Sunday, April 24, 2016

#Scriptchat Transcript: Mylo Carbia @MyloCarbia on Horror Writing & Being Writer-for-Hire

Great chat tonight with Mylo Carbia @MyloCarbia - Writing Horror & working as a ghost writer (as in writer-for-hire for money under an NDA with no screen credit). Enjoy! @jeannevb

Read below or on the Storify site.
#Scriptchat Transcript: Mylo Carbia @MyloCarbia on Horror Writing & Being Writer-for-Hire

#Scriptchat Transcript: Mylo Carbia @MyloCarbia on Horror Writing & Being Writer-for-Hire

Great chat tonight with Mylo Carbia @MyloCarbia - Writing Horror & working as a ghost writer (as in writer-for-hire for money under an NDA with no screen credit). Enjoy! @jeannevb

  1. If you're a ghost and you're a writer, tonight's #scriptchat should be right up your alley. Woooo
  2. Though, I probably not have much to say about this subject. #scriptchat
  3. So let's get the horror writing topic started and then we'll switch over to the life of a ghost writer. #scriptchat
  4. @jeannevb #scriptchat Thanks for having me! Any aspiring horror writers out there tonight?
  5. @MyloCarbia Nice to e-meet you! I'm a designer working in film industry, I love doing art/layouts/pitch decks for #horror :) #scriptchat
  6. I haven't ruled out horror but I haven't really been struck with a horror idea yet #scriptchat
  7. @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat Building the tension. Treat it like you would sex... Don't give it all up at once. Tease it up a little at first..
  8. @MyloCarbia so what's the unique aspect that's more common in horror writing than other genres? #scriptchat
  9. Hello everyone... my first time joining... look forward to it. #scriptchat
  10. @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat As for character development, it's really important to build empathy for your villains as much as your protags
  11. Thanks Jeanne... happy to be here... know nothing about writing horror... but would like to learn. #scriptchat
  12. If there are horror writers out there but nervous to chime in, don't worry, we don't bite - we drink tequila. #scriptchat
  13. @SylviaLlewellyn #scriptchat Horror writing is so much fun... Your mind goes free when it goes as dark as possible.
  14. Oh this is a drinking party. I have nothing in the house. next time @jeannevb #scriptchat
  15. @MyloCarbia how how do you create empathy for villains in #horror? Using Their weakness? #scriptchat
  16. @SylviaLlewellyn Hey, I'm clean too, we can be the designated drivers. It's easy when everyone's already home. #scriptchat
  17. Creating tension: One great tip I can give is that every scene should end exactly the opposite way the audience expects... #scriptchat
  18. Oops! Answer @jeannievb first! I'm new and don't know how this works! Sorry! #scriptchat
  19. I think it must be like Hitchcock said... only the audience knows there's a bomb under the table where a few guys are sitting #scriptchat
  20. @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat I would like to see the cliche of the protag making bad decisions (like hiding in the car where the killer is) go
  21. So that creates a ton of suspense and horror in the audience #scriptchat
  22. Yes, that is always my favorite. To have the audience know the truth and watch characters stumble around it is the best #scriptchat
  23. The few I've seen... like everyone else in the audience I'm thinking DON'T GO IN THAT ROOM #scriptchat
  24. @SylviaLlewellyn But i love when you have to. "Cube." The rooms are trapped but you still have to proceed. #scriptchat
  25. I really want to create a new style of horror... One that is modern, appealing to women and explores the depths of human evil #scriptchat
  26. @MyloCarbia what are some classic tricks that are a must to see in all horror scripts? #scriptchat
  27. @blueneumann That's the key (to everything) - motivated it. No stupid decisions, smart ones that lead to problems. #scriptchat
  28. My favorite horror movies are The Shining, The Thing and Jaws all for different reasons #scriptchat
  29. Love The Shining, Cube, Cabin In The Woods... I notice I tend to veer into the "self-aware" horror flicks. #scriptchat
  30. I didn't really grow up with horror movies, only got into them recently. #scriptchat
  31. @SylviaLlewellyn #scriptchat I love Silence of the Lambs in that it is more of a horror-thriller. That's definitely more of who I am.
  32. @MyloCarbia what about what lies beneath with Harrison ford? Kind of a thriller with horror elements? #scriptchat
  33. @jeannevb #scriptchat Classic tricks in all horror films is that the imagery has to be extreme. You have to go all the way in horror...
  34. @wdavisliterary @MyloCarbia I remember that having a bit of a Hitchcock feel to it... but it's been a long time #scriptchat
  35. In thrillers you can run someone over with a car. In horror you have to make the person INTO a car. #scriptchat
  36. I read Dracula recently and loved it. Felt like the cast of Downton Abbey reading the lyrics to a heavy metal album #scriptchat
  37. @wcmartell @blueneumann Thank you!! Nothing throws me out of a story faster than people acting unbelievably stupid in #horror. #scriptchat
  38. @SarahAlexis4 DREAD is cousin to suspense - the anticipation of an unknown action. Uses Dramatic Irony (audience knows). #scriptchat
  39. ...as well as like a compilation, lots of horror shorts combining to tell a year's worth of terror #scriptchat
  40. @wdavisliterary #scriptchat Another favorite of mine. Plus anything written by M. Night Shyamalan
  41. You have to be very creative with death in horror. The audience is always looking for something new to watch or read. #scriptchat
  42. Can you tell us how to create suspense? I think that is an important question yet to be answered #scriptchat
  43. @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat The movie budgets are typically smaller in horror and many films are indies... But the community is close and A+++
  44. @jeannevb @MyloCarbia To create a new style of Horror I would model on the "Monster in the House" genre with a really new twist. #scriptchat
  45. @JAEL488 Me personally, I think horror refers to a physicalization of a primal fear. #scriptchat
  46. @SarahAlexis4 Where suspense has a bomb under the table and a clock - dread has no clock and we don't know where the comb is. #scriptchat
  47. Well Mylo while I was away last week they found a torso not too far away from my house... that's real horror..no extremities #scriptchat
  48. Another tip is to build real character traits in your villains. Everyone remembers that fantastic line about Fava Beans. #scriptchat
  49. What makes horror bad is when the monsters are uni-dimensional. Make them MORE exciting than your hero #scriptchat
  50. @MyloCarbia Yeah. The villains't he most likely one to be in the sequel! Put some energy into him/her! #scriptchat
  51. I write both paranormal and human evil sort of stories but nothing is off limits to me... The crazier, the better #scriptchat
  52. @wcmartell @SarahAlexis4 A remake of "Speed" starring Marcia Brady (she combed her hair 100x a day) #scriptchat
  53. @MyloCarbia what got you interested in horror over other genres? Didn't you tell me you grew up w/ ghosts? #scriptchat
  54. Just a comment, I've noticed that in many horror movies these days, nobody survives -- found footage style. #scriptchat
  55. @byChrisPhillips Of course, if they survived they could comment on the footage and put it in context. #scriptchat
  56. My trademark is the big surprise twist ending. As writers, we should all explore building our brands by making a trademark #scriptchat
  57. Producers refer to writers as "that prison scene guy" or that "haunted house writer" so decide what and who you want to be... #scriptchat
  58. Because the monster or killer or ghost or whatever is most likely to be in the sequels make them really unique and interesting. #scriptchat
  59. @AndreaLMcNeill #scriptchat My trademark is the surprise ending that is so out there, people read my stuff twice. I layer all the clues...
  60. @wcmartell Freddy Vs Jason Vs Pennywise vs Saw Puppet Guy vs The Alien Vs The Predator vs Terminator... #scriptchat
  61. A few months ago a bunch of us were on an island and discovered there was a haunted house near by... too scared to go..they all #scriptchat
  62. @MyloCarbia Stephen King's use of children especially in his early novels #scriptchat
  63. @MyloCarbia Not quite horror bad-guy example, but I think a multi-dimensional, interesting "villain" is Rumpelstiltskin in #OUAT #scriptchat
  64. @AndreaLMcNeill #scriptchat ...So when they go back and read it, they say "Duh. It was there all along!"
  65. I stayed back.... all alone... yikes... I should have gone. #scriptchat
  66. I am also disappointed in the Hollywood reboot. That's why I moved over to writing books. Literary world wants NEW stories. #scriptchat
  67. @MyloCarbia Yeah and they only make 10 studio movies a year and no one else can get it in. Write a book. #scriptchat
  68. @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat I outline all of my stories by hand in a notebook. Then I make index cards of all of those scenes, then...
  69. @SarahAlexis4 After the first draft, I think it is useful to go back and build in clues after you know what they need to be. #scriptchat
  70. I have 15 chapters of a book written... Now I'm starting to think it's a horror/thriller #scriptchat
  71. @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat ...Then I rewrite the ending of the scene to be something totally different than the audience expects.
  72. @MyloCarbia @SarahAlexis4 It really feels like you don't know what the thing is until after the first draft anyway #scriptchat
  73. @AndreaLMcNeill @MyloCarbia I got hired to do one of those remakes. Those jobs are out there and fun. #scriptchat
  74. In horror, something MUST happen within the first 5 pages, whether it be a script or novel. This audience demands 2 B impressed. #scriptchat
  75. @wcmartell @AndreaLMcNeill #scriptchat Now THAT is very cool. I just got tired of doing work-for-hires. I want to tell my stories now...
  76. @SylviaLlewellyn Oh man, I saw a real creepy documentary that's connected to that. #scriptchat
  77. My favorite part of writing Horror is that you can exploit a social issue in a unique way that is very specific to the genre. #scriptchat
  78. @SylviaLlewellyn It was about one of the extras in that last scene, he and his wife moved to Italy or somewhere... #scriptchat
  79. @SylviaLlewellyn they locked themselves in their apartment and never came out. It was freaky #scriptchat
  80. @RyanKramer #scriptchat You can also have your villain SAY things you wish you could say, but can't.
  81. My book is called "The Raping of Ava DeSantis" hit #1 bestseller in horror Oh, and the rape scene is 2 sentences long... #scriptchat
  82. @SylviaLlewellyn I don't remember, I'll have to look, I saw it a year ago at a film festival. #scriptchat
  83. ... The book is really about how the girl gets revenge 15 years later (she hunts down her perpetrators wives... you get it) #scriptchat
  84. @MyloCarbia do you want to touch on ghost writing? How you got gigs? What the process is like? #scriptchat
  85. @jeannevb @TheAdamRockwell Welcome! Unlike SOME horror-theme group-events, we won't throw rice or toast at you. #RockyHorror #scriptchat
  86. @MyloCarbia @wcmartell @AndreaLMcNeill I always to find the way to tell my story through their story. If I can't, I don't. #scriptchat
  87. @the adamRockwell.. Welcome... me too... it's going to fast, I have to stay alert. Fun. #scriptchat
  88. Strange, horror films dominate the box office but in the literary world horror books are only a very small percentage of sales #scriptchat
  89. @MyloCarbia People wan to see that horrible stuff happen. They want to experience it #scriptchat
  90. @MyloCarbia horror isn't about creating fear, it's about expelling it. Movies might just do that better. #scriptchat
  91. How I got started is that my 1st manager put someone else's name on a script and sold it to Marvel. How's that for being smacked #scriptchat
  92. @RyanKramer Sort of like how classic scifi explores a social theme in the genre setting? Dystopian future, alien invasion, etc #scriptchat
  93. And then we were approached about writing a script for another writer who couldn't finish due to illness #scriptchat
  94. @MyloCarbia That's time for lawyers. How did they deal with chain of title at contract time? #scriptchat
  95. Ghostwriting is soul-crushing. It's like being a mistress. No one can know you exist. #scriptchat
  96. FYI, we're moving over to ghostwriting, as in writer-for-hire who gets no credit, just a paycheck. #scriptchat
  97. @anicat @RyanKramer I have to strain to try to figure out a movie that is set in the future that IS NOT a dystopian future! #scriptchat
  98. @MyloCarbia there must be some upsides to ghostwriting or you wouldn't have kept doing it, yes? #scriptchat
  99. I know an Academy Award winning screenwriter who is a top ghostwriter. More people do it than you think #scriptchat
  100. I've had people tell me they're ghostwriters and happy to do it for the money but they can't say what exactly the projects were #scriptchat
  101. @MyloCarbia hopefully something else will come that will give you credit one day #scriptchat
  102. I also loved access to the system. I did't live in LA at the time so it kept me connected. #scriptchat
  103. @AndreaLMcNeill Yes! Renewed for a 12th season #Supernatural is horror/urban fantasy where fans love t' writers as well as cast! #scriptchat
  104. That is correct. Being a ghostwriter in Hollywood is like working for the mafia. I will never divulge my clients. #scriptchat
  105. Mylo.. the series GRIMM... would you consider that a horror? #scriptchat
  106. Getting, let's call it, #Feedback on paying for pitches from vet scr-writers. They say it's bad. I think times have changed #scriptchat
  107. Before I wrote my book, I told my clients and they were super supportive of me. They know I won't talk about my work. #scriptchat
  108. @MyloCarbia Life as a Graphic Designer is like ghostwriting...our work is everywhere, but we never sign our work or get credit. #scriptchat
  109. @byChrisPhillips @jeannevb #scriptchat Correct! No red carpet, but I did sneak into a few award parties. Best part is that ONCE a tabloid...
  110. Let's put it this way, I was once paid 5k to rewrite a one-page pitch 15 minutes before a studio meeting. That's why I did it #scriptchat
  111. About 5 more min with @MyloCarbia talking horror and being a writer-for-hire #scriptchat
  112. I feel like I'm b-tween 2 sep universes: 1 says make it through contests, etc. Other says foot in door by pay pitching. #scriptchat
  113. @MyloCarbia AA Writer: Ghost Writer or just uncredited? Lots of writers do prodo rewrites w/o credit, but we know they did, #scriptchat
  114. @MyloCarbia desperate times call for desperate amounts of money! That is amazing! #scriptchat
  115. Ghostwriting is a GREAT way to make connections in Hollywood. Any work is good, just don't get caught in the trap... #scriptchat
  116. @wcmartell #scriptchat I had to sign iron clad NDAs, slightly more hardcore than uncredited rewrites (those I did too)
  117. BTW, there are movies abut writers, how has there never been a movie about ghostwriters? #scriptchat
  118. The whole mafia/covert ops thing we were talking about would be great for a movie about ghostwriters. #scriptchat
  119. Be careful of the trap of being labeled just a ghostwriter... Had a hard time selling afterwards with my name... #scriptchat
  120. Like your typical hitman movie, except the lead is a writer #scriptchat
  121. Funniest part is? Now that my name is on books, I am getting requests for the movie rights. SO IRONIC! #ghostwriterrevenge #scriptchat
  122. @SylviaLlewellyn You don't want it. Same pressure if not more...not as much pay and no credit. Go for the gold! #scriptchat
  123. Wait, Mother's Day is the 8th... sorry! haha I guess I'm in a rush to get to it. Topic for next week TBD! #scriptchat
  124. @MyloCarbia LOL! I've DESIGNED illustration/layout of 1-page pitch, inc title design, 2hrs before it was shown at a meeting ;) #scriptchat
  125. And now, the reveal: one of us was really a ghost this whole time #scriptchat
  126. Thanks so much, @MyloCarbia!!!!! Now grabbing the transcript & putting on GAME OF THRONES! I'll tweet out topic for nxt wk later #scriptchat
  127. 50% of contest submissions shouldnt be submitted yet. That's how contests get 7500 submissions -- writer delusion & impatience #scriptchat