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The Screenwriter in Cyberspace
By Charles Deemer

Column #1: Finding Your Way in Cyberspace

I have writer friends who won't touch the Internet with a 9600 baud cyberpole. In fact, I have writer friends who won't use a computer. "What's in it for me?" they keep asking.

A hell of a lot, I keep saying -- and I'm going to be here each month to try and convince them, you, and anyone who will listen that writers -- including screenwriters -- belong in cyberspace.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

You belong here because there is so much that the Internet -- and in particular, its hypertextual configuration called The World Wide Web -- has to offer writers.

For starters, the Web is an extraordinary research tool. In cyberspace, screenwriters can learn about craft and marketing strategies, network with other writers, do script research with great efficiency, keep abreast of breaking industry news, and much more.

Maybe you already know this, and maybe you don't. Maybe you're so new to cyberspace (this electronic world we are communicating in here) that you really don't know much about the Internet or the World Wide Web at all.

So let me make a quick diversion for "newbies". If you are a seasoned cyberspace surfer, you may want to skip this section.

INTRO FOR NEWBIES

The World Wide Web, in which you are presently reading this column, uses something called "hypertext" to organize information in a new and powerful way. Hypertext is non-linear text, text that uses specially defined words or phrases called "hyperlinks" to electronically move to new file areas. This means information gets layered in a way never quite seen before. I'll demonstrate what I mean below.

Hyperlinks are visibly defined in some way, depending on the browser (the software) you use to access the Web: in Netscape, they are underlined and blue; in Lynx, they are highlighted.

For example, below is a hyperlink to more information about the Internet and the Web, which when activated (by clicking on it or highlighting it and pressing the return/enter key) will zap you to a file that is located in a computer very far away from the computer that stores this column.

This hyperlink goes to Kevin Hughes' Web intro at Enterprise Integration Technologies. Your browser has a "left arrow key" icon (or, in Lynx, use the literal left arrow key) that will return you here after you check out the hyperlink.

And if you want to learn more about hypertext, this hyperlink goes to my essay "What is Hypertext?"

Going from hyperlink to hyperlink is how you navigate the Web. You don't have to be too bright to realize it's very easy to get lost this way; it's very easy to get lost in cyberspace.

After all, if you follow hyperlink after hyperlink, that takes you to files stored on distant computers all around the world -- well, where do you end up? And how do you know where you are? And how do you get, well, home?

FINDING YOUR WAY

All of which is a long-winded introduction to the fact that "Finding Your Way in Cyberspace" is the subject of my first column. Because before screenwriters or anyone else can use the Internet to advantage, they have to be able to get to where they want to go.

Let's say you want to find out more specificly what the Internet has to offer screenwriters. There are search tools called "search engines" that electronically comb the Internet for sites that include "keywords" that you define. Two of my favorites are called "Yahoo" and "Lycos." Learning how to use these search tools is a good first step in learning how to find your way around cyberspace.

SEARCHING WITH YAHOO

"Yahoo" searches home pages for keywords that you input into a form. One of the first things you want to learn is how to phrase your search efficiently. For example, we can search for "strings," which are text elements that don't have to include entire words. Thus, if we search for "screenwrit" we will include "screenwriter", "screenwriters", and "screenwriting" in our search. Let's do it!

First, we bring up the Yahoo search form. We want to enter "screenwrit" in the appropriate area (enter "screenwrit" on the horizontal line) and then click the "search" button. Do it now.

Notice how quickly the search is finished. The results are shown on the screen: we have 10 matches, which means Yahoo found 10 home pages with "screenwrit" on them.

One, of course, is the Internet Screenwriters Network, the very website at which you are reading this. Also listed is my own website, The Screenwriters & Playwrights Home Page, and a newly formed site called "Screenwriters Online."

Two of the sites focus on software products: "MacToolKit" and "Dramatica." Another was put up by two screenwriters in order to peddle their scripts via a Web page. (As it turns out, this is a lousy way to market scripts!). Still another takes us to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is filled with goodies.

You'll notice that the Yahoo search form gives you some options. The most important of these concerns how the search is conducted, the default value being "boolean and." These options refer to searches involving more than one word.

For example, if we were searching for "screen writing", the default alternative would give us sites that contain both words but not necessarily in order. The "single string" option would present only those sites that use "screen writing" exactly in that order, including the space between the words. The "boolean or" would search for sites using either "screen" or "writing" on the page.

SEARCHING WITH LYCOS

If you fill in the Lycos search form with "screenwrit", you will discover how much more powerful this tool is. That's because Yahoo searches home pages, the top or entry page into a website, while Lycos searches the hyperlink pages at lower layers of the site as well.

A Lycos search finds no less than 452 matches. The figure may change when you try it because the Web is changing daily.

At the top of the list is Jack Stanley's very useful and important resource, the Scrnwrit List FAQ, here in its valuable hypertext version. Check it out. We'll have much more to say about the FAQ in a future column.

The next several entries are all from the Internet Screenwriters Network, which demonstrates how deeply a Lycos search can go. We are at item number 13 before we get to my website, The Screenwriters & Playwrights Home Page.

You have options at Lycos, too. By default, for example, only 10 of our 452 matches will be listed. You can do the search again, replacing 10 with 500, and all items will be loaded to the screen.

You may also want to check the "terse output" option, which is left unchecked by default. This means only the site addresses are listed, not a short excerpt from the site. In my experience, these excerpts are not very helpful.

I hope you now see how powerful these search tools can be. If you are doing research for a script and need to know something about criminology or American history or whatever, use these search tools. I've found research on the Web to be quicker and usually as successful as research in a library.

There are many other search tools as well, many of which can be found at Microsoft's Library.

JUST DO IT

Most screenwriters, in my experience, don't venture into cyberspace much beyond using email, checking out the misc.writing.screenplays newsgroup, or subscribing to the Scrnwrit List (if you are interested in subscribing, check out the networking area of The Screenwriters & Playwrights Home Page).

If you fit into this category, consider taking a risk, spreading your wings a little, and venturing more daringly into cyberspace. Try out the search engines here for starters. They are not that difficult to use. Be sure to put their URLs in your hotlist/bookmark file (your browser has a way to store URLs) and use them often.

The first key to being comfortable in cyberspace is the realization that, with a handy search tool at the ready, you never will be lost.

--Charles Deemer

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Originally appeared at the Hollywood Network.