Jessica Novinger: Director, filmmaker and screenwriter in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

I use Scrivener, it works exports to most formats. They have a screenwriting format as well — fantastic, affordable tool.

Allow me to make a comment about Scrivener. I have used this program for years. They continue to upgrade and I own the latest edition. It is a complex and quirky program. The creators are obviously brilliant individuals, but I truly believe they don't think like writers. They think like computer programmers. I attempted to download the manual for the new version and it's 750 pages. What's wrong with that picture"? I was working on my novel when it suddenly disappeared. I couldn't find it, so I emailed Literature and Latte. They told me some steps that didn't work, so I ended up giving them control of my computer. It required several days for them to find it. Since then I am afraid of it and use Word. I am the type of writer that when I want to write, I want to do it. Scrivener has become so cumbersome from my point of view that I spend too much time with the workings of the program rather than my writing. I purchased a new manual from Amazon, one of those supposedly easy use explanations. All it does is make me feel stupid.

John Roane

John Roane - I can certainly understand the frustration especially after losing a manuscript. Although I've used it for years, I wouldn't push anyone to work with something they're not 100% comfortable with. There are great formatting companies out there like Jera Publishing that you can use to format your book. These folks are fantastic to work with: https://www.self-pub.net/

Hey Jessica -- these will be fairly loose answers to your questions but should provide some frame of reference for the roles of agents and managers.

No. Lit managers typically don't do a ton of the dealmaking and hammering out negotiation details, but some can/will. Lit managers works primarily to help develop writers and find them jobs. Agents do more of the high level negotiations these days for said jobs or other jobs they arrange for you.

Do agents act as managers?

Not really anymore. They did a lot more in the old days, but today manager and agent are two separate jobs. Agents handle more of the dealmaking. Managers handle more of the talent development and positioning.

Do agents in traditional publishing understand the film and tv market, and vice versa?

yes, very well and very much so. there is a ton of collaboration between the literary and film/Tv worlds. whatever amount of collaboration you think they might do, multiple it by a factor of 10. any book from a major publisher gets read by studio development offices.

How do managers make money? (Is asking that taboo?)

Not taboo. Managers make between 5-15% of your project sales. Agents around the same. They make money by having a strong book of clients working on popular and prolific projects.

For an author/illustrator who is juggling, say, a children’s book about a greedy dinosaur and a script that is science-fi thriller with a splash of organized crime, should they seek an agent or a manager?

You should seek a publisher for your children's book. Or self-publish (which includes marketing yourself). If you have a book with an audiences and a decent amount of sales, you will be more attractive to representatives. If you only have one script, you can seek agents and managers, but they typically like to see more of a body of work than one script.

Congrats on taking that scary step!!

But all the movie clues in Fight Club that point to everyone being in Tyler Durden's head, the dissociative ID thing. I've gotta watch it again now. How else can she be in male testicular cancer meetings smoking a cigarette. And no one ever interacts with her. Just that one scene where she walks into the meeting. But he could have imagined everyone looking at her. Watching it tonite.

Just spitballin' here, but it seems the author would know.

Enjoy the revisit.

Yeah I would think so. David Fincher may have had other ideas though.

Just watched some interviews he did with Joe Rogan. Really interesting man, and funny. Love the story about the famous line 'I can't wait to have your abortion' and they were trying out others like 'I haven't been fucked like that since grad school'.

Love that idea. Take something someone could normally say 'I want to have your baby' and twist it up, make it evil. Gonna remember that one.

Christiane: The 1978 remake of The Big Sleep was not great. Robert Mitchum was too old to play Marlowe, and the whole thing felt uninspired. The Mitchum version of Farewell My Lovely is considerably better but still pales compared to Murder My Sweet with Dick Powell. It's the same Raymond Chandler story but with a much better delivery. I just watched it again over the weekend. Though limited by the Hays Code, the William Faulkner screenplay for The Big Sleep and the cast of the 1946 version are far better than the 1978 version.

I also watched The Two Jakes this weekend, and like Raymond Chandler, it employs the first-person, voice-over narrative, a common trope used in American Noir.

A bad version of VO is the intros at the start of episodes for the final season of the Walking Dead. The entire season was a letdown.

I had a bit of self-reflection on why I don't use narrative VO. I think it is because my stuff is written in a real-time type narrative. Hadn't realised that until this conversation. Thanks everyone.

Hi Christiane, nice idea , Only problem is I honestly believe original is so strong, any that follow are doomed before they start,

"Manhunter", which I consider to be Michael Mann's best film alongside his début "Thief" (I liked "Heat" as a teenager but now I can see it's a little bit too long for its own good).

I'm not going to call it new, but they recently added the latest season of The Blacklist to Netflix here in Taiwan, and I've been watching that. I have to say that the show, which I love overall, has struggled to find it's tone since the previous season's surprise ending. I see what they're trying to do, but it's falling flat by comparison to previous seasons.

That being said, I find the dialog in the show, especially James Spader's lines to always be great since the first season.

BOSCH. Brilliantly filmed. 1 case = 1 season, each season looks like a mini series.

That sounds like a Growth Arc/Flat Character Arc, Jack Hilkewich (https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/create-compelling-characters-cha...).

Sometimes the protagonist doesn't change, but he or she changes other characters.

Maurice Vaughan Thanks Maurice. I, admittedly, have not read very much on the mechanics of screenwriting. I think most of my learning comes from feedback. So I appreciate any and all that I get.

You're welcome, Jack Hilkewich. Feedback is one way to learn about screenwriting. Reading scripts, watching webinars, and reading articles have really helped me.

Floyd County Productions helms the ARCHER series here in Atlanta, GA - https://www.floydcountyproductions.tv/ - you can research, and see who manages their projects. Work backwards - what shows are similar to yours, and how are they working with.

Hi David, I am the Director of Development Services at Stage 32. Happy to help point you to all the resources we have to offer on Stage 32. Shoot me an email at success@stage32.com and my team can make some recommendations. Cheers!

Reach out to success@stage32.com and let them know your situation, they can help you find the right executives to speak to about getting your targets just right!

Definitely get formatting software, a free version will be fine for now. If you'd like to get coverage on your script, you can do that here! we have a ton of script services to offer, and you can choose the executive you'd like to get coverage from or you can opt to get coverage from a vetted Industry Reader. If you have any questions or want any help reach out to success@stage32.com!

https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage/buy?id=23

https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage/buy?id=2

Don't just jump on contests outta "pure will" (especially the major ones)...craft up. First read, explore screenplays, then practice, then produce, scout for feedback, and even then when you're aware of your ups and downs, start rounding.

Check out Scrivener, it’s a desktop software and cheaper than Final Draft and available as an app (but the app can be sketchy). I think it’s $45 usd for lifetime access including version upgrades.

I agree with reading the fine print of contests. Don’t pay for something that isn’t going to get you anything — there’s lots of money grabs out there.

Jessica Novinger Hi, I am one of the directors of the Independent Producers Guild (independentproducersguild.org). We have a 6-part Production seminar series starting in a couple weeks, which was revised from the series we sponsored for Women In Entertainment. It's inexpensive and very, very thorough. I am also available for quick free consults if you have a specific question.

Sounds like you need to write a show bible. Google "tv show bible" and take a look at some examples. Choose whichever one matches your writing style or that appeals to you and use it as a template.

Hi Jelica - you’re in the right place right now. Stage 32 has world-class education on every aspect of developing and writing for film and television. Here’s a link to a great webinar on writing your TV series Bible, as just one example: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Write-Your-Professional-Pitch-Bible I’m the Director of Education here at Stage 32 - you can always email me directly at edu@stage32.com if you’d like any other recommendations on our writing eduction. When your material is ready, Stage 32 also has a marketplace for writers and creators on the Script Services side to help bring your work to executives and reps.

Welcome Jelica! Echoing what Sam said- I am the Director of Development Services at Stage 32. My team and I would love to learn more about what you are writing and point you to all the resources we have to offer on Stage 32. Shoot me an email at success@stage32.com and let me know a little more about your scripts and your goals! Always happy to help.

Not to be too pedantic, but Scrooge McDuck is not related to Daffy Duck. The latter is Warner Bros. The former is Disney. (I did a lot of research into Disney when I was younger. Never thought it would be useful! LOL).

HI@Morgan Aitken...You make a great point. A boat would sink from too many books. Electronic stuff (I was going to use the REAL "S" word) allows long distance enjoyment of many things. Isn't that the wonder of modernity? Something for everyone. The technology gets better and better, and the content gets worse and worse. Unless you're in 3rd world, and then .... the world is nasty, brutish and short. So, we'll ignore that. You did make me contemplate the Zombie Apocalypse or being stranded on an island, however ... as long as the battery holds out, you have access to billions of books. You should read one of mine. :)

FYI: Scrooge was Disney, Daffy, Warner Brothers. There's a cartoon about Daffy and Bugs hunting/warring over Aladin's lamp. Daffy finally wins, but the genie shrinks Daffy to pint-size. At the end, DAffy gets a diamond and he's running around screaming Mine! Mine! All Mine! Then he stops, looks at the camera, and says, "I'm a miser, but I'm a happy miser!" There's a piece of esoteric information, right? Darling Daughter got me a collection of WWII war-time cartoons for Christmas, and it's a treasure.

Whoops, I stand corrected on the duck genealogy. Funny, you should mention the battery @Jenean McBrearty ... it did go flat, someone -- not to mention names -- left the ice-maker on over night (when the solar panels are really inefficient). Good thing my phone (e reading app) was well charged.

Maurice Vaughan Nope that's not my page. I don't have a deviant art.

You can find my art here: https://www.instagram.com/jerbear__art/

Great artwork and illustrations, Jeremy Baehr! This is one of my favorites: www.instagram.com/p/CRxVBtqDngB/ Just like in the movie! :D

There is a book I would love to adapt, I may see if I can get the rights one day.

I like characters not stories. I am writing a Sherlock Holmes film. Mostly because I like him, my Sherlock anyway.

No I have few original ideas left in the storage...after that, why not, saves me negotiation hustle...and when you say "adopt" it doesn't have to be word for word copy/paste to screenplay...you can only use the core of the story (that has fanbase at the masses for decades, even centuries) and spin it into your original take...I can take "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" for example, three separate ways...drama, comedy and even sports story, although the base of it is horror...

Dan MaxXx - she got the 10% from the writer as part of her deal. Smart girl as she had that point covered in her option agreement.

Jessica Novinger I've written specs for both features and TV, and realize it comes down to the story you want to tell. I had an idea that was once a short film, then I wanted to adapt it into a feature, before settling on the idea a TV show would be the best option. I could let the story breath a little, and invest more time in the characters and the world building.

I feel an organic impulse from the story & characters as to if there is plausible possibility for growth & change. I once turned a feature script into an episodic pilot then it became a longer serialized version. The characters just didn't want to die! Another story tore me apart cos I could not decide how best to execute it. . A succinct crisp wrapped feature? Or delve deep the cave adding series regulars? Draw out, tease & extend macro plot? Still in the middle of a Transmedia project for that particular story. Feature/serial/novel. Executives want to know "Does this show have legs?" with regards episodic or serials. I recently watched drama that "dragged" cos it did not literally have the legs to stand on.

Agree with all of these comments. Partially experience but also comes down to the story. Is it a contained story that only needs a few hours to be told? Or is this a story where we want to sit with the characters over a longer period of time?