I am not a huge consumer of women’s romantic fiction because I like a good story – and so I can’t speak intimately to the ins and outs of the genre. It would appear superficially that this genre is formulaic in the extreme so that the story is something secondary (contrived) and the primary focus […]
Archive | Story
To Adapt or Not To Adapt?
Is it a good choice to adapt a project as an unproduced writer – or should you concentrate more of your energies on writing your own original screenplays? I actually discourage new writers (i.e., unestablished, without credits) from writing any screenplay to which they don’t own the rights. The problem with then adapting something as […]
Biopic: A Character’s Journey
By Monica on March 19, 2010 in Audience, Character, Genre, Location, Logical World, Process, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
I’ve been reading a number of biopics based on very famous historical personages. They are flat and dry, like cardboard. The feeling I have reading them is that they take a marionette of a historical figure and dance them through the major events of their life. I start off with little or no understanding of […]
Writing and Rights
By Monica on March 4, 2010 in Character, Genre, Ideas, Location, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
I know there can be some confusion about adapting work for the screen and owning the rights. If you are absolutely in love with a novel, cartoon, graphic novel (or ANY work that is not your own) and feel that it is your life’s destiny to adapt this work for the screen, then GET THE […]
What is “High Concept”?
By Monica on March 3, 2010 in Audience, Genre, Ideas, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
“High concept” is an expression within the entertainment industry that basically boils down to meaning ‘highly commercial.’ But what does it really mean? “High concept” indicates a few things: 1. A universal concept, whereupon every person hearing the idea will have a specific common point of reference. Successful universal concepts can be based on tropes, […]
Political Thrillers & Sci-Fi: Track the World
By Monica on March 2, 2010 in Audience, Character, Genre, Location, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
It is a common mistake for political thrillers and sci-fi screenplays to dump too many characters in the openings. This gets very confusing quickly. As a reader, I always feel the strongest choice is to introduce the protagonist alone, so that he/she stands out and is clearly identified in the mind of the reader. Once […]
How To Title Your Script
By Monica on February 28, 2010 in Audience, Genre, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
Coming up with an amazing title is important. Why? As a script reader, if I smile when I read your title, that’s a huge bonus – because it means I will be excited to read your script. Conversely, if the title evokes nothing, that’s bad. I don’t know what that script is about and I’ll […]
The Script Reader’s Top 10 Screenplay “Dos”
By Monica on February 27, 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 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 […]
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 […]
Example of How To Introduce Your Protagonist (Hurt Locker)
Let’s look at another great example of how to open a script – both in terms of character and also in terms of location, setting the world. I loved the opening of this script and actually loved the film as well because it paints an immediate, thrilling, chilling, palpable world for us. In this script, […]
Example of How To Introduce Your Protagonist (Erin Brockovich)
By Monica on February 24, 2010 in Character, Formatting, Location, Logical World, Screenwriting Resources, Story, Subject Matter, Theme, Tone, Uncategorized
One of my favorite scripts is “Erin Brockovich,” because I love the writing. It is abundantly clear, sparsely written, and dense with meaning. This script captures worlds of information with just a few simple, extremely well chosen words. To my mind, that is excellence in screenwriting. Please read this excerpt of the opening of the […]
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 […]
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 […]