Screenwriting 101

Last week I took Screenwriting at Marylhurst--my final writing elective--because I wanted to try something different. And it's TOTALLY different. It's all about plugging a plot into a formula, and peppering it with good dialogue. It's completely counter-intuitive to how I write poetry and short stories, which is usually based on a feeling, followed by descriptive prose and random playing with the music of language. Needless to say, I was off to a rough start because I have never been plot-oriented. My first storyboard received a resounding BORRRRIIIIINNNG. I had a protagonist with no real challenge to overcome, and a film that my teacher (screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb) described as so boring that not only would nobody pay to see it, no studio in their right mind would pay millions to MAKE it. I was hurt because it was a coming-of-age story based on an experience I had traveling in high school. Apparently, the moments in my life that I thought were ripe for the screenwriting-picking are NOT that interesting. So Dan and I came up with a new storyboard, a psychological thriller full of suspense and challenge for the protagonist, creepy subplots, and a twist at the end. And AGAIN, Cynthia felt I had a long way to go: It just wasn't exciting enough. Now I've come up with another idea--a romantic comedy. Dan starts snoring every time I talk about it, but I think it has potential! I'm telling you all of this now so that when I sell my script, and pay off all of my student loans and the mortgage with the check, you will all be able to rejoice with me as I tell him "I Told You So!"