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The Screenwriter in Cyberspace By Charles
Deemer |
Column #15: Keeping Up in Cyberspace
Resources for screenwriters are growing at such a rapid pace, not to mention
resources in other areas of interest on the Internet, that it's easy to get
overwhelmed and lost. Here are some tips for keeping up with what is new.
Have a plan
The first thing you need to do is some serious reflection
about your activity in cyberspace. Why are you on the Internet? What areas of
the net do you visit regularly? What kinds of information are important to you,
particularly with regard to new and breaking stories or products?
This decided, you need to find resources that speak to those needs - and then
set up a routine that takes you to them on a regular basis.
At the Screenwriters &
Playwrights Home Page my What's New? area is
one of the most popular. Here on an almost daily basis I list the new or updated
links I've found that may interest writers (not only screenwriters and
playwrights). Where do I find these sites?
Every day I visit the Yahoo! What's
New area, looking especially in the Arts and Entertainment categories for
new sites that may interest my audience. You can do the same and not rely on my
judgment of what interests you.
On a weekly basis, I also visit the What's New Too? website, doing
a search for such things as "screenwrit" (which would include both
"screenwriting" and "screenwriters").
New Software
I also am interested in new software, particularly writing
software, which I review regularly (recent reviews are Story Tools and Comparing Screenwriting
Software). I visit the Shareware New Arrivals area
to find out what new programs are coming out.
For more specialized programs, I scan the newsgroups misc.writing.screenplays and rec.arts.theatre.plays.
Breaking News
I used to read the daily headlines at the online
Hollywood Reporter but that site and magazine have a new editor, Lou
Grantt, and it's too early to know what will be offered online under the new
leadership.
But industry headlines are also available elsewhere. NewsPage is one
source I check for breaking news headlines in the film industry. You can
personalize this news retrieval page to suit your own interests.
Networking
A number of links are suggested in the networking area at
my site. No doubt the most energetic of these is the Screenwriters List,
which can generate over 100 messages daily. If you have the discipline to read
only "subject lines" that interest you, and the patience to hang with the list
for a while, you will find similar souls with whom to network through more
private email exchanges. Jack Stanley's list is a wonderful resource.
New Markets
The Internet hasn't reached its potential as a true
marketplace for screenplays. Few of the major wheelers-and-dealers are online,
or at least not so in any public way. At the same time, a number of legitimate
players are online, some in chat rooms at AOL, Prodigy and other
services, others more openly at websites or newsgroups or listservs. If you
look, you can find them.
Newsgroups are a possible source for new markets, a place to find producers
who are looking for material, but there also are some risks here because anyone
can pose as a producer at a newsgroup. But I check out the screenwriters'
newsgroup regularly and look at those messages seeking material, though I seldom
send more than a query as a result. I also check out the Producers Dealmaking
Area here at the Hollywood Network. You have to be a member to enjoy
full "pitch room" privileges.
How Not to be Overwhelmed
The secret to keeping up in cyberspace, to not
being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material and new sites going online
daily, is to approach "keeping up" with a plan. First you have to decide what
you want; then how to get it.
It only takes me an hour or so a day to keep the What's New? area of
my site current - not bad at all, I think. If you give yourself an hour a day
online on a regular basis, dedicated to "keeping up in cyberspace," you'll find
the routine to follow that keeps you abreast of your own areas of interest. It's
only overwhelming when you can't see the trees for the forest.
- --Charles Deemer
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Originally appeared at the Hollywood Network.