This week we got to talk to Michael J. Kospiah about Scream Writing and the importance of not being afraid to write shitty. Writing is rewriting, as the saying goes (and Kospiah elaborates), so write crap, edit it, get feedback, and continue to improve your craft!
What first got you interested in screenwriting?
My love for film. When I was around 12, the moment I found out that movies were written(as opposed to just magically appearing on screen), that’s the moment I became interested in screenwriting. Movies were always an escape for me, as they probably are for most people who enjoy them. I could forget about life for a little bit and get lost in a story within a 2-hour time frame. And within that time frame, you’re rewarded with closure to the story (most of the time). It’s instant gratification. And, as I got older, I realized the importance of story and how cool visuals and set pieces mean nothing without a gripping story. And that’s what I wanted to do – create stories. Create the foundation for what eventually becomes a visceral experience (if you’re lucky enough to get produced).
What’s the strongest piece of advice you have for aspiring screenwriters?
It’s probably cliche, but my advice would be to just keep writing. Don’t be afraid of failure and don’t be afraid of writing shit. That’s how you get better – realizing what you did wrong and doing it the right way the next time, whether it be in rewrites or the next project. The hardest part is actually STARTING a script. I’ve seen it a million times, people have these great ideas but they’re so afraid of “wasting their time” and writing shit that they never even start. If you have a great idea, just write it. And once you start, I would also advise finishing what you started. Finishing a script is very rewarding. But understanding what needs work (based on feedback from other writers or through paid coverage from experienced writers) is also important. No matter how harsh the feedback, take it with a grain of salt and try to gain something out of it rather than getting defensive and dismissing everyone who doesn’t like your script as someone who “just doesn’t get it”. Self-awareness is very important and one way to be self aware is to get some sort of consensus from all the people who’ve read your script. Rewriting is a big part of finishing a script. In my opinion a script is never finished until it’s on screen. But, as difficult as it can be for a writer to get a feature produced, I suppose you can consider a project truly finished once a sale is made.
Also… find your voice. Find what makes you unique, what makes you different than the other writers and exploit the shit out of it. I’m not saying not to be flexible and not to dabble in different genres, but it’s always good to find your place, find what you do, not just well, but what you do better than others and what you do that is different than everyone else.
And the last bit of advice I have for aspiring writers is that, once you’re finished with a few drafts, I found it best to separate yourself from the story for a few days to a week. Once you go back to it, it almost feels like you’re analyzing someone else’s work and you look at your story from a more objective point of view. And some of those notes you’ve received that you originally disagreed with actually start making sense.
What is your relationship with genre film (love, hate, indifference)? What led to that?
I love anything that has a good story, regardless of genre. But I’m usually drawn to genre films because they fit a specific expectation, even if the story isn’t as strong as you would like sometimes. You go into the movie-going experience with a sense of what this experience is going to be like. I love horror films and usually get some kind of enjoyment out of them even if they suck. Because a lot of the time, it’s exactly what I expected. And I enjoyed it. But man, I love when a well-written horror film takes me beyond my expectations and surprises me.
What was something that surprised you in the process of writing your own screenplay?
What surprised me was that, even if you’re super well-prepared to write a screenplay with an outline, one-pager, beat sheet and treatment, all those things are subject to change once you actually fully flesh out your characters in script form, giving them dialogue and fleshing out their personalities… your characters really take you to different places and often surprise you with where they take you. This can change the decisions they make that you had already outlined, which changes certain plot points and plot twists.
What’s your favorite thing about screenwriting that doesn’t apply to other kinds of writing?
Despite specifics with formatting and structure, you do have a lot freedom with screenplays. I wrote sports for newspapers before I really got deep into screenwriting and, as much as I love sports, you had absolutely no creative freedom. You write exactly what happened and that’s that. Even when I wrote sports columns, opinionated freedom was limited. It was pretty much just the facts. With screenplays, you truly have the freedom to use your voice and be heard. You are the God of your own story, you get to choose what happens. You get the freedom to pretty much take your characters wherever you want them to end up.
As opposed to writing novels, screenplays are a bit less time consuming. Not to say it doesn’t take hard work. And yes, writing a screenplay can be very time consuming. But writing screenplays, you need to get right to the point and create a visual using less words. To me, it’s important that when someone reads your script, the read moves at the pace of a film. The moment someone feels like they’re reading a script rather than SEEING a film, the writer has failed. When writing a script, at least with myself, especially when you get in the zone, your brain is seeing a movie and your fingers are pretty much typing on their own, almost involuntarily – I feel like that’s when you know you’re on to something. Sure, you’ll catch some things in rewrites and find more economic ways to word certain things, but when you’ve been doing it for a while, things like that become almost automatic. Screenwriting is one of the few forms of writing that, if you’re in the zone, you’re almost writing it at the pace of the actual film. Or at least that’s what it feels like, in my opinion.
What are some of the films and stories that inspired you?
As a kid, my inspiration to write films really came from watching The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes. And then I remembered watching Psycho (1960) in an 8th grade creative writing class and I remember specifically having my mind completely blown. That’s the first time I remember being really affected by a plot twist. Before that, it was all about explosions and action sets and cool fighting scenes. Or relying on scares. Or laughs. But, holy shit, that plot twist really opened my eyes.
After that, I started watching more and more Hitchcock films and found that, not only was I given a visceral experience, but I was getting something more than that with the actual story. That’s when I realized how important story really was.
As I got older, Taxi Driver (1976) really had an effect on me when it came to character. As important as I realized story was, this film really made me realize how important character was and how important it was to create unique characters with depth. The film was practically absent of a true plot but Travis Bickle was such a fascinating character that I had to go on this journey with him. Not only because of his depth and his uniqueness, but because there were aspects of his character that I could relate to despite how wacky he really was… common aspects like loneliness and awkwardness, especially as a teenager.
Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) made me really appreciate dialogue. In Taxi Driver, there’s only one main character. Dogs and Pulp Fiction, there’s several. And their dialogue was so unique to each character, it taught me how important it was to give characters their own distinct voice.
If you could adapt any story in any medium into a screenplay, what is your dream project?
I’m not really sure. I’m not entirely in love with telling a story that has already been told. Though there are a few stories out there that I feel should be told that not enough people know about. A while ago, I was really intrigued by H. H. Holmes, the Chicago based serial killer. But I guess they’re already making that with Leonardo DiCaprio attached. There was also a gay preacher and activist named Reverend Raymond Broshears who started a selfdefense group called the Lavender Panthers that protected the LGTB community in 1970’s San Francisco, often using violence to combat the violence against them. Can’t believe nobody made this movie yet, could be a project I may tackle in the near future.
Where can people find you online and support your work (present or upcoming)?
Well, I have a film on Netflix called The Suicide Theory (2014) that has pretty good reviews (78% on Rotten Tomatoes). We won an Audience Award at Austin Film Festival back in 2014 and took home the Grand Jury Prize at Dances With Films in Hollywood. People seem to like it. It’s also available on DVD, Amazon and Itunes. There’s a few short films on line they can find. And I have a few features slated for 2019, so there will be more.
