There are many script coverage buyer’s guides but I’ve never wanted to do one, because I didn’t want to be part of the noise and bullpucky that so many other script coverage services are churning out. But man, after seeing SO MANY “Top 5 Script Coverage Services” articles which are just flat-out stupid wrong and self-dealing, I said to myself, “Self, let’s write a script coverage buyer’s guide that cuts through the crap, once and for all. Read more
Blacklist score has become the holy grail for many aspiring screenwriters. But does it really matter? I mean, really? Do any screenplay ratings or scores matter? Dive in and get my short answer, my medium answer, and my long answer. Or don’t. That’s cool too. Read more
AI script coverage (that is, script coverage generated by AI or “artificial intelligence”) is starting to take hold of the screenwriting space, and it doesn’t bode well for screenwriters looking for honest, critical feedback on their screenplays. When I started this script coverage company in 1999, AI was firmly in … Read more
Script readers hate the word beautiful. When many new writers describe characters in a screenplay, it goes like this: Tom is attractive. Beatrice is beautiful. Their dentist is gorgeous. Their mail-carrier is a MILF. Having read hundreds of scripts in my career as a script reader, I’ve encountered these sentences … Read more
Screenplay readability? Yes, it’s a thing. Script readers read scripts. A lot of scripts. Sometimes our script readers will chew through 10 or more in a week. (Overall at Screenplay Readers, we’ve read tens of thousands of scripts since 1999.) But what is it like for a script reader to … Read more
How to write a logline? TDLR: If you’re a screenwriter, you probably don’t ever need to worry about it. Move on with your life. Shoo. Go back to screenwriting. But if you’re a script analyst / script reader, knowing how to write a logline is, yes, important. So what is … Read more
A writer in my class the other day asked me “What are the basic things I should know about writing script coverage?” (If you’re not sure what script coverage is, read my What Is Script Coverage page here.) The short answer is: don’t sound like a movie reviewer, don’t treat … Read more
Screenplay dialogue which sounds authentic means writing it like real people speak. Here’s a few quick tips how to do it: Read more
Hey. You. Write interesting characters. Yes, I’m talking to you. I said WRITE INTERESTING CHARACTERS. There’s no reason in the world for any screenwriter to force a script reader to read boring characters. None. Let this script reader give you five quick things you can change in your screenplay right … Read more
“How do I sell my screenplay?” “My screenplay is done. Now what do I do?” “How do I get my script produced?” These are the eternal questions asked by aspiring screenwriters everywhere. But, as you might’ve noticed, get paid for writing for the film and tv industry is not an … Read more
Screenwriter networking is absolutely essential to any screenwriter’s career. People knowing people, referring people, befriending people — without any exaggeration, this is how films and television get made in the film industry. Once more for emphasis: meeting and working with film and tv people is mandatory if you want to make … Read more
It’s not hard to write strong women characters, but for some reason, poorly written women characters seem to be the default for many screenwriters. I suspect that it’s because most writers have probably absorbed and accepted much more culturally reinforced sexism than they realize. Believe me, we see a lot, … Read more
Screenwriting and Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). What possibly could a roleplaying game have in common with the century-old art and craft of writing a screenplay for film or television? What on Middle Earth could these two worlds have in common? Believe it or not, there’s actually a Hobbit-ton (pun intended) of overlap … Read more
Script Studio isn’t a screenwriting app. It’s more like a suite of screenwriting apps, all bundled together and, with its full array of powerful writing, editing, planning, outlining, and polishing tools, clearly capable of taking on newbie screenwriters and pro screenwriters alike, and everything in between. Upon first launch, it’s … Read more
The difference between mediocre screenwriting and solid screenwriting often comes down to the screenwriter knowing the difference between what’s working in her script and what’s not. Beyond the various euphemisms for cutting your favorite moments (e.g. “Killing your darlings, ” or its less popular counterpart, “Drowning your puppies/kittens”), there comes … Read more
Is the villain in your screenplay reaching his or her fullest, most extraordinary villain self? Or is your villain limited by mundane, mealy-mouthed tropes or other half-baked screenwriting mistakes? It’s time to take charge of your villains, screenwriters! I’m here to help you unlock your villains’ potential, and unleash your … Read more
Somebody once said — I think it might’ve been Mel Brooks — “If your Act 3 doesn’t work, go back and rewrite Act 1.” Every movie and film must start somewhere, right? If the movie doesn’t start, then there’s probably something wrong with the projector. But if the feature-length film … Read more
Fade In is a screenwriting app in a world full of screenwriting apps. Where there once was only one or two big screenwriting software packages — the venerable Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter — now there are several upstarts, seeking to usurp the de facto Final Draft throne. Enter … Read more
Any yo-yo screenwriter can write a scene. But it takes a special kind of yo-yo screenwriter to write a good one. Here are three things you can do right now that will improve the scenes in your screenplays: hone your description, get into your scenes late, and weave in that … Read more
Are script coverage services worth it? Paid script coverage, that is? Commonly, when screenwriters need notes, they ask their peers, their fellow writers, or their writers groups. But what about writers who don’t have a lot of access to any of those resources? That’s where paid script coverage services come … Read more
Crafting a lush fantasy world is no small feat. Not only does the screenwriter have to concoct a myriad of otherworldly details, she also has to connect us with those details in a meaningful way… Read more
What makes good screenplay exposition? I compare some exposition in the Raiders of the Lost Ark screenplay with a user-submitted script. Read more
Writing for Netflix, and the Netflix / streaming era, is revealing itself to be a different sort of screenwriting. Be kind and rewind with me. Back to the 1980s, when the videocassette rental boom proved beyond a doubt that there was a massive public appetite for all film genres and … Read more
There is no surefire way to get a high score on your screenplay, or a RECOMMEND in a script coverage, or even make a script reader like your screenplay. That said, many good screenplays we’ve read over the years here at Screenplay Readers script coverage service tend to have a … Read more
Script coverage for Boogie Nights, which I recently found on the interwebs, thanks to a sleuthy Redditor, teaches us screenwriters and script readers some key lessons that we need to keep in mind when considering script coverage for own screenplays: Lesson 1: script coverage is extremely subjective! Every reader has their … Read more
With the amount of available outlets for filmed entertainment exploding exponentially each year, the demand for screenwriters at nearly all levels below the “Studio Tentpole Writer Line” grows ever higher. But so does the number of producers and companies jumping into the filmed entertainment sector, at all levels, from Podcasters … Read more
Should I use InkTip? Should I use The Black List? Short answer: No. TLDR Answer: Not long ago the question of whether or not to upload your screenplay to an online service like InkTip or Blacklist, or a forum, paid or otherwise, was a decision that no screenwriter had to … Read more
At Roger Corman’s Concorde-New Horizons Studios in 1997, I opened a script file using Final Draft for the first time. It was on a “Macintosh” because I didn’t call them “Macs” back then. In short, with all due praise to John Hodgman, I was a “PC.” A different kind of … Read more
Screenwriting while keeping a budget in mind isn’t easy, but it can make your writing leaner and meaner, and make your film far easier and cheaper to shoot. Read more
Writing a brief synopsis for a screenplay is the act of distilling the script’s story down to its essence while maintaining absolute brevity. You may recall that Polonius told his king, amongst other things, that brevity is the soul of wit. What he failed to include, perhaps due to his … Read more
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