The following is a very basic list of items that get my attention as a script reader. If your script addresses each of these points, you’re probably doing a good job. I will be excited to read your script. So, here we go, a list of my top 10 screenplay “dos” when reading: DO keep […]
Archive | Genre
The Script Reader’s Top 5 Screenplay “Do Nots”
By Monica on February 26, 2010 in Audience, Beat Sheet, Books on Screenwriting, Character, Formatting, Genre, Ideas, Location, Logical World, Process, Q&A, Screenwriting Competitions, Screenwriting Resources, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
The following is a very basic list of items that do not impress me as a script reader and, more often than not, will get your script a resounding pass. If your script contains any of these points, consider rewriting before sending out. So, here we go, a list of my top 5 screenplay peeves […]
Introduce Your Character to the Reader
By Monica on February 23, 2010 in Character, Genre, Screenwriting Competitions, Screenwriting Resources, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
Now that we’re heading back into competition season for 2010, I am going to revisit the most important aspects of the screenplay, and in some cases I will try to link to examples of how they’re done correctly. I just read a pile of scripts and only one of the writers bothered to introduce me […]
Why Shutter Island Didn’t Work: Audience Expectation
By Monica on February 22, 2010 in Audience, Genre, Logical World, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
Okay, okay, so it was based on a book. Let’s forget that and look at why this project didn’t work as a film. There’s an adage about screenwriting that you shouldn’t write movies about a dream within a dream within a dream and then *ta da!* oops, you only imagined what you saw this whole […]
How Many Scenes in a Screenplay?
The basic number of scenes within a script will vary with genre. Keep in mind that each page of script represents approximately one minute of screen time, with the average scene not to exceed three pages. Keep in mind that most scripts submitted, also genre dependent, come in between 100-110 pages. The more talky the […]
Be Careful When Mixing Genre: Jennifer’s Body
By Monica on February 9, 2010 in Audience, Character, Genre, Logical World, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
I’m sitting here watching Jennifer’s Body, which is a movie I should love. I think the concept is amazing – a girl who gets taken advantage of by men only to turn the tables and start fucking over men. It should be edgy, fucking hilarious, scary as shit and I was expecting this movie to […]
Who Are You Writing For?
By Monica on February 8, 2010 in Character, Genre, Ideas, Logical World, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
I was Skyping with a writer friend the other night who had sent me a list of about 10 loglines and was wanting to brainstorm which project to write next. He later sent me an email indicating he’d chosen to write a horror movie starring a young boy character and, in essence, a CGI character. […]
Inside Out vs. Outside In
By Monica on November 14, 2009 in Character, Genre, Ideas, Logical World, Process, Story, Theme, Uncategorized
The great debate: character to story or concept to character. Face it: you’re either one or the other. If you think you’re both at the same time, I’d really love to hear from you and learn how you do it, because it seems to me there’s a huge canyon in between and I’m waiting for […]
Writing Down the Page
“Writing down the page” is an expression that basically means the thrust of the story moves down the page with action, description, dialogue and carefully chosen sparse elements, so the reader’s eye is continually pulled down the page and then to the next page. You should aim not to get the reader’s eye stuck in […]
Subject Matter: The Legal Thriller
You might not like it, but I just have to say it: My advice with legal thrillers is “just say no.” Legal thrillers can be completely amazing, but this genre is pretty well tapped out. We’ve now birthed three solid generations of “Law and Order” and franchise viewers, as well as two strong generations of […]
Write What You Love
By Monica on July 30, 2009 in Character, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Uncategorized
My friend had a rough writing day the other day. She had a moment of disappointment that she wasn’t writing projects that are more high-concept and commercial. I reminded her that we can only write what we love. That’s the best we can do. Sometimes we just have to write what we love just because […]
If It Doesn’t Buy You Something, Take It Out
By Monica on July 29, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Competitions, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
The more I write and the more I read, I find I return to this mantra again and again: If it doesn’t buy you something, take it out. Screenplay beats to me are a commodity. You have to buy the beats in the beginning of your story to cash them in later on in the […]
Screenplay Openings: Most Beginnings Are Overwritten
By Monica on July 28, 2009 in Beat Sheet, Character, Formatting, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Competitions, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
This article follows up on Screenplay: The Importance of the First Five Pages. In the last batch of scripts I read for one of the screenwriting competitions, I would say about 30% of the screenplays had beginnings that were overwritten. It’s not uncommon. In several cases, the real story didn’t start to pick up until […]
Subject Matter: Sci-Fi Writers Beware
Science fiction is complicated to write. You have to create a believable world that is rich and full of detail with no breaks in logic in a limited pagecount, hit the genre conventions and then write a smart story on top of that. Also, it can’t be something we’ve seen before – it has to […]
Q&A: Simple Present vs. Present Progressive (“-ing”) Verb Tense
Michael asks: Is it ever okay to use the “ing” present tense to describe action? “The Complete Screenwriters Manual” says no, but I don’t buy it. Monica says: Thanks, Michael. Great question. Here’s the deal with what I refer to as active verbs vs. passive verbs and screenwriting. The standard for screenwriting is to use […]