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Common Script Mistakes (and Misconceptions)

What are the three top mistakes aspiring screenwriters make?

#1 Mistake

Instead of writing something original, they piece together great scenes from popular movies (with small innovations to disguise the theft). This pilferage is a misguided attempt to write a 'commercial' movie or as a substitute for digging deep and coming up with an effective, compelling story on their own.

#2 Mistake

Slavishly following the structural guidelines in one of the scriptwriting books by script gurus. This is not a potshot at any of the script gurus - the best of these gurus are brilliant teachers with useful, provocative ideas. Many of them offer a very helpful system for focusing your thinking about storytelling. However, I think aspiring writers can benefit from writing several scripts on their own, before they take on one of these strenuous scriptwriting systems. Experiment on your own, see where your story leads you. On the rewrite or polish, you can check in with the gurus and see if their guidelines stimulate you somehow to improve your script.

#3 Mistake

Reading too many articles like this one. As they say in the big leagues, "Just, do it!"

Question: How do I know when my script is ready to show?

Answer: I was working on a movie with an English crew and they loved to tell stories. One of them had worked on location in India with David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia). “Lawrence" was playing at one of the local movie theatres while they were shooting - this was decades after the movie’s original release. Lean would stop in to watch the film at night after shooting, and he would go up to the projection booth and pound on it, demanding to get in. Each night there was one little cut he wanted to make here or there. He did this so often, they had to put a padlock on the projection booth door. “Lawrence of Arabia” - one of the greatest pictures ever made - and Lean wanted to give his masterpiece one more little tweak. I admire that creative ethic.

I believe it's helpful to writers to hear their work read aloud by actors before they send it to market. At the very least, this process will boost your own confidence in your work. At the best, it will motivate you to do that last little creative tweak.

Question: What's the best script software - the ones the pros use?

Answer: The best selling program is Final Draft, next is Screenwriter 2000 by Movie Magic and then Scriptware and Script Thing are close behind. The Writer's Store in Los Angeles offers FREE DEMONSTRATION DOWNLOADS so you can try them out and compare the software programs. Or check out my formatting tutorial.

Question: Is it a good idea to get my story published before I try to sell it to the movies?

Answer: This is a sensibility question. Some stories should be novels, some should be short pieces, some stories make great movies, and some stories can be adapted to work well in more than one format. If you consider the selling aspect - and you must consider it - getting something published is a professional endorsement that tells everyone: "This story is worthy of being published."

To sell a project to the movies, you need all the professional endorsements and personal referrals that you can muster together. Having a story published as a short story or as a book definitely will get an unproduced screenwriter more attention than a spec screenplay of the same material, because someone (a publishing professional) has already endorsed the story by publishing it.

Some writers I know have self-published books and then tried to sell them to the movies. One or two of them have had movie company options on these books. I am not endorsing this route, but I wouldn't tell you not to do it either. I think it's worth considering.

Establishing a screenwriting career takes heroic effort, as does establishing a career as a novelist so believe me, I am not suggesting either task is the 'easy way to go'.

Question: How does the average writer attract a star, a director, and financing?

Answer:

It is YOUR SCRIPT that will attract these elements, not you yourself.

To attract these important elements YOUR SCRIPT needs:

Memorable well-drawn characters
A story that plays out visually
A 'hook' of some kind that will make it promotable

If your script does NOT have these three qualities, then you do not have a movie no matter how well you write or who you know.

If the 'average writer' has a great story to tell for the movies, they should write it for the movies. Not all scripts that sell are brilliantly written, many aren't.

Why are spec scripts bought? Spec scripts are usually bought because of the story, not the writing style. However, the high profile writers who are hired to rewrite these spec scripts for production are chosen because of their experience, winning writing style and their professional confidence. And those writers are rewarded Big Time.

Question: Are there some specific visual tricks that a screenwriter should know? Things which do and don't work in a script?

Answer: Some writers download shooting drafts of movie scripts that have been made that are filled with production elements like scene numbers and camera angles. You don't want those elements in a script you are marketing, they are an unnecessary distraction. Use INT/EXT of course to orient the story telling, but leave out the camera angles and scene numbers. Many pro screenwriters don't even use CUT TO's anymore on their reading drafts.

Just because the studios make $200 million movies, don't take that to mean that you have to write a movie that reads like it's going to cost $200. million. Tell a simple story well. Just as some aspiring novelists start by writing short stories, some aspiring filmmakers start by making film shorts.

For more insider tips, check out my Script Format Tutorial - it's my most popular page to date.

Question: Should I study what type of scripts are selling before I decide what to write?

One thing I emphasize in my book is that writers who aspire to sell screenplays must take steps to be aware of the film market. They need to know what films have been made, what films are waiting to be released, what films are shooting, what scripts have been bought, which stars, directors, and producers have studio deals. With the Web, every writer, no matter where they live can discover this information - for free. I offer dozens of great insider resources in my book to lead you to this important information.

Question: Where can I find some published scripts of produced movies?

Answer: It's easy to find copies of current shooting scripts. There are several sources on the Web. At www.simplyscripts.com you can download free shooting scripts of current movies for educational purposes.

Harvest Moon offers printed copies of released movie scripts from award winning films.

One caution: Spec scripts should not look like shooting scripts. Though the action in a spec script should be thoroughly described, camera moves should not be detailed or scenes numbered like they are in production scripts. Just tell your story visually – write what the audience sees.

Question: How long are treatments?

Answer: In my experience, treatments are very thorough summaries of the movie, almost scene by scene, but without dialogue. They run from 30 - 50 pages.

Loglines - one or two enticing sentences
Synopsis - 1-3 pages describing the situation, main characters and important action
Treatment - detailed story moves, almost a scene by scene summary, in prose, no dialogue.

In a Writer's Guild contract, the writer is due almost a third of their salary for the treatment part of the assignment. This shows you that they expect detailed story and character development in a treatment.

Question: I am a professional tech writer, but I want to write scripts. Do I need to learn screenplay formatting?

Answer: If you want to become a professional screenwriter you should take the time to learn the specific format of screenplay writing. It's not hard - certainly not if you have already mastered Perl and C++ and Javascript!!

Go to: www.simplyscripts.com for shooting scripts of recent movies (free download). Choose a few movies you have seen and enjoyed. Download their scripts. Go over them page by page, scene by scene. You will learn everything you need to know about screenplay formatting.

Every pro screenwriter I know uses a professional screenplay format program of some sort. There are some free ones around, but this profession is very competitive, you want your script to look as professional as possible. Fancy or unfamiliar formatting will distract the Hollywood insider from reading and buying your script.

The two most popular script programs are Final Draft and Screenwriter 2000. There are several sources but the studios use The Writer's Store. They have it all and they are very helpful.

If you really can't yet afford a professional script program you can log onto: www.scriptbuddy.com and download a free shareware one. Work with this on your first few drafts; but once you are ready to submit your script, either buy (or borrow) a version of Final Draft or Screenwriter 2000 and put your script in that format. Some agencies and script consultants will reformat your script for you so it looks professional.

Question: Can I sell a treatment or do I have to write the script?

Answer: A treatment is a complete version of the movie in prose, a summary of each scene, without dialogue or camera directions. They run between 30-50 pages for a feature film. Film scripts run between 100-120 pages when formatted.

It is very difficult for aspiring writers to sell a completed screenplay, so I wouldn't suggest you attempt to market a treatment. That would be even harder. Movies have huge budgets today, so producers and studios want to be sure that writers will deliver a professional screenplay. They don't often take wild chances. If you are serious about being hired as a screenwriter, write the story as a complete and exciting screenplay. This is a profession you must learn as you do it. So go do it.

Question: Why should I write the whole screenplay, why not just pitch the story?

Answer: It's harder for an unsold writer to sell a pitch than it is for them to sell or option a spec screenplay. The only reason you wouldn't want to take the time to write the entire screenplay is if you don't own the rights to the story - that is if it's an adaptation of someone's work (a novel or short story) or a true story from the news. In that case, I wouldn't even write a treatment unless I controlled the rights to the underlying story, but some writers do write treatments and then try to get the rights. I wouldn't recommend that route.

Building a career as a working screenwriter takes talent, passion and heroic effort. Some writers I know wrote five (or more) screenplays before they made their first sale. Sometimes, they were able to rewrite some of those first scripts and sell them after they were established.

Insider Tip: Many aspiring writers are so passionate about their stories, they raise money themselves and film a few scenes of their movie. They use this film footage kind of as a commercial to entice producers and studios to put up money to make their movie.

Other writers try to break into the business by writing a short film and getting that made. This is a very smart route to take. You learn writing and filmmaking and you have something visual (and short) to market. If you have an idea for a short film, write it. Once you have a short film script there are several places you can market it without an agent:

www.indieclub.com This is a network of filmmakers listed by the area where they live. You can search for partners to help you make your film.

Question : I have a story on the computer at the moment, how do I develop my characters as the story progresses?

Answer: I am going to list four well-known books that will help you transform your story into a screenplay. They are not difficult to read, however they are challenging to absorb as there is so much to learn. So don't expect to go through them in a weekend. Most screenwriters I know learned to write a screenplay by doing it. So don't get discouraged, just keep going, chapter by chapter, scene by scene. Here they are :

The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script by Dave Trottier. Read this book first. Dave is a great teacher as well as a screenwriter, so he has a gift for making ideas understandable.
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field.
Writing Screenplays that Sell by Michael Hauge. Michael explores the essential elements of a successful screenplay in a practical and helpful way.
Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger. This concerns rewriting, so read this book after you've completed a draft of your script.

Two of the most well-known (and loved) script coaches. Dave Trottier and Syd Field, each have their own websites with articles and tips for writers: www.DaveTrottier.com and www.sydfield.com .

While you are slowly working your way through these books, you should begin your screenplay. You will need a script format for it. You can download a free script screenwriter program at: www.scriptbuddy.com. Use this free program for a while till you've absorbed some of the script writing basics. Later you can invest in a professional format program.

Question: Can I learn to think ‘visually’?

Answer: This phrase - thinking visually - conveys the wrong impression. It more important for writers to learn how to turn words into actions. That is the job of the screenwriter, along with allowing the characters to communication through all the dimensions, not just dialogue, but gesture, action, quirks, facial expressions, emotions.

Here is a helpful exercise to try: Download a favorite movie script that features an involving and well-told story. Then go to a video store or library and rent or borrow a video of this movie. Watch the opening sequence, then stop the tape and read the opening sequence in the script. Then watch the next scene and then read that scene in the script. If you work your way through the movie and script in this manner, you will come to understand two important concepts:

1) How the magic is made on the page.

2) How the page is transformed into magic on the screen.

Once you have written a few scripts, you can check out my book on marketing scripts and it will help you formulate a marketing plan for your movie scripts. But you need lots of writing experience first.

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