style=”text-align: center;”> style=”text-align: left;”> I don’t want you to make this mistake. It’s a biggie. > > This mistake isn’t something forgivable like taking too long to get to your inciting incident. It’s not the unsavory practice of using “ing” words in your description. It’s not even — gasp — submitting a spec with more…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> I read a lot of scripts, and I’ve noticed a trend. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> The average writer’s dialogue is getting better than it used to be. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> With so…
There are certain sentences you don’t want to hear in connection with your screenplay. One of them is: “He wouldn’t do that.” He wouldn’t respond to a killer that calmly. She wouldn’t head to all the way to Ohio just to follow a lead. He, she, they – wouldn’t do that. Credibility is crucial in screenwriting. Actions need…
The short answer is yes. Here’s the long answer: You should specialize because… Most Professionals Specialize Top-notch practitioners in most professions specialize. Doctors don’t dabble in brain surgery and also try their hands at arthroscopy. Elite law firms divvy up their attorneys into highly specialized practice groups. Even NBA players, as good as they are,…
Did you ever have a comedic bit in your screenplay not perform as well as you think it should have? It happens to everyone, and it can be really frustrating. Based on my experience reading hundreds of scripts, I’ve put together a list of possible reasons a joke may be missing the mark – a…
A few years ago my manager submitted a script of mine to Sony. After a weekend of nail-biting anticipation I finally found out that they!!!!!!! — passed. The reason, I was told, was that they have a policy of making films offering “wish fulfillment” and this particular script didn’t fit the bill. It got me thinking…
When I read scripts, there’s a phenomenon that happens fairly often. It goes like this: The writer manages to impress me with some fresh comedy in the early pages, and I’m looking forward to more of the same. But then the writer does something that threatens to ruin the whole script. Don’t worry if you’ve done…
If you plan to be a screenwriter, in a sustained professional “actual” career, then there’s one thing you just have to get really good at. Coping with the ups and downs. Every screenwriter goes through it, the moments when you ask yourself, why the #$@&% am I still doing this? Maybe somebody gives you great…
In anticipation of Mockingjay Part 2, I recently took part in a Hunger Games marathon. Watching the first three films in a row made me realize there are many things to learn from this franchise. Here are a few of them: (Warning: There are spoilers below.) Protagonist Likeability Matters Big Time It’s hard to get…
Writers often ask me how they can possibly manage to shorten their scripts when everything they’ve written seems absolutely necessary. Having read thousands of screenplays, I can assure you, there are always elements in your script you don’t need. I’ve offered some thoughts on this in the past. Here are a few more: Do you…