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#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
- IT’S #SCRIPTCHAT O'CLOCK w @MyloCarbia - Writing Horror & working as a ghost writer. Chat here: http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat …
- Hey everyone! Great to be here! #scriptchat
- If you're a ghost and you're a writer, tonight's #scriptchat should be right up your alley. Woooo
- Hello all you happy people. #scriptchat
- Though, I probably not have much to say about this subject. #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia hello Mylo! #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat My Pleasure
- @blueneumann #scriptchat Hey, Chris! Thanks for joining. Any juicy questions?
- So let's get the horror writing topic started and then we'll switch over to the life of a ghost writer. #scriptchat
- @jeannevb #scriptchat Thanks for having me! Any aspiring horror writers out there tonight?
- @MyloCarbia Nice to e-meet you! I'm a designer working in film industry, I love doing art/layouts/pitch decks for #horror :) #scriptchat
- I haven't ruled out horror but I haven't really been struck with a horror idea yet #scriptchat
- #scriptchat happening now via this link... http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat … https://twitter.com/SylviaLlewellyn/status/724387505626329088 …
- @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..
- @MyloCarbia so what's the unique aspect that's more common in horror writing than other genres? #scriptchat
- Hello everyone... my first time joining... look forward to it. #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn Welcome, Syvia! #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat As for character development, it's really important to build empathy for your villains as much as your protags
- Thanks Jeanne... happy to be here... know nothing about writing horror... but would like to learn. #scriptchat
- If there are horror writers out there but nervous to chime in, don't worry, we don't bite - we drink tequila. #scriptchat
- @jeannevb #scriptchat Yes, we drink lots of Patron here
- @SylviaLlewellyn #scriptchat Horror writing is so much fun... Your mind goes free when it goes as dark as possible.
- You're funny @wdvisliterary #scriptchat
- @wdavisliterary @jeannevb #scriptchat Yes, Hemingway was done with writing everyday by Noon so he could drink
- @SylviaLlewellyn hahaha! I try 🙈👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #scriptchat
- Oh this is a drinking party. I have nothing in the house. next time @jeannevb #scriptchat
- @wdavisliterary yes, ma'am #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia how how do you create empathy for villains in #horror? Using Their weakness? #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia back to horror... some tips for creating tension? #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn Hey, I'm clean too, we can be the designated drivers. It's easy when everyone's already home. #scriptchat
- Creating tension: One great tip I can give is that every scene should end exactly the opposite way the audience expects... #scriptchat
- Oops! Answer @jeannievb first! I'm new and don't know how this works! Sorry! #scriptchat
- 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
- @wdavisliterary there's no order to questions. Just toss them out! #scriptchat
- @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
- So that creates a ton of suspense and horror in the audience #scriptchat
- Yes, that is always my favorite. To have the audience know the truth and watch characters stumble around it is the best #scriptchat
- The few I've seen... like everyone else in the audience I'm thinking DON'T GO IN THAT ROOM #scriptchat
- Late, but here! #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn But i love when you have to. "Cube." The rooms are trapped but you still have to proceed. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell yo, Bill. #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn #scriptchat But they always go in that damn room
- If your late, guest is @MyloCarbia talking writing horror & being a ghost writer. Chat here: http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat … #scriptchat
- 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
- That is what I aim to do in all of my work #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia what are some classic tricks that are a must to see in all horror scripts? #scriptchat
- @blueneumann That's the key (to everything) - motivated it. No stupid decisions, smart ones that lead to problems. #scriptchat
- My favorite horror movies are The Shining, The Thing and Jaws all for different reasons #scriptchat
- Silence of the Lambs #scriptchat
- It's not a dark & stormy night, but it's still a perfect time for talking #horror in #scriptchat with @MyloCarbia! https://twitter.com/MyloCarbia/status/724389941438984192 …
- Love The Shining, Cube, Cabin In The Woods... I notice I tend to veer into the "self-aware" horror flicks. #scriptchat
- .@wdavisliterary just be sure to use the #scriptchat hashtag so people see your tweets. This site auto-adds it http://www.tchat.io/rooms/scriptchat …
- I didn't really grow up with horror movies, only got into them recently. #scriptchat
- @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.
- Oh wow Mylo... that's fantastic #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia what about what lies beneath with Harrison ford? Kind of a thriller with horror elements? #scriptchat
- @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...
- @wdavisliterary @MyloCarbia I remember that having a bit of a Hitchcock feel to it... but it's been a long time #scriptchat
- In thrillers you can run someone over with a car. In horror you have to make the person INTO a car. #scriptchat
- Had a looooong day #podcasting but I love it! #ScreenwritersRantRoom @HilliardGuess @LisaBolekaja #scriptchat pic.twitter.com/HZbibBbWsq
- I've never seen Scream... but I'm sure that's a horror. #scriptchat
- I read Dracula recently and loved it. Felt like the cast of Downton Abbey reading the lyrics to a heavy metal album #scriptchat
- @wcmartell @blueneumann Thank you!! Nothing throws me out of a story faster than people acting unbelievably stupid in #horror. #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 DREAD is cousin to suspense - the anticipation of an unknown action. Uses Dramatic Irony (audience knows). #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia The Shining the book is so good #scriptchat
- ...as well as like a compilation, lots of horror shorts combining to tell a year's worth of terror #scriptchat
- @wdavisliterary #scriptchat Another favorite of mine. Plus anything written by M. Night Shyamalan
- Yes Bill, Dramatic Irony #scriptchat... love it #scriptchat
- You have to be very creative with death in horror. The audience is always looking for something new to watch or read. #scriptchat
- Can you tell us how to create suspense? I think that is an important question yet to be answered #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia would you consider Seven horror - I do #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat The movie budgets are typically smaller in horror and many films are indies... But the community is close and A+++
- @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
- @JAEL488 Me personally, I think horror refers to a physicalization of a primal fear. #scriptchat
- @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
- 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
- @SylviaLlewellyn #scriptchat That's wild. Use it in your writing!
- Another tip is to build real character traits in your villains. Everyone remembers that fantastic line about Fava Beans. #scriptchat
- @blueneumann totally agree #scriptchat
- What makes horror bad is when the monsters are uni-dimensional. Make them MORE exciting than your hero #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia Yeah. The villains't he most likely one to be in the sequel! Put some energy into him/her! #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 comb = bomb. (that's a story itself) #scriptchat
- I write both paranormal and human evil sort of stories but nothing is off limits to me... The crazier, the better #scriptchat
- @wcmartell @SarahAlexis4 A remake of "Speed" starring Marcia Brady (she combed her hair 100x a day) #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia what got you interested in horror over other genres? Didn't you tell me you grew up w/ ghosts? #scriptchat
- Just a comment, I've noticed that in many horror movies these days, nobody survives -- found footage style. #scriptchat
- @byChrisPhillips Of course, if they survived they could comment on the footage and put it in context. #scriptchat
- My trademark is the big surprise twist ending. As writers, we should all explore building our brands by making a trademark #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia what's your trademark? #scriptchat
- @blueneumann @byChrisPhillips I think that's where it started, but nobody making it is now more common. #scriptchat
- Producers refer to writers as "that prison scene guy" or that "haunted house writer" so decide what and who you want to be... #scriptchat
- Because the monster or killer or ghost or whatever is most likely to be in the sequels make them really unique and interesting. #scriptchat
- @byChrisPhillips hey Chris. Great to see you here! #scriptchat
- @AndreaLMcNeill #scriptchat My trademark is the surprise ending that is so out there, people read my stuff twice. I layer all the clues...
- @wcmartell Freddy Vs Jason Vs Pennywise vs Saw Puppet Guy vs The Alien Vs The Predator vs Terminator... #scriptchat
- 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
- @MyloCarbia Stephen King's use of children especially in his early novels #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia Not quite horror bad-guy example, but I think a multi-dimensional, interesting "villain" is Rumpelstiltskin in #OUAT #scriptchat
- @AndreaLMcNeill #scriptchat ...So when they go back and read it, they say "Duh. It was there all along!"
- I stayed back.... all alone... yikes... I should have gone. #scriptchat
- I am also disappointed in the Hollywood reboot. That's why I moved over to writing books. Literary world wants NEW stories. #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia Yup maybe I should #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia Yeah and they only make 10 studio movies a year and no one else can get it in. Write a book. #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat I outline all of my stories by hand in a notebook. Then I make index cards of all of those scenes, then...
- @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
- I have 15 chapters of a book written... Now I'm starting to think it's a horror/thriller #scriptchat
- @SarahAlexis4 #scriptchat ...Then I rewrite the ending of the scene to be something totally different than the audience expects.
- @MyloCarbia @SarahAlexis4 It really feels like you don't know what the thing is until after the first draft anyway #scriptchat
- @AndreaLMcNeill @MyloCarbia I got hired to do one of those remakes. Those jobs are out there and fun. #scriptchat
- In horror, something MUST happen within the first 5 pages, whether it be a script or novel. This audience demands 2 B impressed. #scriptchat
- Thought of another one.... Rosemary's Baby is a horror. #scriptchat
- @wcmartell @AndreaLMcNeill #scriptchat Now THAT is very cool. I just got tired of doing work-for-hires. I want to tell my stories now...
- @SylviaLlewellyn Oh man, I saw a real creepy documentary that's connected to that. #scriptchat
- 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
- @SylviaLlewellyn It was about one of the extras in that last scene, he and his wife moved to Italy or somewhere... #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia @wcmartell @AndreaLMcNeill Yeah. It's a slippery slope. Gotta do it cause you love it #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn they locked themselves in their apartment and never came out. It was freaky #scriptchat
- @blueneumann oh wow, what's the title, I'd love to see it. #scriptchat
- By the way, HI everybody, I am new to #scriptchat! :)
- @RyanKramer #scriptchat You can also have your villain SAY things you wish you could say, but can't.
- @TheAdamRockwell Virgins are always welcome, Adam! #scriptchat
- Anyone fans for Eric Kripke and his SUPERNATURAL? #scriptchat
- My book is called "The Raping of Ava DeSantis" hit #1 bestseller in horror Oh, and the rape scene is 2 sentences long... #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn I don't remember, I'll have to look, I saw it a year ago at a film festival. #scriptchat
- ... The book is really about how the girl gets revenge 15 years later (she hunts down her perpetrators wives... you get it) #scriptchat
- My first love is and always will be screenwriting #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia do you want to touch on ghost writing? How you got gigs? What the process is like? #scriptchat
- @jeannevb @TheAdamRockwell Welcome! Unlike SOME horror-theme group-events, we won't throw rice or toast at you. #RockyHorror #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia @wcmartell @AndreaLMcNeill I always to find the way to tell my story through their story. If I can't, I don't. #scriptchat
- @the adamRockwell.. Welcome... me too... it's going to fast, I have to stay alert. Fun. #scriptchat
- Strange, horror films dominate the box office but in the literary world horror books are only a very small percentage of sales #scriptchat
- Let's talk ghostwriting scripts... #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia People wan to see that horrible stuff happen. They want to experience it #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia horror isn't about creating fear, it's about expelling it. Movies might just do that better. #scriptchat
- 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
- @RyanKramer Sort of like how classic scifi explores a social theme in the genre setting? Dystopian future, alien invasion, etc #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia that is a bitchslap, for sure #scriptchat
- And then we were approached about writing a script for another writer who couldn't finish due to illness #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia welcome to Hollywood #scriptchat
- @jeannevb #scriptchat I actually cried. I was such a newbie.
- @MyloCarbia what have been the downsides to ghostwriting? #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia That's time for lawyers. How did they deal with chain of title at contract time? #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia Jeez... not copywrited? #scriptchat
- Ghostwriting is soul-crushing. It's like being a mistress. No one can know you exist. #scriptchat
- Someone else's name? A guy's name? #scriptchat https://twitter.com/mylocarbia/status/724398049397739521 …
- @MyloCarbia that's bullshit! sorry #scriptchat
- FYI, we're moving over to ghostwriting, as in writer-for-hire who gets no credit, just a paycheck. #scriptchat
- @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
- #scriptchat what are WGA rules on ghost writing?
- @MyloCarbia there must be some upsides to ghostwriting or you wouldn't have kept doing it, yes? #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia hahaha The things we do... #scriptchat
- I know an Academy Award winning screenwriter who is a top ghostwriter. More people do it than you think #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia it's very common #scriptchat
- The upside is the money. No screen credit pays very well. @jeannevb #scriptchat
- 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
- @MyloCarbia hopefully something else will come that will give you credit one day #scriptchat
- I also loved access to the system. I did't live in LA at the time so it kept me connected. #scriptchat
- @AndreaLMcNeill Yes! Renewed for a 12th season #Supernatural is horror/urban fantasy where fans love t' writers as well as cast! #scriptchat
- That is correct. Being a ghostwriter in Hollywood is like working for the mafia. I will never divulge my clients. #scriptchat
- @TheAdamRockwell so is it like writer for hire WGA rules? #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia disgusting #scriptchat
- Mylo.. the series GRIMM... would you consider that a horror? #scriptchat
- 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
- 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
- @MyloCarbia Life as a Graphic Designer is like ghostwriting...our work is everywhere, but we never sign our work or get credit. #scriptchat
- @byChrisPhillips @jeannevb #scriptchat Correct! No red carpet, but I did sneak into a few award parties. Best part is that ONCE a tabloid...
- @SylviaLlewellyn I would say it's horror/urban fantasy #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia's horror book 'The Raping of Ava DeSantis'... http://zoharfilms.com/portfolio-view/horror-novels-by-mylo-carbia/ … #scriptchat
- #scriptchat i still get scared watching some episodes of Scooby Doo
- 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
- About 5 more min with @MyloCarbia talking horror and being a writer-for-hire #scriptchat
- 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
- @MyloCarbia Damn. Talk about "a certain set of skills" #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia AA Writer: Ghost Writer or just uncredited? Lots of writers do prodo rewrites w/o credit, but we know they did, #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia desperate times call for desperate amounts of money! That is amazing! #scriptchat
- Ghostwriting is a GREAT way to make connections in Hollywood. Any work is good, just don't get caught in the trap... #scriptchat
- Do both? Double your odds?? #scriptchat https://twitter.com/michaelhag/status/724401347995406338 …
- @wcmartell #scriptchat I had to sign iron clad NDAs, slightly more hardcore than uncredited rewrites (those I did too)
- @MyloCarbia What trap exactly? #scriptchat
- BTW, there are movies abut writers, how has there never been a movie about ghostwriters? #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia How does one get a job as a ghostwriter? #scriptchat
- The whole mafia/covert ops thing we were talking about would be great for a movie about ghostwriters. #scriptchat
- Be careful of the trap of being labeled just a ghostwriter... Had a hard time selling afterwards with my name... #scriptchat
- Like your typical hitman movie, except the lead is a writer #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn #scriptchat Network. Agents and managers get requests all the time.
- Funniest part is? Now that my name is on books, I am getting requests for the movie rights. SO IRONIC! #ghostwriterrevenge #scriptchat
- @SylviaLlewellyn You don't want it. Same pressure if not more...not as much pay and no credit. Go for the gold! #scriptchat
- 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
- It's "Game of Thrones" Time! Reach out to me anytime at @MyloCarbia or http://MyloCarbia.com THANK YOU!!! #scriptchat
- Sorry I didn't have anything to contribute. #scriptchat
- Night everybody. #scriptchat
- Answer to how to get into #ghostwriting in the industry. I can attest this is TRUTH! #network #scriptchat https://twitter.com/mylocarbia/status/724402314992300032 …
- THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING ME!! #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia Ghlorus Scriptos! All Ghosts must write! #scriptchat
- F5: Weekend Deal! Classic Class Set or Naked Screenwriting MP3s @ lowest price! Ends 4/30 http://www.scriptsecrets.net/products/tweetdeals.htm … #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia great chat thank you #scriptchat
- Have a great week everybody! Goodnight #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia Thanks so much.... this was a ton of fun. Good night all. #scriptchat
- @MyloCarbia LOL! I've DESIGNED illustration/layout of 1-page pitch, inc title design, 2hrs before it was shown at a meeting ;) #scriptchat
- And now, the reveal: one of us was really a ghost this whole time #scriptchat
- @JLalliWriter I definitely do! But writing TV comedy is specialist stuff. #scriptchat
- Thanks so much, @MyloCarbia!!!!! Now grabbing the transcript & putting on GAME OF THRONES! I'll tweet out topic for nxt wk later #scriptchat
- @blueneumann #scriptchat YES, THAT'S MY SURPRISE ENDING! LOL
- @MyloCarbia (all our breath becomes visible) #scriptchat
- 50% of contest submissions shouldnt be submitted yet. That's how contests get 7500 submissions -- writer delusion & impatience #scriptchat
