Member of the Month [September 2014]: João Rei Villar, Intro João Rei Villar: A Write of Passage Member since June 2013 Manager's Choice
Q: Describe your writing process.A: I start my process with a basic idea. I cook it in my mind for a while. Very rarely I take notes. I just let the ideas in evolution process. That may take some days or weeks. When I have a solid line for my story, that’s the moment when I start to put it on the paper. I start creating the main characters’ structure, making a diagram of relations, very visual. I like to do that color stuff... good are blue, bad are red, secondary relations are green. These diagrams really help when you are writing, especially when you write a story with many characters. After that I follow the traditional story structure. Since I think a lot about the story before I start, I normally don’t do many changes, even after the work is done. I’m not a writer who does many drafts. At the beginning I was a bit “worried” as in the industry you heard so many times “you need to re-write and re-write...” until I met Anthony Horowitz in a conference this year and he also confessed he doesn’t do many drafts. Just like me: 1st draft, when I do the handwriting on a notebook, 2nd draft when I copy to the laptop, 3rd draft after the checking. Eventually I can change some details if I read it some months later, but nothing very dramatic.
Q: Where do you write?
A: I can do it at home but also I can do in the train or at any place that I have some time free, a pen and a notebook. But to spark ideas shower is the best place!
Q: When did you first identify yourself as a writer?
A: I’m a very creative person. I always was and that wasn’t happening only on writing. I do paintings and drawings, I do music and theatre, the writing comes last after I did my cinema studies. I need to create all the time and when I started writing I thought “now, wait a minute, this is much easier, I only need to think and write it down”. Writing is putting your creativity explosion in a piece of paper. Just like that. Writing is now my favorite creative art.
Q: How do you define success as a writer?
A: Nowadays success is a very dangerous word. Many people are looking for the 15 minutes of fame. That doesn’t mean quality. Unfortunately the boundaries of quality are very low, but worse than that since TV and Film are businesses; they try to follow what the audiences want. In result we had a downgrade. That led us to think what is SUCCESS on these days? Someone who writes the “summer hit” and will be replaced by other “next summer” or someone who becomes a classic. More, only a very few authors are known by the public. Everybody knows the actors, many know the directors, and only very few know the scriptwriter or the author. We are in the last level of the chain. The successful writer will be the one that will be know in the industry offices. For me that’s the place I would like to be known.
Q: How has social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) helped your writing process/efforts/career?
A: I moved to UK recently so I had to start again from almost zero. I’m still building a new network, and Linkedin is definitively a fantastic tool. I made my own strategy on social media. Linkedin is absolutely for professional matter. On the other way, I keep Facebook for friends and any close acquaintance. It’s just for fun and I don’t mix it with the other social media. Twitter, I’m just discovering it now. Honestly, I use to think it was just stupid. A small comment with 140 characters, what’s the point of it?! But then I found it can be much more than that, and I start to publish my news or links to my blog entries. Without notice I start to get some followers and professional contacts. I see the point now and I like it! If you want to follow me there I’m @JReiVillar. I also keep my blog Heros and Villains where I write about scriptwriting, post some scripts and links to useful information. You can follow it here:http://jrvscripts.blogspot.co.uk/
Q: What's the best piece of writing advice you've ever received?
A: “Your story put me in tears. I was reading and my tears were flowing.” (Note: She wasn’t crying because it was bad material). That happens with a couple of stories and different people. If you write something that is sad and the people are crying, that means you did a good work.
Q: Tell us about your current writing project.
A: I have two projects that I’m developing at the moment. Let me say they are good! Very good! So I keep it secret for now. Giggles.
Q: Which award has your name written all over it: Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Clio or Grammy?
A: I have an EMMY award with some of my colleagues from the portuguese production company "SP Televisão"also with Pedro Lopes, another great author and friend.
Q: Favorite TV show, movie or play (include writer's/creator's name) and why.
A: I was going to put Patton(1971), one of my favorite movies, then I thought... well I don’t know who wrote the script, so I did a quick check and surprising found it was a master, Francis Ford Coppola with another Oscar winning, Edmund H. North. I love this film and George C. Scott is fantastic. From TV I want to highlight “Carnivale” by Daniel Knauf. This amazing series didn’t receive the deserved audience support at the time (2003-2005) but is definitely a great piece of work on TV out of the main stream, very intelligent, very well produced and I wish it could come back at any point. Many people are dreaming for that moment. My favourite play, that I had the chance to direct last year, is Harvey by Mary Chase. The James Stewart film is great, the play is a big laugh! If you have chances at any time try to see it with a good cast! Very important you need a good cast and a giant rabbit!
Q: How do you incorporate balance in your life?
A: I don’t. Giggles.
Q: Valuable takeaway for 900+ members of A Write of Passage...
A: One day Robert McKee wrote me “Tell the truth”, I will add “Be true to your stories”.
A: “Your story put me in tears. I was reading and my tears were flowing.” (Note: She wasn’t crying because it was bad material). That happens with a couple of stories and different people. If you write something that is sad and the people are crying, that means you did a good work.
Q: Tell us about your current writing project.
A: I have two projects that I’m developing at the moment. Let me say they are good! Very good! So I keep it secret for now. Giggles.
Q: Which award has your name written all over it: Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Clio or Grammy?
A: I have an EMMY award with some of my colleagues from the portuguese production company "SP Televisão"also with Pedro Lopes, another great author and friend.
Q: Favorite TV show, movie or play (include writer's/creator's name) and why.
A: I was going to put Patton(1971), one of my favorite movies, then I thought... well I don’t know who wrote the script, so I did a quick check and surprising found it was a master, Francis Ford Coppola with another Oscar winning, Edmund H. North. I love this film and George C. Scott is fantastic. From TV I want to highlight “Carnivale” by Daniel Knauf. This amazing series didn’t receive the deserved audience support at the time (2003-2005) but is definitely a great piece of work on TV out of the main stream, very intelligent, very well produced and I wish it could come back at any point. Many people are dreaming for that moment. My favourite play, that I had the chance to direct last year, is Harvey by Mary Chase. The James Stewart film is great, the play is a big laugh! If you have chances at any time try to see it with a good cast! Very important you need a good cast and a giant rabbit!
Q: How do you incorporate balance in your life?
A: I don’t. Giggles.
Q: Valuable takeaway for 900+ members of A Write of Passage...
A: One day Robert McKee wrote me “Tell the truth”, I will add “Be true to your stories”.
Thank You Erynne!
No comments:
Post a Comment