Writing is an intentional craft. Syd Field makes that remarkably clear in the second chapter, “The Subject”, of Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by talking about how everything in screenwriting has choice and responsibility behind it, from developing the subject in relation to character and action to researching and prioritizing details. I further connected this to “The Blank Page” because in class we discussed how you must know what you are going to write in order to be able to face the daunting “blank page” and how you cannot simply allow yourself to feel out the story as you go when writing a screenplay. In the creation of a novel, poem, or even a play, the story itself often guides the writer. As one of those works is developed, the world of the story lends a hand in forming itself and the characters come to life gradually, allowing the author to get to know each aspect as they go.
A screenplay, however, is very different. It’s confined to only about ninety pages, which has to include all of the character building, story points, dialogue, and every other major or minor part of a story. Thus, as laid out in “The Subject”, every decision must be made with choice and responsibility in mind because there is only so much space that can be used and it requires intention to be able to masterfully convey a subject and message within that frame. Furthermore, as I read through this chapter, I thought about how to apply this to my own story. I am far more used to the style of novels than to that of screenplays so it’s certainly an adjustment getting used to the idea of planning everything out instead of letting it flow as I go, but I feel prepared from the advice given in “The Subject” to explore this new genre of creative writing.
The reading of Syd-Field The subject spoke to me in numerous quantity. I loved how Syd-Field explores the Subject as something an author must know inside and out. It’s the idea that you are the. king in a sense and you dictate everything about this piece of work. To be king one must surmount an insurmountable amount of knowledge and use that to lead his/her people. Being able to use the knowledge and experience as an author one is able to Picasso his screenplay with many dramatic twists and turns because the author is always in control. Knowing the beginning, middle, and end allows the author to always be one step ahead and that. means a roadblock isn’t a roadblock because I know how this story ends. Its up to my creativity to dramatize it and create a story people want to see. That part is what separates an author from the masses and I think thats what I took away from the chapter. Being in control of my story, everything has been planned and the twists and turns I add will all be for a specific reason as the story unfolds to my audience.
The reading of Syd-Field The subject spoke to me in numerous quantity. I loved how Syd-Field explores the Subject as something an author must know inside and out. It’s the idea that you are the. king in a sense and you dictate everything about this piece of work. To be king one must surmount an insurmountable amount of knowledge and use that to lead his/her people. Being able to use the knowledge and experience as an author one is able to Picasso his screenplay with many dramatic twists and turns because the author is always in control. Knowing the beginning, middle, and end allows the author to always be one step ahead and that. means a roadblock isn’t a roadblock because I know how this story ends. Its up to my creativity to dramatize it and create a story people want to see. That part is what separates an author from the masses and I think thats what I took away from the chapter. Being in control of my story, everything has been planned and the twists and turns I add will all be for a specific reason as the story unfolds to my audience.
Syd Field’s chapter “The Subject” centers around the question of “what do you need to write a screenplay” and starts with the titular concept of the subject. The subject, as Field defines it, is an action and a character that embody and dramatize the idea of the screenplay. The character is who the story is about, the action being what the story is about. In order to have the audience understand what the story is about, you must also understand the subject, as you have to translate this idea and story into a comprehensible screenplay. A writer must use choice and responsibility in their execution of the screenplay. What does this mean? Every creative decision should be a choice, not a necessity. As Field points out, walking out of a bank and running out of a bank are two very different stories— walking suggests a mundane action by the subject, while running suggests some level of danger, like a bank robbery they’ve just committed, or maybe the threat of one inside the bank.
Field also discusses doing research to give yourself information that will allow “you to operate from the position of choice, confidence, and responsibility.” For example, knowing details about a character’s profession in the medical field allows for you to make decisions about their personality in other aspects of their life. A brain surgeon must be precise and confident, which could ripple into arrogance within their relationship with a romantic partner, or the organization of their schedule. Meanwhile, a nurse with a good bedside manner must have an amiable personality, so they may struggle with people-pleasing amongst their family members, or having a large group of friends due to their charm. In short, research presents opportunities for the writer to connect different aspects of a character’s life— career, social life, culture, etc.
While at first, I found the formulaic aspect of writing a screenplay off-putting, as i think increasingly more about my story i find myself appreciating it. I’m a scientist, I’m a stem major, I love math and so thinking about my story from a formulaic standpoint is surprisingly fun. It keeping me engaged and makes me want to draw out tables to organize my ideas. I found while reading this chapter I was able to answer the author’s questions about my subject easily, I have had a very vivid and clear idea for my story from the beginning and keeping it simple and slice of life is making everything that much clearer. In reading the chapter, I continued to envision my subject more as the story, rather than just a character. This chapter helped me realize just how character driven the plot is, and how much more I need to flesh her out to ensure a meaningful and thought-out story. My main character is not a vehicle for telling my story, but the screenplay is the vehicle for telling her story. The only continued issue I am having while reading The Foundations of Screenwriting, Is the constant mentioning of movies and stories i have never heard of. While i can understand the importance of “classics” when discussing media, all of the movies being mentioned came out far before I was born, making it hard to relate to and understand the references. Maybe its just because I don’t like watching movies all that much and so i have not seen many older classics, but it is the one element of this book that pulls me out of the reading every time.
In Chapter 3, “The Subject”, the topic of you needing a subject which your characters can exist, and engage with an action. “The Subject” spoke about you needing a subject to “dramatize” and “embody” the idea of the story you are trying to tell inside of the screenplay. Field talks about how every screenplay has a subject, because it’s the main goal or thing about the story. He speaks about how you need to know your subject to begin writing your screenplay.
He also talks about how it’s important to keep your general idea for your story, and the subject separate, because depending on the matter, it can change the mood of the story very quickly, and perhaps not in the way you intended.
It is also encouraged that you can do research on your subject to emphasize your characters more. Like reaching the time they are living in, or looking at the social structure of their society. It can change the story for the better!
There can also be different types of conflict. Everyone knows physical conflict, but there is also emotional conflict, societal conflict, ecological conflict, and so much more.
To wrap it all up, with no action, there is no character. What a character does, is what they are.
In the second chapter of Syd Field’s book, “The Subject”, Syd goes into detail about this idea of researching what exactly you are going to write about BEFORE you can start writing down anything on paper. He describes getting a personal interest in whatever you are writing about, talking to people who have more knowledge than you, and doing text-based research. A principal rule Syd mentions is that “The more you know, the more you can communicate.” There was also an emphasis on preparation of the material before writing a screenplay. Basically, this chapter was all about the setting up of a screenplay before you even start writing any of it down on the actual paper. The reason this really stood out to me was because I always forget that you can’t come up with an idea or a story if you yourself don’t know anything about the topic you want to talk about.
7 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 4”
Writing is an intentional craft. Syd Field makes that remarkably clear in the second chapter, “The Subject”, of Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by talking about how everything in screenwriting has choice and responsibility behind it, from developing the subject in relation to character and action to researching and prioritizing details. I further connected this to “The Blank Page” because in class we discussed how you must know what you are going to write in order to be able to face the daunting “blank page” and how you cannot simply allow yourself to feel out the story as you go when writing a screenplay. In the creation of a novel, poem, or even a play, the story itself often guides the writer. As one of those works is developed, the world of the story lends a hand in forming itself and the characters come to life gradually, allowing the author to get to know each aspect as they go.
A screenplay, however, is very different. It’s confined to only about ninety pages, which has to include all of the character building, story points, dialogue, and every other major or minor part of a story. Thus, as laid out in “The Subject”, every decision must be made with choice and responsibility in mind because there is only so much space that can be used and it requires intention to be able to masterfully convey a subject and message within that frame. Furthermore, as I read through this chapter, I thought about how to apply this to my own story. I am far more used to the style of novels than to that of screenplays so it’s certainly an adjustment getting used to the idea of planning everything out instead of letting it flow as I go, but I feel prepared from the advice given in “The Subject” to explore this new genre of creative writing.
The reading of Syd-Field The subject spoke to me in numerous quantity. I loved how Syd-Field explores the Subject as something an author must know inside and out. It’s the idea that you are the. king in a sense and you dictate everything about this piece of work. To be king one must surmount an insurmountable amount of knowledge and use that to lead his/her people. Being able to use the knowledge and experience as an author one is able to Picasso his screenplay with many dramatic twists and turns because the author is always in control. Knowing the beginning, middle, and end allows the author to always be one step ahead and that. means a roadblock isn’t a roadblock because I know how this story ends. Its up to my creativity to dramatize it and create a story people want to see. That part is what separates an author from the masses and I think thats what I took away from the chapter. Being in control of my story, everything has been planned and the twists and turns I add will all be for a specific reason as the story unfolds to my audience.
The reading of Syd-Field The subject spoke to me in numerous quantity. I loved how Syd-Field explores the Subject as something an author must know inside and out. It’s the idea that you are the. king in a sense and you dictate everything about this piece of work. To be king one must surmount an insurmountable amount of knowledge and use that to lead his/her people. Being able to use the knowledge and experience as an author one is able to Picasso his screenplay with many dramatic twists and turns because the author is always in control. Knowing the beginning, middle, and end allows the author to always be one step ahead and that. means a roadblock isn’t a roadblock because I know how this story ends. Its up to my creativity to dramatize it and create a story people want to see. That part is what separates an author from the masses and I think thats what I took away from the chapter. Being in control of my story, everything has been planned and the twists and turns I add will all be for a specific reason as the story unfolds to my audience.
Syd Field’s chapter “The Subject” centers around the question of “what do you need to write a screenplay” and starts with the titular concept of the subject. The subject, as Field defines it, is an action and a character that embody and dramatize the idea of the screenplay. The character is who the story is about, the action being what the story is about. In order to have the audience understand what the story is about, you must also understand the subject, as you have to translate this idea and story into a comprehensible screenplay. A writer must use choice and responsibility in their execution of the screenplay. What does this mean? Every creative decision should be a choice, not a necessity. As Field points out, walking out of a bank and running out of a bank are two very different stories— walking suggests a mundane action by the subject, while running suggests some level of danger, like a bank robbery they’ve just committed, or maybe the threat of one inside the bank.
Field also discusses doing research to give yourself information that will allow “you to operate from the position of choice, confidence, and responsibility.” For example, knowing details about a character’s profession in the medical field allows for you to make decisions about their personality in other aspects of their life. A brain surgeon must be precise and confident, which could ripple into arrogance within their relationship with a romantic partner, or the organization of their schedule. Meanwhile, a nurse with a good bedside manner must have an amiable personality, so they may struggle with people-pleasing amongst their family members, or having a large group of friends due to their charm. In short, research presents opportunities for the writer to connect different aspects of a character’s life— career, social life, culture, etc.
While at first, I found the formulaic aspect of writing a screenplay off-putting, as i think increasingly more about my story i find myself appreciating it. I’m a scientist, I’m a stem major, I love math and so thinking about my story from a formulaic standpoint is surprisingly fun. It keeping me engaged and makes me want to draw out tables to organize my ideas. I found while reading this chapter I was able to answer the author’s questions about my subject easily, I have had a very vivid and clear idea for my story from the beginning and keeping it simple and slice of life is making everything that much clearer. In reading the chapter, I continued to envision my subject more as the story, rather than just a character. This chapter helped me realize just how character driven the plot is, and how much more I need to flesh her out to ensure a meaningful and thought-out story. My main character is not a vehicle for telling my story, but the screenplay is the vehicle for telling her story. The only continued issue I am having while reading The Foundations of Screenwriting, Is the constant mentioning of movies and stories i have never heard of. While i can understand the importance of “classics” when discussing media, all of the movies being mentioned came out far before I was born, making it hard to relate to and understand the references. Maybe its just because I don’t like watching movies all that much and so i have not seen many older classics, but it is the one element of this book that pulls me out of the reading every time.
In Chapter 3, “The Subject”, the topic of you needing a subject which your characters can exist, and engage with an action. “The Subject” spoke about you needing a subject to “dramatize” and “embody” the idea of the story you are trying to tell inside of the screenplay. Field talks about how every screenplay has a subject, because it’s the main goal or thing about the story. He speaks about how you need to know your subject to begin writing your screenplay.
He also talks about how it’s important to keep your general idea for your story, and the subject separate, because depending on the matter, it can change the mood of the story very quickly, and perhaps not in the way you intended.
It is also encouraged that you can do research on your subject to emphasize your characters more. Like reaching the time they are living in, or looking at the social structure of their society. It can change the story for the better!
There can also be different types of conflict. Everyone knows physical conflict, but there is also emotional conflict, societal conflict, ecological conflict, and so much more.
To wrap it all up, with no action, there is no character. What a character does, is what they are.
In the second chapter of Syd Field’s book, “The Subject”, Syd goes into detail about this idea of researching what exactly you are going to write about BEFORE you can start writing down anything on paper. He describes getting a personal interest in whatever you are writing about, talking to people who have more knowledge than you, and doing text-based research. A principal rule Syd mentions is that “The more you know, the more you can communicate.” There was also an emphasis on preparation of the material before writing a screenplay. Basically, this chapter was all about the setting up of a screenplay before you even start writing any of it down on the actual paper. The reason this really stood out to me was because I always forget that you can’t come up with an idea or a story if you yourself don’t know anything about the topic you want to talk about.