Every screenwriter who sits down to his copy of Final Draft and begins typing a screenplay has the ambition of writing a great screenplay with an outstanding and memorable lead character. Good ambition. But many screenwriters don’t realize that the most critical reason for doing this is that you need to create characters that will
If you’ve written a screenplay, if you’re even thinking about it, or if you’ve already completed one or more, then you’ve probably imagined what it would be like to see your story come to life on the screen. … I can tell you that there is nothing more fulfilling as a screenwriter than seeing your work come to life on the screen — even in a small way. It’s the ultimate thrill. It is much easier to do this than you might think…
Once you have polished your script, gotten a thumbs up from a professional script analyst, and you also feel it’s ready to go, then you have to get it out to the market to have your chance at getting it on the big screen. Going to market may seem overwhelming in some ways because you are putting yourself out there for the rejection that you fear. One of the best ways to get your unsolicited screenplay out to the market is through a query letter mailing campaign. Or if you are able to pitch in person, that is great too. You somehow first have to create opportunities to let execs know that you have a great screenplay.
Screenwriters sometimes ask me what I think about approaching the WGA West Literary Agents as a possible way to obtain representation. Theoretically, it’s a good idea, as it is a list of the agents who are franchised by the Writers Guild of America as being legitimate agencies for writers, but there are several major caveats…
Nothing kills a good story like bad dialogue. If it is predictable, stilted, boring, or trite, or any of the other ills that can befall the dialogue, script readers won’t get past the first few pages before deciding to advise the producer to “pass.” Writing great dialogue is a challenge, but if you have this
Formatting your screenplay the right way is a barrier-to-entry. It’s one of those things you want to get right simply so that the script reader isn’t distracted by it being wrong. The funny thing is that if you format a script the right way, it doesn’t earn you points on the positive side, but if
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