Write a movie script
The Writing Studio in Cape Town [South Africa] has launched an exciting new initiative to unearth the talents of local screenwriters. There are many opportunities for screenwriters in South Africa with the boom of the local film and television industries, as well as many co-productions being filmed at the first rate film studio in Cape Town. Workshop: Learn to Write a Movie Script! During 2016 The Writing Studio will be developing 12 new South African screenplays that will foster the growth of the local film and television industries, as well as introduce these stories to the world. The process kicks off with an 8-week The Write Journey Workshop for aspirant screenwriters at The Writing Studio in Cape Town on Tuesday evenings from 18:00 until 21:00 from June 2 2015. “Writing is about writing,” says Daniel Dercksen, who created this independent training initiative 15 years ago and has since been running workshops throughout South Africa. Graduates of these workshops include film makers John Barker (Spud 3: Learning to Fly, Bunny Chow and How To Steal a Million), Henk Pretorius (Leading Lady, Bakgat, Fanie Fourie Se Lobola), producer screenwriter and film maker Sallas de Jager (Roepman, Verraaiers, Musiek vir die agtergrond and Stuur Groete aan Mannetjies Roux). It’s not about keeping stories incomplete, but ultimately developing stories into new South African films, plays and novels,” says Dercksen. During The Write Journey the writers will explore their ideas, plot their stories, develop their characters , and start writing the first 10 pages of their screenplays. The Write Journey is about writers connecting with the process of writing productively in their comfort zones and producing South African stories global audiences want to experience. The duality of the workshop nurtures creativity: it allows the writer to write instinctively and take an introspective journey into storytelling; it also stimulates writers to write stories connected to their unique cultures, communities, history and experience that reflect the universal human condition. According to Dercksen, “We must make the most of the rich storytelling talent from diverse cultures we have in South Africa, and share these unique stories with the world.” The Write Journey weekend workshop takes place at The Writing Studio in Green Point, Cape Town on June 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, and July 7, 14 and 21 from 18:00 until 21:00. Correspondence Course The workshop is also available as a correspondence course for writers who prefer distance learning and want to work at their own pace. For more information and registration, visit the website www.writingstudio.co.za or send an email to info@writingstudio.co.za Daniel Dercksen is a published film and theatre journalist; qualified ETD Practitioner (Education, Training and Development) – accredited by SAQA (The South African Qualifications Authority) and working in accordance with the principles of the Department of Education. The play The Beauty of Incomplete Things, written, produced, designed and directed by Daniel Dercksen, enjoyed its world premiere in Cape Town on January 24, 2014 and a successful 3-week-run at the Johannesburg Theatre in July...
Read MoreSouth Africa’s State of Flux
The velocity of arbitrary change taking place within South African society has made chaos the defining feature that places the country in a constant state of flux. Farm murders, corruption, riots, strikes, crime, violence and electricity blackouts are steadily diminishing the country’s political and economic structures. Xenophobia The political settlement South Africa reached in 1994 was clearly only partially successful. Today most citizens across the board accept racial prejudice, poor infrastructure, and unruly student activism as normal, albeit with underlying resentment and frustration. Xenophobia against foreigners inhabiting South Africa to compete with local informal merchants or refugees fleeing other African countries to escape conflict, poverty and food scarcity has until recently been overlooked. Civil conflict In contrast, there is an ominous mood among South Africans of impending Civil Conflict and heightened chaos; in other words, confirmation of a failed state. These crises persist today allegedly because remnants of the Apartheid regime are being kept artificially alive through unresolved anger, fear, retribution and rebellion, thus delaying the birth of a new cohesive South Africa. Clashes between the old and the new will continue to manifest distrust, ruthless retaliation, and corruption, driven by an autocratic political system. Not only will the seeds of permanent inequality and fault-finding flourish under these fertile conditions, the apocalyptic vision shared by many South Africans will eventually become a reality. Among those anticipating violent conflict are nearly 20 million South Africans with no experience of living under apartheid. Criticism No country or nation can be built on segregation, self-doubt or harping on past failures. The time to find rational solutions to complex problems is long gone; there simply are no ready-made recipes to rid South Africa of the tragic epidemic plaguing its chronically racially-divided nation. If anything, South Africa needs ruthless criticism and a powerful wake-up call to put the country’s affairs in order. Nation building It is vital that leaders and the general public concede that meaningful contribution does not end with fault-finding or dredging up past atrocities from the apartheid era. It requires every citizen to roll up their sleeves and tackle nation building for themselves. Nation building requires the creation of an integrated ideology and a credible Government road map to integrate South Africa’s diverse population on an equal footing. Building a unified set of guidelines that supports a nationwide self-interpretation of South Africa as a developed country is the first step. The challenge to bring this about requires establishing a common identity and joint values, given that South Africa’s diverse population is made up of African, White, Colored, Indian/Asian and other races. Successful nation building depends on several preconditions, including the integration of society on a practical level, intensification of developing and executing new ideas, and dynamic economic exchange. Black South Africans have achieved significant upliftment over the past 21 years, yet the pace of transformation is bemoaned by many through angry expectation of jobs, education, houses, land, services, access to water and electricity, and wealth distribution. Poverty A peripheral remedy, because many South Africans are still poor today, is to provide access to information, training and opportunities to grow their civic identity, citizenship and constitutional values, as well as develop a new society that is self-reliant and less entitled. The country’s long-term objective should be to become a high-growth, high-performance economy that meets the expectations of its entire population. However, for many survival depends on government support in the form of entitlement, which enslaves the majority of black people to feel powerless in changing their lot. The victim mentality has crept in and the element of self-reliance has largely disappeared. Freedom Self-motivation...
Read MoreBusiness Plans for Writers
Any writer who wants to publish their work — whether it is fiction or nonfiction — should produce a Book Business Plan (Proposal) for each manuscript. Book publishers require writers to submit a proposal on their book together with sample chapters, for review. An acquisitions editor and select editorial personnel determine whether the manuscript fits the publishing firms’ book list profile and if it is a viable business proposition. The book proposal prepared by the writer facilitates their decision-making process. Writing a Book Business Plan allows the author to think about how to go about creating a framework to write the manuscript, choose a title, decide on the number of chapters, which topics require research, whether to sell to a publisher or publish independently, how to identify the right publisher, what self-publishing involves, costs, revisions and new editions, film rights, how to pinpoint your specific readership and what quantitative and qualitative benefits this target audience seeks, and how you intend marketing your book (pre-publicity, launch, and what you intend to do once the book is successful). When do you start writing your Book Business Plan? The Book Business Plan starts at the moment you begin writing your manuscript. At this stage you should already have a clear vision of the plot and characters, the target audience and even the venues where copies of the book can be sold. Start with your end goal in mind; decide how much revenue (or number of copies) you want to generate from book sales. Be realistic; you probably won’t make the top ten best seller list with your first publication (don’t rule this out altogether) but by setting the right strategy you are establishing a future goal to potentially earn big money down your career path. How do you plan to organize and manage your new book? Do you need a publicist or are you competent to undertake the marketing campaign by yourself? Do you need to employ an advertising agency? Who will write a review? Who will write a literary critique? Who will undertake content illustrations and cover design? Who will write the back-page cover blurb? Who will register the ISBN and convert the number to bar-code? Who will edit the manuscript? Do you have the right contacts to organize a range of merchandising, including a book video, imprinted bookmarks, chap books, T-shirts, or posters? Bear in mind that as the author you too are the product. Could you schedule book signings, community events, workshops, and media interviews? A big part of your Book Business Plan is knowing beforehand who will want to buy your book. It’s vital to know precisely who your market and readership target is. Are they women? Men? Adolescents? Romance lovers? History buffs? Knowing who your market is will also make it easier to determine the venues they frequent when the book is ready to be launched, and choosing the promotional activity that will attract their attention. Establish what it is that makes your book so special and better choice compared to similar publications. Many writers write books they would love to read, or choose topics that are currently in vogue but write it from a different perspective. Make sure you know why you and your book is special; it’s the backbone of a good Book Business Plan and effective marketing strategy. Know how to promote your product; make a point of telling everyone you know about your book. Print and distribute copies of chap books with your book review. Print an edition of bookmarks to leave at libraries, book shops, and book events. Publicize your book through social networking. Print size...
Read MoreWriting a Proposal
Need help writing a proposal? Proposals are informative and persuasive forms of writing that attempt to educate the reader and convince that reader to do something. A good proposal is always readable, well-organized, grammatically correct, and understandable. Use a spell checker before submitting the proposal. Proofread carefully. In general avoid abbreviations; for example, use laboratory, not lab and mathematics, not math. The first time you use an acronym, write out what it stands for and put the acronym in parentheses. For example, the South African Writers’ Network (SAWN); after that you may use the acronym. Make sure all your references are correct. Consider using graphics to make your point stronger and clearer. A time line to show when different components of your project are to take place can be particularly effective. Include a table of contents which makes it easy for reviewers to locate important sections of your proposal. Budget information should be complete and unambiguous. Carefully review your budget to ensure that ineligible items do not appear in the budget and that adequate attention has been given to cost sharing. Any proposal offers a plan to fill a need, and your reader will evaluate your plan according to how well your written presentation answers questions about what WHAT you are proposing, HOW you plan to do it, WHEN you plan to do it and HOW MUCH it is going to cost. Any questions that the reader might pose should be anticipated and answered in a way that reflects the stated position of your proposal. It is important that the writer also considers all sides of the argument — providing other alternative solutions to the problem, but showing how the one chosen is superior to the others included. The goal of the writer is not only to persuade the reader to do what is being requested, but also to make the reader believe that the solution is practical and appropriate. In persuasive proposal writing, the case is built by the demonstration of logic and reason in the approach taken in the solution. Facts must lead logically and inevitably to the conclusion and/or the solution presented. Evidence should be given in a descending order of importance, beginning with the most important evidence and ending with the least important. The writer must also determine beforehand the level of knowledge the audience possesses and take the positions of all the readers into account; for instance, its important to know whether the readers are members of the technical community or technical discourse community, or of both, which will enable the writer to use the appropriate materials and language to appeal to sectors. It is a good idea to include an executive summary that is written in non-technical (easily accessible) language, or even a glossary of terms that explains technical language used in the body of the proposal. The most basic composition of a proposal, as with any other written document, is simple; it needs a beginning (the Introduction), a middle (the Body of material to be presented) and an end (the Conclusion/Recommendation). The INTRODUCTION presents and summarizes the problem you intend to solve and your solution to that problem, including the benefits the reader/group will receive from the solution and the cost of that solution. The BODY of the proposal should explain the complete details of the solution: how the job will be done, broken into separate tasks; what method will be used to do it, including the equipment, material, and personnel that would be required; when the work will begin; and, when the job will be completed. It should also present a...
Read MoreFind Your Target Audience
Very few books – if any – appeal to a nonspecific audience. It is therefore necessary to find your books target audience before you start trying to appeal to ‘everyone’. Bear in mind, one of the main reasons people will be interested in your book is because the subject matter appeals to them on a personal level. Profit Motive Many book publishers naturally favor books that will attract a wide readership; their chief objective being to generate volume sales and subsequently a larger profit margin. However, the risk of poor sales is often the case because the larger the market the more competition you are likely to encounter and the bigger the drain on expenses to explore unique ways to make the book stand out above the rest. Reader Profile Hence, instead of trying to create a book that has mass appeal, it is wise to explore the needs, wants and desires of a realistically sized ‘niche’ target audience instead. To do this the author must identify and research what the intended target reader finds fascinating [ideally before writing the book], and establish unique and meaningful viewpoints to achieve this expectation. It helps to know what your central philosophy is in writing and wanting to publish a book, and why it is important that you share your views with readers. It is important to gain clarity about your own expectations and the message you put across so that you can deliver a convincing pitch that highlights your work’s benefits, points of difference, and unique qualities. The author will find it easy to answer a question like, “What makes your book so compelling that a customer would choose it over a similar publication, or another author in the same genre?” An author’s understanding of the competitive nature of attracting the attention of potential buyers makes it easier to discern who is most likely to buy their book and what it takes to make it stand out from other books in the same category. Who do you need to reach? Segment a broad market into distinct groups of individuals [men, women, young children, academics, adolescents, business executives, and so forth] who are like-minded or share specific behavioral characteristics. Geographic – Where do your potential readers live [country, region]? What is their home language? Do they live in an urban or rural environment? Demographic – What is the age and gender of your target reader? Occupation? Generation: Baby boomer? Gen X? Gen Y? Behavioral – Are they already fans of your genre/topic)? What motivates them? What are their reading preferences: eBook, Print? Where Can You Find the Answers? The answers to the above questions should not be left to guess-work. Consider asking followers on your social networks to complete a short questionnaire to better understand how to serve your potential readers. Ask questions in emails and your blog posts. Join forums and writers’ clubs that discuss book topics or genre to find out more about your potential target audience. Search for similar books in retail outlets and online, and investigate the books on author websites. Learn what type of content is shared [reviews, book signings, author biography, author interview] and what platforms are used to share information about a publication. Do an online search for reader demographics for magazines or publications relevant to the subject of your book. Reach your audience by engaging with your target audience by monitoring mentions of your book (Google Alerts), and stay up to date with what other authors, bloggers, and industry leaders are talking about; also contribute to the dialogue (Feedly, AllTop, Google...
Read MorePlanning Business Meetings
Make Business Meetings fun and revitalizing! Planning business meetings revolve around achieving corporate excellence in today’s competitive business environment. It is as simple as shifting the traditional rules of running a meeting to bringing in new tactics that focus on one issue at a time, and encourage contentious dialogue around the constant development of a forward-looking identity, lean management and shared vision for the organization. Purpose-driven meetings are empowering, offer members a dedicated platform for constructive communication, the opportunity to develop work skills and leadership, and are morale boosting. Banish Deadly Meetings Eradicate habitual views such as ‘people don’t take meetings seriously; they arrive late, leave early, and spend most of their time in absent-minded doodling’ by structuring a proactive agenda that groups topics that match the aim of the gathering so people can leave the meeting when their area under discussion is complete. This tactic will greatly facilitate efficient productivity since people complain that ‘meetings are too long, cover issues that are irrelevant to them, and encroach on their normal work obligations’. Initiate Lively Meetings Every business, whether it has two employees or 500 and more, set regular meetings as a strategy to plan the organization’s goals and determine who will do what by when. Meetings are an important way for management and employees to collaborate, explore innovative proposals and delegate work to employees. It is vital that employees are provided with the right level of support to get the job done well, including a clear outline of the task and expectations, access to relevant primary information, resources and training; the designated employee must be held accountable to deliver the pre-determined outcomes. Every employee must feel inspired to perform at their best and confident to act on own initiative to get the job done well. It is important to dispel the negative belief many employees have of meetings, ‘that nothing happens once the meeting ends and that people don’t convert decisions into action’. After each presentation, take a two-minute break It is important that people at the meeting stay alert. Make sure the room is well lit and ventilated. Here are some ideas to help them remain attentive: Get everyone to stand up, jump on the spot for 10 seconds, and stretch their arms above their head, lean to the left, lean to the right, lean forward to touch their toes [or knees] and to sit back down. Play up-tempo music so that individuals can move to the rhythm. Get everyone to participate in tossing a beach ball randomly to people standing around the boardroom table. Hand out a clump of play dough to each person and have them make something, anything. Play ‘What’s in the Box’ and have each person imagine what they are holding before removing the item from the box. Fill the box with items such as sandpaper, felt, golf ball, sock, comb, calculator, stress ball, candle, bulldog clip, and mouse pad. Value the power of food at a meeting: Food helps people sustain positive energy levels. Offer snack food such as fruit [apples, berries], yoghurt, nuts [walnuts and almonds], sunflower seeds, and bottled water. An idea for a healthy light lunch: garden salad [lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado, grilled chicken strips or tuna], wholegrain or rye bread, coffee and dark chocolate bonbons. Pick the right person The assumption ‘that nothing happens once the meeting ends and that people don’t convert decisions into action’ rarely occurs because employees lack enthusiasm or have a poor work ethic; in most instances they leave a meeting with a conflicting analysis of what was discussed and decided upon and don’t know what should happen next. The best way to avoid any misunderstanding is to...
Read MoreAbout Theresa
I’m a published author of four business books and have written a number of self-study tutorials [creative writing; editing and proofreading; business writing; and self-publishing] and an eBook [Workplace Harmony]. I am an experienced writer, editor and publisher. 
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