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 […]
Archive | Process
Online Screenwriting Communities?
Since I was contacted within the past couple of weeks about two new Internet screenwriting communities launching, I thought I would weigh in. So, what is the deal with online screenwriting communities? The online screenwriting community is sort of like a FaceBook for aspiring screenwriters. It’s an online virtual community where screenwriters can post their […]
Ten Rules for Writing Fiction
By Monica on February 21, 2010 in Ideas, Process, Screenwriting Resources, Story, Subject Matter, Uncategorized
Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, The Guardian asked authors for their personal dos and don’ts. Part One of the article from The Guardian. Click here for Part Two of the article.
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 […]
Pixar: Writing Complete Stories
By Monica on February 11, 2010 in Audience, Character, Ideas, Logical World, Process, Screenwriting Resources, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
An interesting article on how Pixar focuses on writing complete stories from Story Fanatic.
Positioning Yourself as a Writer: Choosing Genre
By Monica on February 10, 2010 in Audience, Ideas, Process, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
It’s probably worth your time to think about how you want to get sold as a writer. If you have material worth selling, at some point someone is going to discover this, and they’ll try to package you and sell you as a certain kind of writer. What kind of writer do you want to […]
To All The Haters
Recently I got a comment on the blog that I decided not to post because it was clearly from a Hater. “Hater” is the term I use to describe angry, reactive people who are foul and negative only to assert their hostile position – however, in most cases, their position isn’t fueled by logic but […]
Trusting Your Gut: Writing Passion vs. Structure
I’m visiting with one of my best friends now whose son, my godson, tragically died in October. This is a part of why I haven’t been writing since that time. I’ve also been trying to prioritize my own creative writing, but I’ve not had an easy time getting those pages in, either. It’s cold and […]
Happy 2010!
I wanted to wish all my readers all over the globe a happy new year! Good luck with the writing. I know it can be an isolating process, but you can do it. Email me if you have any questions or need any help! Screenwritertoscreenwriter (at) gmail.com
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 […]
Do You Mind Giving Me a Boost?
So I’ve been really busy lately and wasn’t feeling a spark about the blog, because it’s another thing to get done, and then someone posted a really fantastic comment that made me feel good about the work and what I’m trying to do here. It lit it up. That comment turned into an email exchange […]
Deadlines: A Lesson in How Not To Psych Yourself Out
aka Working With Your Internal Critic So over the past couple of weeks I’ve been writing a draft for a deadline. It was a pretty tight deadline – but I was determined to finish and to do the best that I could. I decided that I would assign a page count per day and get […]
Different Stories Call for Different Techniques
My standard technique for approaching story has been pretty static since I studied in private workshop with Syd Field years ago, although was honed at AFI: start with the six beats, write a synopsis, card out my story, create the beat sheet, and then write the script based on my beat sheet. Now that I’ve […]
When in a Draft: Re-Read Your Own Pages
I’ve been working on a draft these past couple of weeks, so I have the writing process on my mind. I was chatting with a couple of writer friends the other day and they both said when they’re drafting, they start the writing day by re-reading the previous day’s pages and editing them. This helps […]
Josh Olson: “I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script.”
Josh Olson, screenwriter of A History of Violence, wrote this fantastic article about a non-writer “friend” who asked him, as a favor, to read an outline. This explains exactly why writers shouldn’t spend free time reading work that isn’t at a peer level. Because the average non-writer douchebag isn’t really interested in notes. They just […]