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.
Have you ever considered giving yourself script coverage? Have you ever considered reading your own script and providing script coverage for it? Lo, and yea, and verily, the benefits can be massive, not just for the script itself, but for a screenwriter’s long-term ability to distance herself from her own work.
Ever since I started writing, I’ve been an introvert writer. At first, out of necessity, then out of pure mimicry of the supposed lone, struggling artist banging away on his typewriter, then, as I got older, and time grew shorter, out of the desperate pursuit pure chronological efficacy. I’ve never … 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.
Revised 6/1/2015: A quick heads up: a few years after this article was written, an online screenwriting platform, Screencraft’s Scripped.com, basically lost all their users’ data and scripts. Almost immediately, Screencraft deleted all social media and the Scripped website. What’s more, at some point before they took Scripped offline, Screencraft, … 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
Sometimes, we script readers get lucky. That is, when we dig into a screenplay to give script notes or provide script coverage, sometimes we know right away that the script we’re reading is gonna be a painful read.
Most times, that takes us a few pages. But sometimes, right off the bat, we get some really great clues that let us know “Hey, this screenwriter isn’t professional.”
Your script has a lot of working parts — character, dialogue, conflict, action, theme, beats, acts… It’s a heady brew of elements. And that heady brew boils down into an awful lot of specific criteria that anyone reading your script will judge it by, whether you’ve sent it in to a script contest, or a script coverage company, or an agent, or studio, or a name actor.
Sitting down to do your screenplay rewrite? Awesome! Do you have some notes to go on? No? Alas, script notes are valuable, right? Getting anybody to read your spec script is often a bit of a challenge, but trying to get script notes on it can be twice as hard. Folks … Read more
The “ideal” screenwriter. Is it an impossible thing to aspire to? I argue such aspiration is not only possible, but mandatory. Being great as a screen scribe isn’t easy, but the path has been clearly illuminated by not only the words and worlds of the great screenwriters who came before … Read more
Even stupid script notes are great for screenwriters. There. I said it. When a screenwriter asks for script notes from a script coverage company or a screenwriting group, that screenwriter assumes she’ll be receiving good notes on her screenplay, but even the bad ones can be good. And by good … Read more
Last week, I wrote an article titled 3 Great Alternatives to Final Draft that Are Either Free or Cheap, and posted a few free or cheap programs that I feel really give the screenwriting program Final Draft a run for its money. My criticism of the ever-ubiquitous Final Draft could’ve been … Read more
Final Draft. I love it. And I hate it. What do I love? Its ubiquity: Everybody uses it. (And if you’re running a script coverage service like me, you need to be able to open whatever file the client sends in. And 95% of the time, that’s either a PDF 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
Script coverage and script notes are two different beasts , but are really not all that far apart. Here are the primary differences: Script notes = MRI. Script coverage = checkup In a nutshell, script coverage is 2-4 pages of synopsis, comments, logline, and header information. It’s a quick doctor … Read more
Telling a screenwriter that his script needs work isn’t easy. There are three immutable laws that govern screenwriting writ large: 1) Everybody has a script 2) Everybody is a critic 3) Some screenwriters aren’t quite good at handling honest feedback As screenwriters, we’ve all done “friend reads,” right? Me, despite … Read more
“This is the golden age for television,” said my friend Steve. I debated him on that declaration, citing the 1950s: Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Lucille Ball, et al., until we could agree with a revised version of his proclamation: “This is a new golden age for long-form storytelling.” And, heck … Read more
Ah, your screenplay is finished. That “Save as PDF” command is just dying for you to click it. Getting your script out there is you’ve been working years toward. It’s that final moment when you can say “I’m finished with this screenplay. Time to move on to the next one.” But … 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
A screenwriter’s ego can be her greatest asset or her greatest liability. But are most screenwriters thinking about their screenplay, and how it will entertain an audience, or how it will provide jobs for hundreds of film industry folks, or how it will make money for the studio, or how … Read more
They say a company is never supposed to publish the bad things people say about them. Well, they may be right, but some of these are just too hard to resist posting. We’ve been reading scripts and providing script coverage at Screenplay Readers since 1999, and have had a ton of awesome … Read more
Screenwriters don’t think about ergonomics all that much. How does the saying go? “Typists type. Screenwriters stare out windows.” And when screenwriters are staring out windows, what are we doing? We’re sitting at our screenwriter desk. And when we’re not? We’re typing our screenplay. And all that sitting down and … Read more
Yeah, the world is shrinking, and yeah you can use Zoom or whatever, to communicate across the globe, but if you’re serious about screenwriting, you straight up need to move to Los Angeles. I hate to say it. As it is, me and my wife sometimes can’t get to the beach, or … Read more
A great script reader requires five elemental 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
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
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
A friend I’ve known for 30 years stopped in for a few days, visiting from the UK. We’ve always been close, so he knew I ran a company that did something with screenplays, but didn’t know exactly what that meant. So he asked, and I showed him how Screenplay Readers … Read more
I’ve worked with all types of screenwriters here at Screenplay Readers, good, bad, friendly, evil —you name it. And having written, directed and produced five feature films, I’ve had the fortune of being exposed to (or inoculated by, you might say) an even wider variety of the species known as … Read more
If you’re a screenwriter looking to sign with a literary agent, you’ve probably got the basics down: you can tell a reasonably-entertaining story on paper, you’re a hard worker, and you’re a nice gal. But, alas, it takes more than that to win the affections of an agent. Here are five things … Read more
How you react to critical feedback on your script defines you as a screenwriter. It’s that simple. To be fair, there is such a thing as good critical feedback and such a thing as bad critical feedback, but a smart screenwriter will be ready to use either variety of feedback … Read more
