The VERB - November '09 - Page 2

WHAT'S ON YOUR DESK?

My desk curves like a crescent moon around me. I designed it that way. In front of me is my keyboard and monitor. Further back, I can see my black computer tower and modem. Leaning against my computer tower is a small appointment planner. Just behind my monitor are two lamps, each facing a different direction like floppy rabbit ears. If desired, I can imagine my monitor to be an animal I can talk to.

Glancing to my left, I see two pencil cups. One is a 20th Century Fox cup—a gift from a producer. The other is hand-made by my children and says “#1 Dad.” You can guess which cup holds my favorite pencils and pens! I see a note pad, letter opener, bottle of water, and stapler, and then to the far left, my work for the day and a small sound speaker. The guts of my sound system are underneath the desk.

Glancing to my right, I see next to my monitor a six-inch-high carved wooden figure holding her hands around her golden heart. This is a gift of my wife, reminding me that her heart belongs to me. And yes, she has a golden heart. I see my phone and phone log, a portrait of Jesus, and a vertical file that holds important information that I use regularly, including magazines to read, order forms, class rosters, a Bible and a Book of Mormon. To the far right, my printer/fax waits patiently along with the other sound speaker.

Most of my desk surface is clean. I find it difficult to operate unless my work is organized. Underneath my desk to the right is a rolling file where I keep upcoming projects, letterhead, personal phone directories, financial files, client orders, DVDs from my students of films they have produced or contributed to, and other such things. Oh, and there is a small box of Wheat Thins.

When it is time to write, I go through a very simple ritual. I open a file and start keyboarding. And then I try to keep writing.

Dave Trottier has sold or optioned ten screenplays (three produced) and helped hundreds of writers break into the writing business. He is a script consultant, author of The Screenwriter’s Bible and The Freelance Writer’s Bible, and host of keepwriting.com. As “Dr. Format,” he writes a column for Script Magazine.

SAY WHAT? Misused Words

pro bono - donated without charge for the public good; free.
"Unfortunately, we could never afford to hire him, which is why he's doing this pro bono."

quid pro quo - an equal exchange; substitute.
"Did you or did you not, Madam President, secure a similar quid pro quo from Russia?"

Capote
(2005)

Written by:
Dan Futterman

Starring:
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Laura Kinney

The facts behind Truman Capote's bestseller In Cold Blood.
After a Kansas family is murdered, Capote decides to write a book
about it, and comes face-to-face
with the killers.

A MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF WRITING

In 1964, a New York writer had his second novel published. The story, an Italian immigrant family living in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen during the Depression, was very close to his heart. He was confident the book was his best. Those who read it, and reviewed it, agreed. The New York Times hailed it as “a classic."

Unfortunately the book didn’t sell well. Neither the author nor the publishing house made any money, and the dismal numbers brought the writer’s career to a grinding halt. No publishing house wanted to touch his next project. “If only,” one editor offered, “your story had more of that Mafia stuff in it, maybe the book would’ve made money.”

The writer paused. He’d always yearned to be the next James Joyce—a serious artist of language—but obviously that type of writing wasn’t going to pay his bills. Fine. He’d set aside the eloquent prose for simple storytelling. He’d write something that would sell.

He submitted an outline that revolved around a family of racketeers, led by a soft-spoken patriarch. Publishers GP Putnam’s Sons liked the premise and gave him a $5,000 advance to write it. Three years later, he gave them a manuscript. “Needs one more rewrite,” he told them right before he took his family on vacation.

When the author returned from Europe, he found that his “Mafia” novel was the cause of a huge bidding war. It eventually topped out at $450,000—a record at the time—and made Mario Puzo famous. The Godfather would go on to sell 21 million copies, and remain on the bestseller list for 67 weeks.

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