Fedoras & Trench Coats At September 2007 Meeting

Screenwriters Bryan Tolin & B. J. West
Collaborative Writing:
The Journey from Short Story to Screenplay to Film

In December 1999, local writer B.J. West decided that he needed a kick in the literary pants. As an exercise intended to stimulate productivity, he invited some of his writer friends to join him in collectively creating a character they could all share. They came up with Nick Chambers, a noir style private detective in the hardboiled tradition, but with a post-modern twist. The end result of this writing adventure was the book, Fog City Nocturne, an anthology of detective fiction that is familiar but original.

On September 8, editor and writer B.J. West, and his contributing writer Bryan Tolin, will present the CWC-Mount Diablo Branch with a lively discuss of the process of crafting a character, Nick, and what happened when he took on a life of his own.

Presentation topics will include a discussion of the collaborative writing process and discussion of the process from written story to screen play.

Author, screenwriter and film producer, B.J. West is a local, Bay Area digital artist and writer. He is  most noted for his contributions to the best selling PC game of all time, The Sims and its myriad sequels. B.J. is the author of The Writer’s Tarot, a deck of cards used to brainstorm stories and characters. Most recently, B.J. West, and contributing author Bryan Tolin, have produced and released a film titled The Smiling Man based on a short story of the same name from Fog City Nocturne. The film, set in post WWII San Francisco, will be released this year.