There's a new weekly feature column on cinematical.com called "The Write Stuff" that purports to be "focusing on the art of screenwriting." I'm looking forward to this because in my opinion, there aren't enough popular resources on the 'net dedicated to teaching people about screenwriting. Anyone can buy one of the many screenwriting bibles and learn the craft, though not necessarily talent for how best to abuse it, but the art side of things is a much more touchy subject.
I'm not personally familiar with Patrick Walsh and so this may turn out to be an exercise in futility, he may know what he's talking about but not able to present it in a clear and entertaining way. He may not know the first thing about writing scripts, but thinks he does and so has set about filling blank pages on the five-dollar-per-post Cinematical. And of course, he may be somewhere in between, like myself. I prefer watching the game from the ether personally, it's much quieter in here. I know I've learned a lot of things about writing by reading the blogs of professionals, though not necessarily A-list personalities, they still know their craft. Will Patrick's musings be something that both amateurs and professionals can take something away from, or is this just a targeted critique of cinema, aimed at the pages instead of the pretty faces?
Hopefully it'll be a little bit of everything, but I'll reserve judgment for the time being. I can be harsh and I've been studying the art and craft of screenwriting for the better part of three years, so I know bullshit when I see it. I'm pulling for a delightful surprise, and I'll let you know what we end up with in the near future.
*Note: Just because you've been paid to write doesn't mean you know what you're doing. Understand that when you're looking at all the terrible baseball players on TV that belong in the minors, even the lowest paid worst of the bunch is still making $500k a year, minimum. Writers and other workers are no exception.
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