The first script I wrote in school, despite my smart teacher’s advice, was a family fantasy involving a genie and a magic book. Because I thought it would be easy. It wasn’t. I was going for Pixar. I got a volcanically hot mess. My teacher’s advice was “Pick something you really want to spend the…
Read more…THEN FORGET IT
Good scripts care about people. A lot.
Read moreBE STRONG
Cull. Whittle. Refine. Don’t waste a minute on a stale, usual, boring premise. The general problem with early scripts is that they are way too conservative in character and payoff.
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Notes from a Screenreader: Why Now?
Notes from a Screenreader: Why Now? nywift: Photo via Go Into the Story. To perform well in a competition, your script has to be able to answer the critical question, “Why now?” Successful, readable scripts hinge on an event, the outcome of which has the power to change the life of the protagonist. A showdown,…
Read moreMAKE IT VISUAL
If you create an image like this instead of a talking scene at a BBQ where people gossip about how the neighbors don’t get along, AN ANGEL GETS ITS WINGS.
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Notes from a Screenreader: Writing IKEA Style
Notes from a Screenreader: Writing IKEA Style nywift: Photo via Go Into the Story. A script, ideally, is one of those 300 square foot IKEA show apartments with every nook and cranny made useful two or three times over. Static placeholder scenes stick out like a farmhouse table. Written to clarify the writer’s thoughts on…
Read moreEVERY READER EVER
This is true because 95% of all scripts are sent out way too soon, half-formed and half-baked, full of exposition and a general lack of coherent, compelling story. The good news is that now you know this, and with a little extra effort you can easily rise to the top five percent. Rewrite until there…
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