It’s the age-old question every screenwriter asks herself: “To cover my script, or not to cover my script?” Well, not really, but it’s still a valid question. Does screenplay coverage help a screenwriter to improve her script? Like any notes from anyone, free or paid, it all depends on who’s … Read more
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
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
Writing scene description, for many screenwriters, often involves going into super-fine detail for every element of a scene, but that’s simply not the way to do it. It might be fine for a book, but not a screenplay, which is essentially the blueprint of a film, with its own special … 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
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
A great script reader requires five basic traits: A Script Reader Must Have The Eyes and Ears of a Filmmaker First and foremost, the great script reader must be highly adept in the language of cinema. And not only on the written page, but in all aspects of production, post-production, … 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
I recently ran into animation writer Steven Darancette at a local awesome coffee shop. Steve and I had worked together on several features in the past, but hadn’t hung out for a while. In the interim, Steve had written for a ton of produced shows, including some for Warner Bros. … Read more
Final Draft. I love it. And I hate it. What do I love? Its ubiquity: Everybody uses it. (And if you’re operating a screenplay formatting service like me, where we take your completely horrible looking screenplay and put it into industry standard screenplay script format, just in case you don’t know … 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
Sometimes we screenwriters, we just want to, well, screenwrite. We don’t always enjoy fussing over format or margins or how to make a parenthetical look right or whether or not writing “THE END” should be marked in Final Draft as a slugline/scene heading or an action line or just plain “general.” The … Read more
If you’re a screenwriter looking to network at a Hollywood party, you’re in for a wild ride. It’s the age-old cliché of Hollywood: the industry party, loaded from wall to wall with wannabes, fakers, hangers-on, and phonies. And they’re all nobodies going nowhere who think they’re somebody. If you go … Read more
I’ve written five features that have gotten made into films, and have been compensated as a screenwriter on all of them, even if it was just a small amount of cash, or even just a net points deal (a percentage of the revenue after the film makes its money back). I … Read more
Documentaries have one key, primary ingredient that makes them documentaries: they reveal reality. But then again, so does a security camera, propped up over a cash register in any given liquor store. So what is it that differentiates a documentary film from a security camera feed? Or the video babycam … Read more
Here are the Screenplay Readers Top 6 most important things for us screenwriters to remember when “getting into bed” with any indie producer. And by the way, some of the rules may even apply to studio producers in some instances, so it’s good to keep all of these in your toolbox when considering any deal for your screenwriting services. Read more
If you’re lucky/skilled/badass enough to have one of your screenplays optioned/bought and kicked into production, and if they’ve invited you to be a part of the experience of filming it, you might want to keep in mind, matey, the fact that thar be only a few things an on-set screenwriter is expected to actually, well, do. Read more
I’m a huge fan of writers groups. Screenwriting, like all writing, is mostly a very lonely endeavor. One woman. One word processor. Or two, if you’re collaborating. But ironically, the end goal of all screenwriting has traditionally been a stack of pages that get turned into a film that’s projected … Read more
Screenwriting credits get watered down. It’s a fact of life, but it’s not unavoidable. Let’s say your screenplay is getting made into a motion picture by a mid-sized production company or small studio. Congrats! But that means an entire film crew is going to be reading your script now. (Or … Read more
If you’re a cynical screenwriter, like me, it’s not merely recommended that you watch all 3 seasons of PBS’ post-Edwardian period drama, Downton Abbey… …it’s utterly essential. Especially in today’s over-sexed, over-crimed, lowest-common-denominator TV viewing environment. (This article doesn’t give away any plot points or spoilers, so don’t worry.) Downton Abbey … Read more
How do I write a screenplay logline? What is a screenplay logline supposed to do, really? Wikipedia’s illustrious hive mind defines a screenplay logline like so: A screenplay logline is a brief (usually one-sentence) summary …that states the central conflict of the story, often providing both a synopsis of the … Read more
A writer in my class the other day asked me “What are the three basic things I should know about writing script coverage?” The short answer is: avoid anger, see the big picture, and be as objective as possible. The long answer is: there are a lot more than three … Read more
“Screenwriting guru.” Ick. If those two words don’t make you nauseous, you’re either not a screenwriter or you’ve sniffed too much glue. Over the two decades of running my script coverage service, I’ve seen a lot of self-appointed screenwriting experts come and go, and it hasn’t always been pretty. At Screenplay … Read more
Like all good shows, new Netflix GLOW tv show has a lot to teach tv writers (and screenwriters), aside from being a solid, fun series with a lot of heart. It’s loosely based on the true-life 1980s wrestling tv phenomenon, The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling – a rogue’s gallery of fierce, … 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
Screenplay dialogue which sounds authentic means writing it like real people speak. Here’s a few quick tips how to do it: Read more
What kinds of screenplays does Hollywood want? What screenplays are getting made? We can tell you this much: agents and producers are looking for three key elements in scripts right now… 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
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
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
