.

“The best way to show my gratitude is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.”
Mother Teresa

Grateful

As I look back to those months following my accident, I am grateful for the hard times I went through, because not only did they make me stronger, they help me realize how much of a gift the simple things in life are.

Cartoonist Bill Keane said it best, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” Trust me, I no longer take for granted the simple little tasks of life. I learned to appreciate what most people don’t think twice about.

I have to work twice as hard to do what most people can do without putting much thought into it. I have fallen and failed a lot, but I understand disappointments and setbacks show us where we need to get stronger and improve.

This year I didn’t achieve my main goals of landing an agent or getting a book contract, but I can still celebrate the small victories.

A couple of my achievements from this past year:

Attending another writing conference and speaking in a class about my book.
Publishing my first article for Focus on the Family.
Growing my YouTube channel to over 1000 subscribers (over 450 new this year to date).
Growing my Twitter account to over 3000 followers.
Getting a chance to speak on PJnet.tv.

These victories may not be all I wanted for this year, but they are special and I consider them a gift that I even had the opportunity. Nothing in this life is guaranteed, so I urge everyone to treat each day like it is a gift.

“Life is precious, and when you’ve lost a lot of people, you realize each day is a gift.” Sometimes the best gifts come when we learn to appreciate the little things.
Meryl Streep

Tags appreciate the little things, Writing with a Dis-ability, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

Pumping the Brakes

This month I want to continue talking about the importance of pacing and screenwriting. I want to emphasize that pacing a story isn’t just necessary for action movies which tend to move quickly on the screen.

All genres of stories need to have an appropriate rhythm and flow of information at just the right time to help the audience understand and the narrative flow smoothly. There are a few devices writers employ to help regulate the pace of the narrative. Below are three common tools writers use:

Pauses
Breaks
Beats (not story beats)

I want to clarify that “beat” isn’t the same as a section of a story, but a brief pause in dialogue or action. These tools aren’t meant to stop or hinder the narrative, but to make it stronger by adding another layer.

If you’ve ever studied a produced professional screenplay, you’ve seen that there is a balance of “whitespace” with text. When reading a screenplay, large blocks of dialogue or descriptions can slow the reader down, the whitespace helps the eyes follow the story without becoming lost or overwhelmed by the text.

Seasoned writers have learned how to “break” their stories to help set specific acts, dialogue, or actions apart from others. Imagine yourself driving and wanting to slow down so you don’t miss your turn or the place of interest you want to see, seasoned drivers understand how to pump the brakes.

Pumping the Brakes

In life, momentum can work against or for us. Sometimes we get so focused on pursuing one thing, we miss out on the small things in life and sometimes that’s what we should have been paying attention to in the first place.

The same principle works in music, sometimes we get so caught up in the rhythm of the song, we neglect listening to the words. If you’ve ever sung or read music, you know songs aren’t made up of just a bunch of notes, there are time signatures and “rests” strategically placed within the song that gives it its unique sound.

Furthermore, not all notes are held for the same length of time, same goes for rests. Musicians know there is no music in a “rest”, but there is the making of music in it. Musical rests help emphasize the notes to come or the preceding notes.

Think about some of your favorite love songs and if you remember those rests, listen to Whitney or Celine. This brings me to the whole purpose of this post, pacing isn’t just important for action movies, pumping the brakes is even more important for dramas, sci-fi, and fantasy films. Romantic movies build tension by slowing the story instead of rushing into love. Fantasies build ministry and suspense by making the audience wait for the unexpected. Below are some scenes from some of my favorite movies where the writers pump the brakes to make the scenes and stories more powerful.

As you can see and hear how powerful pauses in dialogue and action help build intensity into a scene or even just a beat of it. Pumping the brakes also allows the audience to participate in the story by letting them use their own imaginations.

Remember, pacing controls the flow of information on the screen and even their subtext. We don’t want to give away too much information before the narrative comes to a satisfying end.

Endings

To go back to our driving-a-car analogy, sometimes it’s the journey to the destination that makes the final stop worthwhile. Drivers need to know where they are going and how much gas they have in the tank to make sure they get there without running out of fuel.

In the same way, writers can use their momentum to get from plot point to plot point without running out of gas or overshooting the destination. As I end this post on pacing, I want to clarify how exactly writers “write” pauses into their screenplays. Never write the term “beat” because there is more than one use for the term and screenwriting. Below are three common approaches to adding pauses to a screenplay

(Pause)
Ellipses (…)
A brief action line to break up the dialogue or thought

Just like there are different ways to indicate a pause in a screenplay, writers approach pacing differently, some pause on the fly during their writing process; while others don’t finalize a script’s pacing until they work on the final draft by adding the aforementioned elements into the story after it’s been plotted. Once you know where your story is going, it can be easier to know when to pump the brakes!

Tags action beats, favorite movies, Page to stage, pauses, scenes, scenes from favorite movies, screenwriting, slow the tempo

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Fear Factor

As I write this month’s post, I am waiting to hear back from agents and publishers to whom I sent book proposals. While I am playing the waiting game, I cannot help but notice how my writer friends post about how busy they are.

”A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”
Thomas Mann

It seems there are three seasons in a writer’s life: writing, waiting, and all hands on deck busy. While waiting, we can write, build our platform, and follow up on proposals sent out. To be honest, I’ve procrastinated on writing and sending my follow-ups. In a way I felt safe not knowing, I didn’t want to have to face my writing fears.

Fear of rejection
Fear of being too overbearing and unprofessional
Fear of waiting

Living with a brain injury, I already have enough things I need to focus on daily. I pay close attention to my health for changes in my mental and physical health. Depression isn’t the only side effect of brain injuries.

Survivors also deal with an inability to focus or OCD tendencies, and physical limitations. We also have irrational and uncontrollable emotions that can come from nowhere. To be transparent, I have to work on these things daily.

In addition to not being able to control my thoughts and emotions, my biggest fear is having a seizure and losing control of my body. Fortunately, I have learned what can trigger seizures for me and can avoid them to lower my seizure threshold. It has been over a decade since I had my last seizure, but the fear is still very real today as it was then. Fear can help us or hinder us.

Fear Factor

Fear is a common reality everyone must deal with at some point in life. But instead of avoiding fear, we can learn from it. Fear is an emotional or mental response to anything that may harm us.

Fear begins in the amygdala; this small organ in the center of your brain goes to work warning your nervous system.

“This leads to bodily changes that prepare us to be more efficient in dangerous situations: The brain becomes hyper-alert, pupils dilate, the bronchi dilate and breathing accelerates. Heart rate and blood pressure rise. Blood flow and stream of glucose to the skeletal muscles increase. Organs not vital in survival such as the gastrointestinal system slow down.”
Arash Javanbakht and Linda Saab, Smithsonian Magazine

So fear is our mind and body’s attempt to protect us, don’t be ashamed of having fears. We each have different triggers and must learn from them.

In school I had a friend who had a seizure while she was in the shower; I remember listening to her about how scared she was. She learned that she’d developed type I diabetes which caused her seizure. She learned about managing her diabetes and hasn’t had any more seizures.

When we learn about what scares us, our fear can prepare us to take precautions to keep us safe. Life can be scary for us all at times regardless of being disabled or not. Writers also have fears since the writing life isn’t an easy career path. Below are some of the most common fears writers have:

Fear of rejection
Fear of not being good enough
Fear of criticism
Fear of Success
Fear of inadequacy

What we can control is how we are going to deal with our fears. I could let my fear of seizures scare me to the point where I remain stationary and never drive or do anything productive.

Instead, I chose to learn more about brain injuries and seizures and then make the necessary changes in my life. I chose to be proactive, instead of reactive, to deal with my fears.

Deal with It

Fear can be dealt with in one of two ways, by avoiding it or attacking it. At the beginning of the pandemic, the popular cliché was, “Faith over fear,” the whole concept was confusing for me, why is faith necessary, if we don’t have any fears? Instead of dealing with fear many used faith as a means to avoid it. The absence of fear isn’t faith, it’s denial!

I learned from my neuropsychologist that it is better to deal with my fears than to deny them. Again, fear begins in the brain and it can raise our stress levels, neither of which is good for a person with a brain injury.

Instead, I learned to study and pay attention to the things that scare me, in the process making them less frightening, and learned how to appreciate the small victories. I can use my faith to help me handle and live with my fears, but not avoid them. That is not beneficial for me. Writers too can learn how to deal with the fears of the writing life. Below are a few tips from The Write Practice on how writers can overcome their fears of writing.

Do what scares you
Stop procrastinating
Learn from criticism
Embrace the fear of writing

I highly encourage you to go to The Write Practice and read the full list to help you deal with your writing fears. Remember it is healthy to have fears, as long as we learn how to deal with them productively.

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Ernest Hemmingway

I have learned to deal with many fears by living with a disability for over 25 years. Every writer will have to face their unique fears at some point. I want to close by encouraging you to leave a comment for this post about some of your writing fears and how you have overcome them in your life. Hopefully, this will help others deal with their fear factors!

Tags faith over fear, fear, overcoming challenges, Overcoming doubt, Overcoming fear, Writing with a disability, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

Slow Your Roll

Labor Day weekend, I finally decided to go see the action movie Top Gun: Maverick. It seemed like a great way to escape from reality for a few hours; Robert McKee notes, “Action movies are the most popular genre currently.”

Even Disney is banking on the trend with its Star Wars and Marvel franchises. It’s no wonder this was the perfect time to finally make the long-awaited sequel to the original Top Gun. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be swept away by a more than a typical action movie. Below are some unexpected qualities of the movie.

A superb character arc
An in-depth romantic subplot

One of my favorite parts of the movie was how the writers expanded on a romantic relationship that was only briefly mentioned in the original movie 30 years ago. In fact, later I had to go back and re-watch the original movie to see where the romantic lead came from.

The writer masterfully intertwined the romantic subplot with both the action and Maverick’s character arc, which in the process, slowed the pace of this full-throttle action movie!

Slow Your Roll

Whether a novelist, screenwriter, or storyteller, you need to understand the concept of pacing.

“Pace begins in the screenplay. We control rhythm and tempo. Progressions must be shaped, for if we don’t, the film editor will.”
Robert McKee

Pacing a story is critical to maintaining the audience’s attention and the focus of our story. As writers, we cannot unpack too much information at one time, because this will overwhelm the audience.

Good writers understand how to pace their stories to help build expectations and momentum. According to Masterclass, narrative pacing refers to . . .

“How fast or slow the story is moving for the reader. This is determined by the length of a scene and the speed at which you, the writer, distribute the information. Generally speaking, descriptive passages tend to slow things down, while dialogue and action scenes speed things up — but slowing the pace of action down at choice moments can also build suspense.”

Seven Tips to Master Pacing

Utilize breathers.
Change the order of events.
Vary your sentence length.
Keep characters physically moving during dialogue.
Reveal information selectively.
Vary your narration.
Read the work out loud.

“A screenplay is different than a novel in this respect: Whereas most novels are written in the past tense, a screenplay is in the present tense.”
Screenwriting coach Scott Myers

Pacing controls the ebb and flow of a story by controlling the story’s present action. Below are a couple of movies whose pacing helps the audience hold on despite continuous fast-paced action scenes. The goal is to tell a story and pace it to balance the action.

Whiplash

The dark Knight

Kung Fu Hustle

Hold On

Good writers know a story’s pace builds both momentum and anticipation of what the audience wants or expects. We must grab their attention as soon as possible and make sure we keep it all the way to the end of our story. Pacing helps us to keep from exposition or emotional dumps that can cause viewers to tune out. Two tools that screenwriters can use to help pace a story are:

Pause
Beats

Remember, you don’t want to stop momentum of the narrative by either slowing down or speeding up. This is the purpose of writers learning to control a story’s pace.

Tags character arc, pacing, present tense, screenplay differs from novel, screenwriting, story thythm and tempo, tips to master pacing

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

S.A.D.

For almost half a year, I have gone through another rough season in my life. I have left a church home of almost a decade and lost friends. Additionally, I have developed more health issues that affect my daily activities. All the while, still trying to work on numerous writing projects and still awaiting a response to book proposals I sent out earlier this year. Needless to say, I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed. But I know I am not alone because the writing life comes with its anxieties.

Feeling overworked
People issues
Work-life balance
Job security

Each of these can easily disorient a writer as we try to communicate through our art, the written word. When we can’t get the words out and express ourselves, it affects every aspect of our lives both professionally and personally. And since this month is national suicide prevention, I want to address it.

Looming deadlines and careless typos further frustrate us, writers. It’s no wonder, a recent study found that writers have a greater risk of experiencing depression. Author and psychologist Rollo May notes, “All people are struggling to be creative in some way, and the artist is the one who has succeeded in this task of life.” Personally, as summer comes to an end and the days get shorter, I am more prone to feeling depressed due to S.A.D.

S.A.D.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, S.A.D. stands for seasonal affective disorder and is a type of seasonal depression disorder that causes a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, feeling hopeless, and even suicidal thoughts.

Although fall is one of my favorite times of the year, I sometimes dread it. SAD exacerbates the depression, inability to focus, and lack of energy as well as other difficulties of living with a traumatic brain injury. When there is less sunlight and time in the day to be active, there can be less to look forward to.

Tips from Active Beat for those who struggle with SAD

Exercise regularly
Make social plans
Plan a trip
Soak up the sun as often as possible
Let the light in
Light box therapy
Consider seeing a therapist
Make room for ‘me’ time
Avoid overloading on carbohydrates
Take medication if needed

“Depression is one of the most common problems associated with TBIs. Studies show that about half of the people who experience a TBI will suffer from depression during the first year after injury. About two-thirds of people with a TBI will suffer from depression within seven years of the accident. Some studies have also shown an increased risk for suicide and suicidal ideations in the first few years after a TBI.”
Study.com,

Couple that with an increased risk of mood disorders among creatives and you have a recipe for disaster. It’s hard to survive when you cannot focus enough to be productive. When you deal with depression, regardless of the cause, it is helpful to stay active. There are many benefits to keeping our bodies moving, for writers, disabled persons, and even the average person.

A recent study on walking regularly at a pace that gets your heart rate up can decrease your risk of developing dementia later in life. There is an obvious connection between physical activity and brain activity. Writers need to keep writing to harness the power of the brain and their creative muscles.

In the early days after my accident my biggest fear was losing my ability to walk again. Every time I suffer a seizure, that fear returns because seizures exhaust my body and brain to the point where I cannot walk. The old adage is true,” Use it or lose it!”

Use It!

We all know how fear, anxiety, and depression can stifle our inspiration as writers. However, just like with a disability we cannot let them keep us from writing. When disabled persons fail to use their muscles, atrophy sets in which causes the muscles to deteriorate. Constantly working creative muscles help strengthen them so we can keep going when we do lack inspiration. Don’t worry if you’re feeling sad and uninspired now, you’re in good company. Successful creatives have pressed on through tough seasons and become stronger.

Vincent van Gogh
Charles Dickens
Virginia Woolf
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

We can find encouragement in knowing we are not alone in our fight to remain creative and optimistic. Every successful creative has faced obstacles at some point on the journey, I know it is scary, but there’s no reason to be sad!

Tags Depression, keeping mind and body active, S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder), Suicide prevention month, writing, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

SubPlots

Last month, I decided to go back and work on an updated version of my original award-winning inspirational screenplay I wrote years ago. I wanted to make sure that my main message was clear and that the plot was unimpeded by needless exposition.

I wanted to make sure the script was as polished as possible before approaching literary managers who could help me navigate my screenwriting career. This update is a step in the right direction for my career. As I’ve stated before, rewriting is writing. Rewriting serves a few functions:

Finding typos and grammatical errors.
Refining a script’s message.
Tweaking subplots.

Subplots In Storytelling

Often screenwriters become so involved going from point A to B in their plot line, that they end up making their story shallow and one-dimensional. Life is not a simple journey; life is made richer by the obstacles we overcome, quiet seemingly insignificant moments, and surprising unplanned moments.

Real life is as much introspective as it is an outward journey. Subplots are a great literary tool for revealing inner conflict or desires. The two worlds interact to make up what we call our life. Sometimes there is more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye.

In storytelling, a subplot is defined as a side narrative that supports the main storyline by adding layers of complexity to it. They can be standalone stories by themselves but work better by adding elements such as back story and details about minor characters which help to enhance the main story’s characters.

In my screenplays, I have used subplots to introduce or set up my protagonist’s disability/inner desire. In my first screenplay, my protagonist’s desire to be loved leads him to all of the wrong places, ultimately leaving him with a brain injury. His pursuit of love becomes his motivation to endure being disabled in hopes of finding true love.

I use a romantic subplot in all of my screenplays because at heart, I am a hopeless romantic myself. There are many forms and approaches to subplots in storytelling. Below are four types of subplots from Masterclass.com.

Mirror subplot: A smaller-scale conflict mirrors the main characters to teach them a valuable lesson or how to resolve the conflict.
Contrasting subplot: A secondary character faces similar circumstances and dilemmas as the main character but makes different decisions.
Complicating subplot: A secondary character makes matters worse for the main character.
Romantic subplot: The main character has a love interest, and this relationship complicates the main plot.

When using subplots, it is critical to make sure that they enhance the stories main plot and don’t confuse the audience.

“Subplots may be used to resonate the control and idea of the sensual plot and enrich the film with variations on a theme.”
Robert McKee

if your subplots are too controlling or don’t enhance your story, it is best to cut them to save space. Remember every page is valuable real estate in your screenplay. Script readers and your audience will lose interest if there are too many ideas battling for their attention. Subplots can be used as building blocks of your narrative’s plot and as the fuel to keep it going.

Keep It Moving!

Keep in mind, that movies are a form of visual storytelling, however, too much action or information will have the same effect as looking at the sun, and the audience won’t be able to focus or see the bigger picture of your story.

They may even become frustrated or agitated, when they can’t follow your story, they feel like they are watching a Ping-Pong match and cannot see the ball. Talented writers know how to use subplots to help set the pacing of the story without diminishing it or confusing the audience. Below are a few of my favorite films with obvious subplots that didn’t overpower the rest of the story.

These storytellers have mastered the art of weaving subplots into stories to help pace them.

“The best tip I know is to use subplots to enhance the pacing of the film overall.”
Robert McKee

Stories may be all about the characters or the plot, but they are enhanced by the subplot.

Tags Plots, screenwriting, subplots

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Plateaus

Lately, I’ve been battling a tremendous amount of brain fog. I’ve been distracted by personal issues while dealing with physical ailments. Sometimes it feels like I’m taking more steps backward in life than I am making progress.

Life after suffering a TBI/stroke is measured by making progress, which takes time. The recovery process feels like an endless cycle of lows and plateaus. Some days are easier to function, while others are a fight just to get out of bed. Below are a few tips from persons who are plateauing in their recovery after injury.

Track your progress to make sure you are plateauing.
Stay motivated.
Make training a priority.
Join a support group.
Try something new, a plateau can be an opportunity.

Recently, I was heartbroken to see on the news the little leaguer who fell out of bed and suffered a brain injury. He now motivates other kids in his recovery process and even encouraged his younger brother to take his place at the Little League World Series!

“Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.”
Jim Ryan

Consistency is key to creating any habit. As writers, we must remain consistent in our writing, especially when we don’t feel like writing. Writer’s block is another name for a writing plateau.

Writers Block

We all, at some point, have hit a wall in our writing. Professionals and newbies alike experience plateaus. According to WritinGeekery, there are four basic types of writer’s block (plateaus): perfection anxiety, burnout, nothing good is coming out, and lack of inspiration without burnout. Chances are, your wall (writer’s block) lies in one of these four areas.

Ironically the best way to break through a writing plateau is to write.

“The best way in the world for breaking up a writer’s block is to write a lot.”
John Gardner

But how do we do it?

7 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block

Step away from whatever you’re writing and do something creative: The key is to keep exercising the creative part of your brain and eventually, you’ll tap back into the flow of writing.
Do freewriting: Spend 15 minutes a day writing whatever comes off of the top of your head. Don’t worry about grammar and punctuation, just write.
Move your body: Dance or exercise. This may sound funny but when you get your body into a flow, your mind follows.
Eliminate distractions: Giving yourself time and space to be in solitude is important to staying focused.
Write early in the morning: When you first wake up in the morning, your brain is in Theta mode, the brainwave pattern that your mind is when you dream.
Write while you sleep: Your subconscious mind is always problem-solving, even when you’re sleeping.
If nothing else works, I resort to my number one lethal weapon to cure writer’s block: the glass of water technique: before you go to bed, fill up a glass with water. Hold it up and speak an intention into the water.

“The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting. The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.”
J.K. Rawlings

Don’t let the fear of failure paralyze you.

After living with a brain injury for almost 26 years, I have learned to be creative in how I deal with my plateaus. Depression is the most common side effect of brain injuries. Due to the nature of my depression being a head injury, I choose not to take any medications for treatment, I choose to listen to my doctors and practice my faith. It is faith that has helped me handle life setbacks without medication. That is how I have chosen to break through my writing plateaus.

Breakthroughs

“Breaking through writer’s block is like thinking outside of the box: Both require an ability to imagine a world outside your four walls or rearranging them to get a better view.”
Susan J McIntyre

In life, focus is critical to staying on target, whether as a TBI survivor or as a writer. Too many stimulants can be overwhelming, especially for somebody with a brain injury. My ears are super sensitive to loud sounds; even soft sounds can disrupt my ability to focus.

It is hard to break through a plateau when we’re not 100% focused. At times, I was paralyzed by the pain of loud noises, that wouldn’t bother the average person.

Harmful side effects of sound on the human brain.

Your brain becomes inflamed
Your mood darkens
Your immune system weakens
Your focus goes out the window
You may have difficulty sleeping

I’ve learned the importance of a good night’s sleep and getting the rest from living with a brain injury. While the length of time to recover from brain injury is different for everyone, the amount of sleep we each need isn’t. Overstimulating the brain is a clear factor in hitting a writing plateau.

Tags plateaus, Staying motivated, writing plateaus, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

Plot Driven Story Telling

Post author By Martin Johnson
Post date August 5, 2022
No Comments on Plot Driven Story Telling

Recently I began working on a new screenplay project I pitched to a management team. For almost a year now, I’ve known the concept of the story, but for my pitch, I needed to break down some specifics.

Message/theme
character sketches
plot points

My focus for this project hinged on specific plot points, not only to set up my story but to develop my character and the conflict he will face; which would eventually lead to a satisfying conclusion that demonstrated my message.

Although my story focuses on one main character and his arc, the narrative is driven by a specific plot with unique twists. In a sense, this story is more focused on the plot and how it changes my character, his relationships, and his outlook on life. The plot points are critical to the telling of the story and that makes this project plot-driven.

Plot-Driven Storytelling

In the early days of filmmaking, the plot took center stage. Meaning, the plot gets more emphasis over character development; which allows plot twists, fantastic worlds, and breathtaking action to take center stage. Remember, the plot is simply a sequence of events that a character encounters as they progress from point A to point B in your story.

Laurie R. King noted, “In silent films, quite complex plots are built around action, setting, and the actors’ gestures and facial expressions, with very few storyboards to nail down specific plot points.”

Plot-driven stories still have amazing characters for the audience to connect with; however, this approach shows more of what the characters do, rather than who they are and what they think.

This is why plot-driven storytelling works well for movies; it allows the audience to see the action and fantastic worlds the characters live in. It is especially helpful for fantasy and mystery narratives.

Examples of Plot-Driven Movies

Keep in mind any of these films would still work with different characters going on the journey from point A to point B. Plot-driven movies focus more on the action, plot points move the characters in the story forward more than the characters themselves.

“Mysteries and thrillers are not the same things, though they are literary siblings. Roughly put, I would say the distinction is that mysteries emphasize motive and psychology whereas thrillers rely more heavily on action and plot.”
Jon Meacham

It is the action of the plot that propels a narrative towards its conclusion.

Moving on

As the plot advances our narrative, ideally our character/characters will change in the process. Plot-driven stories often have more revelations or questions for the characters to deal with, driving the story further ahead.

“There’s almost always a point in a book where something happens that triggers the rest of the plot.”
Novelist Jonathan Carroll

Plot-driven stories are unique because they shape our character during the narrative, as opposed to the character shaping the plot.

Tips From masterclass.com on How to Write Plot-Driven Stories

Focus on external conflict – If you are attempting to write a plot-driven story it’s important to focus on external conflict as opposed to inward conflict as the action that drives your story forward. Internal conflict often takes place within a character and serves character-driven narratives well. External conflict, on the other hand, requires multiple forces and helps to build a driving plot.
Carefully outline plot points – Plot-driven stories require a tight and well develop story structure and a logical sequence. Plot is not something you find on the pages as you write. It requires a large amount of planning and foresight. You should have a detailed view of your major plot lines and arcs before you begin any plot-driven story.
Develop high-concept plots -High-concept stories are widely accessible storylines with clear and communicable plots. These stories are often found in screenwriting and film. Screenwriters use a high-concept plot as the driving force in a thriller or other plot-driven film. These premises are a good place to start for a plot-driven story.
Include plot twists – A good story should subvert audience expectations by including multiple subplots and unexpected storylines. Once you have a cohesive plot drawn out, think about ways you can surprise your reader and push back what they expect in a story by introducing a plot twist.

Ideally, these tips will change our character all the while advancing our plot towards a satisfying conclusion. Plot points change our character, reveal truth, and subplots in plot-driven storytelling!

Tags Plot, plot driven vs character driven stories, plot twists, plot-driven story, screenwriting

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Strong Writing

Seventeen years ago I wrote my first blog on Myspace, back then I had no idea what I was doing; and not just technically, as an English major I knew how to write. But as a writer, I didn’t know what I wanted to write about or who my target audience was. Since then a lot of things have changed.

I’ve studied the craft more.
I’ve focused my writing.
I’ve embraced my disability and the struggles that come with it.

Understanding the craft improves writing in many ways: it helps us communicate more clearly, it refines our message, and it helps us target our audience. After I posted my latest blog on my website (which is another big change, I have my own website), a fellow writer messaged me and said, “Your writing is bold.” Bold writing is strong communication.

Strong Writing.

Strong writing holds our attention, is concise and to the point. A writer has “trimmed the fat,” cutting out all the extra words, and has a clear core message that comes through in the writer’s unique voice.

Unfortunately, most new writers get stuck in an information dump approach, have so much to say but fail to organize it and give the writing focus. They just put all of their thoughts on the page and expect the audience to dig through the adjectives, adverbs, and fluffy talk and walk away with a clear understanding.

After my accident, I was so determined to get back to life as I once knew it; I failed to listen to my therapists and neglected their training. Along the way, I failed to strengthen my muscles and fell a lot more than I walked.

Strong writing is developed over time, like muscles; we have to work our writing muscles before we can have strong writing.

“A word after a word after a word is power.”
Margaret Atwood

A good idea and determination only get us so far on our writing journey. Good writers have strong writing skills. They listen and they read. Reading teaches us the characteristics of strong writing.

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
Stephen King

Below are some tips on improving your writing from Marbella International University.

Make writing a daily exercise.
Read, Read, and read some more.
Be Succinct.
Never underestimate the power of a thorough editing session.
Develop a clear message.
Sit down and write.

Whether its physical rehabilitation or rehabilitation for substance abuse, the motto is, “You have to do the work!” You don’t just go back to life until you get stronger in your area of weakness. There are assessments to test what a person can and cannot handle.

The goal is to get better and not simply get by.

Writers need to honestly test their writing muscles and hone their writing voice. Getting stronger doesn’t come from being lazy and staying in our comfort zones. Writers and disabled persons cannot become complacent on their journey. There are no easy paths to publication.

Getting Stronger Takes Work.

Often, when the journey gets tough, a lot of people give up instead of letting the journey make them stronger. I can relate, there were so many times in the early stages of my rehabilitation that I wanted to just get stronger and not struggle anymore. But then my muscles wouldn’t have gotten stronger.

When we fail to do the work, our physical muscles can atrophy. This means our muscles literally deteriorate causing further delay in the recovery process. This is why nurses and physical therapists keep disabled persons active and motivated to continue the journey.

When writers struggle in the craft, they too want to give up or simply plateau in their career. Many writers never find their “voice” because they simply stopped working their writing muscles or they try too much to mimic other writers instead of concentrating on their journey.

Below are a few tips from Writers Digest for finding and strengthening your unique writing voice.

Dictation-Refers to your choice of words. Words affect the reader’s experience when they are chosen with purpose. For example, instead of saying house, consider using the word mansion, cottage, or Victorian.
Details- Include the facts, observations, and specific moments you choose to share in your story or essay. You can enhance the reader’s experience by choosing concrete details.
Imagery – Adds an extra layer to your prose through sensory details. These sensory details evoke a vivid experience for the reader. The tools at your disposal are the five senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. Using these, you can trigger pleasant or unpleasant emotions, create confusion or surprise, or be provocative—all through your choice of images.
Syntax –Is the order of your words, which creates the rhythm of your piece. You can manage this effect by varying your sentence length.
Tone- reveals your underlying attitude toward the characters/people and situations in your writing and your story’s/essay’s subject matter.

Strong writing muscles and voice only come by putting in the hard work. Easy isn’t always a good, because easy makes us lazy and causes our writing to plateau. It’s the struggles of the journey that makes us stronger. It is a difficult process to develop strong writing!

Tags Strong writing, writing clear and concise, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

Character Driven Storytelling

Post author By Martin Johnson
Post date July 4, 2022
No Comments on Character Driven Storytelling

Powerful stories make a strong impression on our audience. These stories bring change in our audience through the changes within the story themselves. Below are the common approaches to storytelling.

Verbal
Graphic
Cinematic

Cinematic storytelling is told through the reenactment (dramatization) of events on screen. It uses the conventions of film to tell a story through actors both visually and audibly.

“Don’t write about a character. Become that character, and then write your story.”
New York Times best-selling author, Ethan Canin

Screenwriting dramatizes a story in one of two ways, plot-driven or character-driven storytelling.

Character-Driven

Simply put, character-driven storytelling puts more emphasis on the characters (thoughts, arcs, and character changes). Ideally, the audience will be able to relate and find themselves in the story.

“There’s a magic to being present when you’re writing a character.”
Reid Carolin

This approach allows the audience to see a character’s flaws, fears, and desires. As you can guess, this will increase the impact of the message and make your overall story more powerful. Below are a few popular character-driven movies:

In each of the above examples, we can see the changes—internal or external—in the protagonists. Our goal is to connect with our audience and hopefully inspire them to change as well.

Robert McKee warns, “All stories are ‘character-driven.’ Event design and character design mirror each other. Character cannot be expressed in depth except through the design of story.” All stories revolve around our characters, but character-driven stories are more focused on the change within our characters during the storytelling process.

Our approach to storytelling can be determined by our goal of telling the story in the first place. Why do you want to tell these particular characters’ stories and what benefit will it be to them and our audience as well? Writers have to know their endgame—their purpose for telling a story.

Know Your Purpose

“It’s not until you really throw your character into the story that you can genuinely understand who they are.”
Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director, Elijah Bynum

Before you write your first word, know the purpose of your story. Storytelling is a form of communication, and we each have something unique and special to share. Perhaps it’s personal, cultural, or maybe a universal issue that will connect with others. Below are some common topics writers use in their storytelling:

Social issues (climate justice, health care, racial injustice, gun violence).
Love
Good versus evil
Perseverance
Hope against all odds
Inspirational stories

In my case, I choose to tell stories about characters with disabilities or special needs, how they change on their journey and how they affect the worlds in which they live within my stories. Your story’s message will direct your story, whether it’s plot-driven or character-driven storytelling.

Tags character driven plot, cinematic storytelling, screenwriting, storytelling

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Challenges!

Earlier this month I faced the daunting challenge of driving home from a whirlwind five-day writer’s conference. Although I was excited about the connections I made and the new information I learned, I was exhausted from getting less sleep than I normally do.

I cannot over emphasize how important it is for persons with disabilities to rest. The lack of sleep was having an impact on my brain.. My eyes wouldn’t focus. My left hand felt number. I couldn’t think clearly.

Times like these can be pretty scary for persons with disabilities, even when the person seems normal, they are facing numerous internal challenges nobody ever knows about except for them.

I knew that I needed to get off of the highway before something bad happened, so I pulled into the parking lot of a dealership outside of Asheville North Carolina. After that brief pause, I was able to get back on the highway and continue on home. Sometimes, we have to hit Pause when we began to face challenges.

Below are a few common benefits of taking breaks from Psychology Today.

Movement breaks are essential for your physical and emotional health.
Breaks can prevent “ decision fatigue.
Breaks restore motivation, especially for long-term goals.
Breaks increase productivity and creativity.
Waking ”rest” helps consolidate memories and improve learning.

Medical science shows that taking breaks helps us better handle the challenges of everyday life; perhaps, more so for the challenge of the writing life.

Challenges

You don’t have to be disabled to face challenges in life, they are a part of life. The pandemic has taken challenges in life to a whole new level. Life is pretty stressful for all of us these days thanks to the challenges of our new normal.

Listed below, according to the International Psychology Clinic, are the ten most common problems we face in life:

Health Crisis
Workplace issues
Emptiness
Friendship issues
Failure
Financial crisis
Career pressure
Unfair treatment
Inner peace
Mental health issues

The writing life comes with its unique challenges: learning the craft, creating ideas, building a platform, finding agents or publishers, and marketing/promoting your publications.

Rest assured, no matter how good your book is, you will face challenges at some point in your writing journey. This is why the best writers are prepared for it.

Preparation

Preparation is a big part of being successful. Most of us want to skip the challenging phase and go straight to life on the mountain top, but we’d miss the most important parts of the journey of life.

We fail to build our life muscles when we shortcut the journey. We also fail to find a support group when we’re struggling. After my accident, I foolishly thought I was able to do everything I once could before I sustained my brain injury. I didn’t want to do the work to get back to where I used to be. And I only encountered more hardship because of my desire to succeed.

The first step in any recovery process, whether physical, mental or substance is to first admit you have a problem and need help. We don’t have to face these challenges alone and we definitely don’t need to avoid them.

After my accident, I had to see a neuropsychologist to help me deal with the psychological aspect of living with a traumatic brain injury. Once I was out of the hospital, I began going to support groups for alcoholics, these are the places where I got the support I needed to navigate the challenges I faced in life at the time.

Traumatic brain injury survivors must go through a series of rigorous tests that challenge them before they can start a rehabilitation routine. It’s imperative to learn what challenges they have to live with and how to handle them. Years later, I still have to take specific tests with my annual exam to determine where I’m at in my recovery.

The areas tested include:

Cognitive
Physical
Visual
Emotional

I learned from author Jerry B. Jenkins that no writer starts at the top in their writing journey. Before they can ever write a book, they need to start out with smaller tasks to get stronger in the craft.

“Don’t try to become a writer until you’ve: studied the craft, written things smaller than a book, joined a community of writers, start building your platform.”
Jerry B. Jenkins

These are the steps writers must take to get stronger and be prepared for the challenges ahead!

Tags benefits of rest, life challenges, Takiing time to rest, writing life, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

Powerful Storytelling

Movies are sometimes regarded as the most powerful form of communication. Although they are primarily visible, their reach goes beyond what see and touches our senses. Below are four more ways a movie communicates with the audience.

Audible
Emotional
Visual
Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication is a delicate art. It is recognized in the subtext of the story and it allows the audience to fill in the blanks. Many writers often struggle with this aspect of screenwriting.

A great script is focused on telling a powerful story that touches the audience in each area of communication. The more senses a writer can stimulate, the clearer the message of the narrative and it grabs the audience’s attention.

Last month I mentioned how clutter can slow down a story. This month I want to focus on how saying more by writing less, helps convey a more powerful story.

Powerful Storytelling!

Many moviegoers pay to see a movie just for entertainment, but I believe there is a subconscious desire to learn or be enlightened from another perspective. Human beings are complex creations and have an innate ability to be curious. This is why we have the 5W’s (who, what, when, why, where) and a writer who want to make an impact, answers these in their story.

For me, the 5W’s are seen through the perspective of disabled or vulnerable persons and to inspire and educate others. However, I want to do it in an entertaining way, but that aspect isn’t the ultimate goal of my writing. I want my story to touch my audience below the surface. Good writers know how to appeal to the audience’s multiple senses.

I want to be clear, storytelling isn’t a formula, it’s an art with conventions that are commonly accepted, but not strictly enforced.

Below are some key tips from the Masterclass series on writing:

Choose a clear central message: a great story usually progresses toward a central moral or message.
Embrace conflict: as a storyteller, you can’t shy away from conflict.
Have a clear structure: there are different ways to structure a story, but the three ingredients a story must have are a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Mine your personal experiences: think about important experiences in your real life and how you may be able to craft them into narratives.
Engage your audience: great storytelling requires you to connect with your audience.
Observe good storytellers: look for good storytellers and learned through observation.
Narrow the scope of your story: trust that your audience will be able to follow your story, don’t overwhelm them with unnecessary back story or tangential plot points.

Implementing these tips helps us communicate a clearer and more powerful story.

“Melodrama is not the result of overexpression, but of undermotivation.”
Robert McKee

My goal as a writer is to communicate a message in a powerful story because for me the message is what matters.

Message Matters!

If we as writers want to tell a narrative that makes a difference, it’s imperative to make our message clear and focused from beginning to end. I’m not saying we cannot surprise our audiences, but we have to deliver on what we promise at the beginning of our characters’ journeys.

When we fail to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the narrative, our audience feels cheated and we’ll lose their trust. We cannot use a bait and switch approach to storytelling, powerful stories deliver on what the writer promises.

I am a huge Marvel comics fan. Before my accident I acquired a huge 2000 book collection. I even have the collectible, book cards. Recently, I was able to see the new Doctor Strange movie.

Before seeing the movie I had heard some negative reviews from friends, but I went in expecting a spectacular powerful story the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has been building for over two years. Although the movie was entertaining, it went in a different direction than I expected. It seemed to focus more on political and unnecessary subplots.

Yes, like others, I left the theater feeling disappointed; especially after investing money and over two hours of my weekend to see the movie. Powerful storytelling must stay focused on its core message and keep the audience entertained. Below are some of my favorite movies that are successful at accomplishing this.

I have to confess, Glory made a huge impact on me as a kid, it was filmed about two hours from where I lived in Georgia. Before I began working on my latest screenplay I knew the message I wanted to tell, I understood it had to be visibly and emotionally stimulating; because that is powerful storytelling!

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is a speaker for Brain Injury Awareness of America and is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJonhson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Persistence Pays Off

I recently became a new speaker for the Brain Injury Association of America, a difficult and time consuming accomplishment. For nearly two decades, I’ve helped others with disabilities, especially brain injuries and now I’m able to be a part of this national organization.

Life with a disability has challenges, which without God are next to impossible to overcome, and are humbling. Anyone who’s experienced trauma has extra baggage and living with a disability is not different. Here are some examples.

Some of the baggage of a disability are:

Extreme depression
Physical limitations
Emotional roller coasters
Financial obligations
Personal insecurities

Many non-disabled people experience these roadblocks, but the capacity of the disabled to handle them in an effective way is hampered by physical and mental inabilities. Sometimes it is impossible, for persons with brain injuries, to think clearly about these issues, much less deal with them.

I’ve championed the cause of brain injuries for decades in my local community and recently online, but the opportunity to work with a national organization is a dream.

I first reached out to the organization in 2010 after connecting with the Georgia Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Association, who gave me grants to learn the craft of writing and the technology that I use to write with.

Over a decade later, I have more experience and a better understanding of my brain injuries. As I move into this next stage of my advocacy, I am better prepared for the task, because of my persistence.

Persistence Pays Off!

Persistence is a necessary part of life. Success rarely comes on the first or even second try.

“The quality or state of being persistent.”
Webster’s Dictionary

I remember after my accident the many times I didn’t succeed in simple things like the first time I tried to walk and on the second attempt, I only made it to a chair on the other side of my room. and how humbling it was when I fell off of the toilet.

Months later, I found myself unable to walk steadily between balance beams during therapy but pressed on. After being released from the rehabilitation, I fell off of my bicycle and chose to make failure and disappointment the fuel to keep trying. Giving up would’ve only left me feeling empty and defeated.

A month after I went home, I was biking 21 miles in 100° temperatures. These successes were the motivation for me to keep going in my recovery.

My writing journey is similar. I have faced tons of rejection and disappointment. My recovery from living with a life-altering brain injury has taught me that persistence pays off!

In the writing journey, there will be rejection. Successful writers remain persistent. Although I haven’t achieved my writing goals yet, I am determined to continue in the journey with the help of tips from resources like Writer Unboxed.

Seven secrets of persistent writers:

Forget About Success: The most persistent writers want success as much as anyone, but they treat it as an end goal and put their focus on doing the work itself.
Never Wait in Vain: Waiting for a publication, a publisher, or an agent to get back to you can be agonizing. Persistent writers don’t just wait; they keep writing and submitting in equal measure.\
Take Risks: All writers have a comfort zone, be it genre or topic, or a certain kind of character.
Collaborate: Persistent writers accept that we need other writers—for cheerleading, resource sharing, feedback, or commiseration.
Set boundaries: Persistent writers have to say no a lot.
Take Side-Doors and Back-Alleys: Some of the most persistent writers I know did not listen to only accepted advice. I know writers who sold books straight to publishers without an agent.
Plant a Passion Root: I saved the best and most important piece of advice for last. You will persist if you plant what I call a “passion root.”

In pursuing publication, writer must learn the craft, and network with others in the publishing industry with persistent determination.

As I write this post, I am preparing to go to an annual writers conference, not only learn more about the craft of writing, but also learn speaking techniques and social media building, as well as pitching my books.

There were challenges as I attempted to register for the conference– the room were booked, which meant I’d have to stay at a local hotel and drive back and for. I don’t care for driving at night due to my eyesight. Fortunately, the conference opened other housing. Now, the price of gas has skyrocketed and presents yet another challenge. But, I am determined to remain persistent and meet the challenge head-on.

Challenges!

Face it, life these days is full of challenges and hurdles for us all, regardless if you’re disabled or not in whatever career you pursue. Thanks to my disability, I have a new perspective on life and the challenges I face. Challenges aren’t meant to stop us from being successful, they are meant to strengthen us and prepare us for success.

Hurdles of people with disabilities.

Accessibility – Unfortunately, we don’t live in a disabled-friendly society.
Myths and stereotypes – Even within the brain injury community, it is understood that not every brain injury is the same; outside of this community, there are some pretty harsh stereotypes.
Being teased and abused – Unfortunately, people find enjoyment in putting others down.
Relationships -human beings are complicated. They judge others on a set of parameters that may or may not apply to all situations. These prejudices are the root cause of all mistrust and misunderstanding, according to Narayan Seva Sansthan.

Writers can face challenges and hurdles with persistence and continue to grow. Every day, we must decide whether to keep going or give up. Press on because persistence pays off!

“Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.”
Roy T. Bennett, Author

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is a speaker for Brain Injury Awareness of America and an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJonhson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Tags challenges, persistence pays off., Writing with a disability

Screenwriting

Tight Writing

Tight writing has its place and purpose in all forms of writing, but more so in a screenplay. When writers leave more “white space” on a page, there is less clutter to distract our eyes, which means a clearer and faster read. Below are some examples of unnecessary clutter in writing.

Unnecessary or excessive exposition
Wordy dialogue
Unnecessary camera angles or transitions (in screenwriting)

Talented writers know how to maximize a page’s real estate: say more by writing less, respect the audience by letting them fill in the blanks, and let the actors act and directors direct the action.

Our job as screenwriters is just to lay a blueprint for the plot to follow, then get out of the way and let everyone else do their job. Therefore, we need to master the art of tight writing.

Tight Writing!

Most writers understand that tight writing means by using as few words as possible. While there are no rules in screenwriting, conventions and expectations need to be respected: page count, pace, and plot points for genres must tell a clear, well-flowing narrative.

A three or five-act structure is usually used to tell a complete story. The structures aren’t set in stone but act as a guideline to help direct a movie’s action.

These guidelines work as boundaries that allow us to color in the blanks like a coloring book. The lines can separate the picture from the white space. Writers can get more bang for the buck by tightening up their writing to fill in the blanks and not go outside the lines.

Just like with a coloring book, when we clutter up the white space, it makes it harder to see the picture.

Eight tips from Script Lab to help tighten your screenplay.

Cut handles-any piece of speech that doesn’t help reveal character or develop story.
Eliminate gerunds from action lines-words ending in “ing” often function as nouns. Essentially, gerunds denote ongoing processes, and they’re not useful in screenwriting because we want you to tell us the active situation, not a process.
Double check – do I need this?- If a word or phrase isn’t essential to the story, then you can cut it out without confusing the reader audience.
For action lines, find the focus of the image, not the specifics- If it feels like you must write several sentences to communicate an idea, take a step back and consider what emotion or revealing activity you’re explaining. Is there a more concise image that does the same thing?
If your line barely runs into the next, consider shorter synonyms for your words – If you can save an entire line of a page by using a shorter synonym, do it. It really adds up.
Combine sentences to cut down on punctuation– As above, this kind of editing can really help cut down on space. Best of all, if two sentences are communicating the same idea, completely eliminate one of them.
Remove unhelpful ornament- Adjectives are fun, varied, evocative, and overused. If an adjective isn’t absolutely necessary, delete it. This goes for every word, but adjectives tend to crop up in scripts.
Void via negativa- Say what something is instead of saying what it is not. Don’t describe what someone doesn’t do. Instead, write their action as clearly as possible.

Following these tips helps to create a tighter story in your screenplay. The benefits are endless, but the most obvious of a tighter script is a more enjoyable read, which creates a more focused story and focus is powerful in storytelling!

Stay Focused!

Filmmakers know a tighter script lends itself to a more powerful story that makes the story easier to follow and keeps the audience’s attention. This also gives a more focused message without a lot of exposition to digest, which allows the audience and reader to enjoy the journey.

When writers fail to use tight writing, it forces the studio to spend more time editing. Below are a few movies where studios utilized excellent editing to make the movie better.

A screenwriter’s goal is to tell a powerful story that causes change in both the characters and the audience watching them.

“A story is a series of acts that build to a last act climax or story climax which brings about absolute and irreversible change.”
Robert McKee

Great writers use tight writing to not only change the characters of their story, but also the audience.

Tags screenplay, screenwriting, stay focused, tight writing

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Do the Work

Last year I entered a pitch for my newest screenplay into a competition to get an opportunity to pitch to the powers that be in LA. I learned last month that my pitch wasn’t even a semi-finalist.

Of course I was disappointed and even a little bitter. So I spent some time praying for direction. Then I remembered that I could query one of the management firms directly and I decided to take a step of faith and pitch to one of the biggest literary management companies in LA.

I took the same pitch that I entered into the competition and added my writer’s bio, then hit the send button. Less than an hour later I had a response from the management company requesting me to send a copy of my entire screenplay to them.

After making a minor update to my screenplay based on some evaluations I received, I confidently sent my screenplay to the management company. The response email stated it may take time before they responded to my submission. But they only replied to projects they were interested in working with. As I wait, I remembered important lessons I learned in rehabilitation.

Falling down is okay
Always s get up and try again
Progress only happens when we do the work

Rehabilitation also taught me a hard life lesson. . . I could spend all my time feeling sorry for myself and dreaming about recovering from my injuries or make an effort to get stronger and healthier. Ultimately, I had to do the work!

Do the Work!

Rehabilitation taught me about success and recovery, I could waste time dreaming or do the work to get where I want to be. I could feel sorry for myself if I failed or get back up, learn from my mistakes and try harder.

“Writers write. Dreamers talk about it.”
Jerry B. Jenkins

I can dream about where I want to be in life or do the work to get there. Below are some tips from Flint Rehab to help restore physical ability after a brain injury.

Activate neuroplasticity to help the brain heal– This allows the brain to rewire itself.
Encourage repetition to maximize recovery- Repetition helps the brain rewire itself.
Push through plateaus even if progress slows- When things seem to go nowhere press on.
Maintain a nutritious, brain-boosting diet.
Avoid regression-Forward momentum is the goal.
Keep making progress by continuing therapy at home.
Get enough sleep to help improve brain function.
Find clarity by setting attainable recovery goals.
Pursue a full recovery.
Motivate yourself with accountability.

Whether you’re recovering from an injury or pursuing a writing career, doing the required work is essential to success.

But, like the road to recovery, a writing career takes time to develop.

There will be low points before you reach the high points. The journey is hard, but success only comes to those who keep pounding away.

Keep Pounding!

Most writers know success isn’t guaranteed and it surely won’t come easy. However, each little victory gets us one step closer to where want to be in our careers. No writer starts out at the top of the publishing food chain.

Successful writers start out with smaller projects like blogs, columns, or magazine articles. These small publishing feats help them hone their skills, develop a writing voice and even build platform.

Unless you’re a world-famous celebrity or have connections to one, a writer’s platform starts out small and must be built piece by publishing piece. With each byline, a writer’s platform grows.

With every word or project, a writer’s voice and skill are honed. These tediously small tasks are part of building a writer’s career. Author Jerry B Jenkins offers a few tips on how to build a successful writing career.

Don’t wait to call yourself a writer
Don’t quit
Write from your passions
Work at it every day

I want to congratulate you. Learning the craft is the first step in pursuing a writing career, then you have to use what you learn.

“Pages don’t write themselves, start with the first page.”
Scott Myers, Screenwriting Coach

Serious writers know they have to do the work!

Tags Do the work, Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Screenwriting

Cut to Finish

Post author By Martin Johnson
Post date April 4, 2022

Last month I touched on the need for a lean screenplay. Lean writing is ideal for most forms of writing, the goal is to “say more, by writing less.” Wordy writing often discourages others from reading our work.

Screenwriting is no different. A long screenplay often loses its impact the more time it takes to read. A thick manuscript also has other drawbacks, below are a few hiccups that are possible with a screenplay with little white space.

Numerous typos
Repetitions
Telling and not showing

When agents or studios are interested in a screenplay or a writer, they don’t read the screenplays themselves; they have readers, who are the gatekeepers in Hollywood. They are the first set eyes to see your screenplay.

If the reader doesn’t like what they see, a studio or agent will never see your screenplay. This is why it is imperative for you to hook the reader sooner than later. The rule is to hook the reader by page 10, if you don’t do that, they will never finish reading your screenplay.

Cut to Finish!

Your screenplay needs to be a page-turner–meaning by the time a reader gets to page 10 they are invested to read the next 100 pages.

Reading a screenplay takes time, the more pages, the more time it takes to read it. This is why the clutter needs to go. Clutter in screenwriting comes in many forms: wordy dialogue, too much scene and character description, unnecessary technical terms, or camera angles.

Also, too many characters or scenes can lose a reader and make your narrative confusing. If a scene or character cannot move the plot forward, then it isn’t a vital part of the story. Your job is to tell a story, not direct it or paint a picture, that’s other creatives’ jobs. You are simply the storyteller.

Many new screenwriters try to show off their “knowledge” by including technical camera angles or artsy descriptions in their storytelling and end up only making their script harder to read. So, keeping your script as lean as possible will make it easier to read. Below are a few script trimming tricks from screenwriting insider Scott Myers:

Lose the orphans: if you have a line of dialogue or action that is only 1 to 2 words, try condensing it or cutting it to save space.
Minimize parentheticals: there are often one or two words to direct an actor, dialogue itself is self-explanatory, no need to waste space or be repetitive.
Cut transitions: transitions imply a movement from one scene to and next, that is what seen headings are used for, transitions are only useful when there is a significant change of scenery or time. By cutting the transition you can save a line or two from your script each time. Besides artsy transitions can be a sign of amateurism.
Use pseudo-slugs: shortened seen headings that take up fewer lines and space.[i]

There are many benefits to having a lean screenplay. Shorter screenplays are easier to read, the story flows smoothly and quickly from scene to scene and plot point to plot point. This saves a reader time and energy.

It gives a reader a more enjoyable experience. A quick read increases the chance of your screenplay making it past the gatekeepers in Hollywood and you’re one step closer to crossing the finish line.

Finish Line!

Don’t forget that every page of your screenplay equals about one minute of screen time in a movie. The longer a movie is the less likely you are to keep an audience’s attention until it’s finished.

No one wants to sit through a long movie unless it holds their attention from beginning to end. Your job is to make your audience commit to sticking around until the closing credits roll.

The best writers know how to pace a story to keep an audience interested longer, they know how to get more bang for their buck. Besides, not every scene in a screenplay makes it to the finished movie when it is released.

Even in major motion pictures scripted by Hollywood studios there are often deleted scenes included when a movie goes into home distribution. Below are a few deleted scenes from recent movies.

The studios and producers knew that they could save time and enhance the audience’s experience by removing the scenes from the finished product and that is why we must cut to finish!

Tags cut to the finish, say more with less, screenwriting, trimming tricks

Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Risky Business

As March winds down and brain injury awareness month comes to an end, we are approaching the 25^th anniversary of my accident. Looking back, I can think of a lot of obstacles I’ve had to overcome by living a life as a brain injury survivor.

Aside from physical limitations, there is a high risk for strokes, aneurysms, and seizures. Unfortunately, I’ve endured three major seizures since the accident. And each time I return to the same helplessness I felt the first morning in ICU.

I remember the nightmare of my new normal and the changes I’d have to make. I had a choice, to make changes or suffer for the consequences of taking unnecessary risks, below are some of the changes I’ve made in the last 25 years.

No more partying, drinking, or smoking.
Getting more sleep to let my brain heal and help me to focus.
Limiting my caffeine intake.
Drinking more water to keep my brain and organs hydrated.
Being more deliberate with my actions and not wasting time.

To be honest, before my accident I thought I had all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted, I was ignorant of how fragile life is and the risks that come with it. I learned the hard truth that nothing in life is guaranteed, we need to know the risks.

As writers we must apply the same principles to our careers, success isn’t guaranteed, but there are steps we can take to minimize unnecessary risks as a writer.

Risky Business

Most people don’t think of a writing career as risky, they have a romanticized view of the industry. Aside from obvious health risks from being sedentary most of the day, there are financial and emotional risks.

One poll found that 80% of Americans want to write a book, however, it also states that only the top 2% of writers make a good living from the writing. Do the math, 78% of people who want to write a book, cannot earn a living from writing, the odds are against us. Thus, pursuing a writing career is a risk.

The truth is most people like to dream, but few people can do it successfully. Even fewer can afford to take the risk, one that may not ever pay off. They try to write, but when they fail, they quit.

After my accident, I wanted to get back to my “normal” life and be able to walk again. I tried my hardest to focus and walk but ended up falling off of the toilet before ever getting out of the ICU unit.

That is when I first experienced the reality of living with a brain injury. Three months after I left rehabilitation, I fell off a bike. Again, I didn’t give up and now 25 years later I can bike up to 60 miles at a time. Still, I am aware of the risks.

I recently fell off my bike for the first time in decades, as I watched the blood pool from the scrapes on my leg, I smiled because I knew the risk and the reward. So, I got back on my bike and finished the 14-mile ride.

The writing life comes with its own risks and setbacks, many of which can be just as discouraging as falling off a bike. According to the writingtribe.com below are…

Seven Challenges Writers Face

Dealing with writer’s block
Not feeling creative enough
Being isolated frequently
Not being productive enough
Having money problems
Not having enough confidence in yourself
Not getting enough rest[i]

These challenges can be seen as either a risk or part of pursuing your calling as a writer. Whenever I talk with other disabled persons, especially brain injury survivors, I try to encourage them that getting back up after a fall helps us get stronger both physically and mentally.

When I was growing up, I was told that if I wasn’t making mistakes, then I wasn’t learning. Learning is a process and making mistakes is good because they allow us to do better next time.

As a brain injury survivor who has suffered seizures and other physical pain, I can attest that pain is the greatest teacher. This is why our parents physically disciplined us when we were little kids. If we kept doing wrong, we kept getting punished. It may sound counterproductive, but the pain helps us mature.

Keep Learning!

One of the hardest parts of being a writer is being rejected by an agent or publisher, it will happen, repeatedly. Rejection can happen for many reasons: bad writing, boring concept, or bad timing. Writers must learn how to disconnect ourselves from the rejection, it’s not about us and sometimes not even about our work.

Agents and publishers are looking for specific projects, voices, and platforms. Rejection simply means our projects don’t have these specific characteristics to be represented. Instead of being discouraged by rejection, writers need to learn how to learn from it and let the rejection work for them.

Some benefits of writers’ rejection from the writingcooperative.com.

It’s feedback to do better next time
It prepares you for the next level
It makes you realize that you are human
It makes you stronger

After my accident I had to learn a lot of things the hard way—I can easily lose my balance, I can’t feel the left side of my face which causes food to fall out of my mouth. So, I needed to learn how to focus more. Every day I must keep learning more about myself and bounce back better.

“Suffering provides the gym equipment on which my faith can be exercised.”
Joni Eareckson Tada

Keep that in mind if you’re struggling in your writing career because it is a risky business!

Tags learn from your mistakes, new normal, rejection in writing, Writing with a disablilty

Screenwriting

Rewriting is Writing

Three months into the new year and I am eager to get started on the first draft of a new screenplay. I’ve had this idea for a story since my accident, 25 years ago, and now I’m ready to attempt the first draft.

First drafts are only a part of the screenwriting process and the first step in the process of drafting. Drafting is a structured process that involves steps in creating a piece of work. Screenwriting typically has four phases of drafts, each with its unique audience, according to Naomi Write at Writeandco.com.

Draft Phases

Me draft
Audience draft
Producer draft
Audience draft

The goal of drafting is to create the best possible story that will be appealing to and readable by different audiences. It also allows a screenwriter to edit a screenplay for typos, grammatical errors, and repetitions.

Additionally, it helps create the characters, story plot, and conflict. As you can see drafting, editing, and rewriting are all part of the writing process.

Rewriting Is Writing!

No screenplay, prose, or story is written perfectly the first time. Professional writers understand that editing is writing. Editing and rewriting set a professional writer apart from amateurs.

Edited screenplays have been refined through the drafting process and have well-developed characters, clearly defined worlds, and obvious conflict. The stories are also easier to read because there aren’t any typos or grammatical errors to slow the reader down.

Edited screenplays are also clearly unique narratives that can spark our readers’ imagination. A screenplay can be like another movie, but not a retelling of a story we already know.

Your story must be clear to others and not just yourself. Remember to keep the story simple. Below are common writing mistakes new writers make from Ben Larned at Screencraft.com.

10 Common Writing Mistakes

Neglecting spelling and grammar.
Incorrect formatting.
Drawing from tropes.
Forgetting the plot (or, skipping the outline).
Crafting awkward, listless, or endless dialogue.
Playing director in descriptions.
Not punishing your characters.
Leaving your story unfinished (or too neat).
Letting the first acts slide (or, saving the best for last).
Submitting without rereading.

Screenwriting teacher, Scott Myer’s mantra is…

“Rewriting is writing.”

With each draft there should be fewer and fewer mistakes and misunderstandings. Editing and rewriting help writers grow from amateurs to professionals.

This is why it is important to get feedback on our screenwriting, friends and family are nice, but professional coverage from industry insiders who know what screenplays need is best. Script coverage helps writers see flaws, know what to keep and what to get rid of.

When I first began screenwriting, I learned an important lesson. Writers mustn’t like their stories too much and must be willing to cut what doesn’t work. Regardless of how much you like a character, setting, or scene; if it doesn’t help the story, it needs to go on the cutting block.

Cut to Finish!

The goal of editing and rewriting is to trim the fat off a screenplay and help it flow better as a story. A screenwriter doesn’t have that much real estate to introduce characters, create conflict, and set up the plot.

In the old days, the general rule was a screenplay should be no longer than 120 pages, nowadays it’s around 100 pages—from start to finish, a complete story with new worlds, characters, and enough action to hold an audience’s attention for the entire movie.

Therefore, it’s important for the audience to enter a scene as late as possible and get out or move to the next scene of a movie. All while flowing smoothly without losing the audiences’ attention. The idea is to save space in a screenplay.

Even after a movie has finished shooting, editing in the studio helps cut the “fat” or nonessential parts of a movie out before the movie is released. Below are a few examples known for the bad editing before they were released.

Even big-budget movies from major studios can create the critical errors of bad editing and skipping rewrites. A movie is only finished by rewriting, because rewriting is writing!

Tags editing, rewriting, screenwriting