High Concept

Yikes - time getting away from me again. But I've had my head in about three books and trying to get to grips with Movie Magic Screenwriter which I installed a long time ago and hardly looked at so now I'm trying to figure it out.
This week I've made a start on the Romcom. I'm going to write it in some scenes first as a way of finding the characters. I find that's the way I get them, through their dialogue and interaction with others. The great thing about scenes is you don't have to worry about description and too much detail so it's quick and easy to write.
The Contour outline is done so I know where the story is going, I just have to figure out the individual scenes and finer points of the plot.

I've been tormenting myself with another writing book - The Screenwriting Formula by Rob Tobin which has some fascinating insights on High Concept stories. High Concept has always been de rigeur in Hollywood but only recently in these cash strapped and cautious times has it been echoing down the channels of publishing. So what is it? Basically it means a story that is instantly identifiable as original, broadly appealing to a wide audience, and easily summed up in a sentence or two. Well, the first two are hardly surprising but why the catchy hook? It seems people are getting shorter attention spans these days and so the shorter your pitch the better your chance of selling your script.

Well, this will be my last post for over a week as I'm off to (hopefully) sunny Loch Ness on Saturday. I'll try and get a picture of the monster for next time...