While you can intuit a bit about producers’ taste by the films they’ve made, don’t assume producers only get certain genres. And never turn down a chance for a read.
When you make something that you yourself use, that’s called dogfooding, a contraction of “eating your own dogfood.” That’s developer-speak, but it’s something screenwriters would do well to appropriate.
What’s a reasonable amount of time to give your manager to read a draft of your script? It sometimes takes this screenwriter’s manager up to a month.
General meetings aside, how many pushes merits cause for concern regarding interest in you/your idea?
What do you do when your best work is met with an indifferent shrug?
Ostracism is a handy motivation for both heroes and villains.
Screenwriters benefit from worst-case scenario thinking.
Jenny was prescribed anti-anxiety medication, but worries it will mess up her writing.
Paul spent 29 years in a job too good to leave, and regrets it.
You’re naturally going to be drawn towards real-life people who are fascinating. That’s a good thing. Observe behavior. Figure out motivations and pathology. Then forget the real person.
In defense of fake tears and the emotional work screenwriters do.
Scott wonders if his online filmmaking classes are teaching him what he needs to know.
For the past few years, I’ve been aiming more towards “areas of interest” rather than true resolutions. That way, there’s no implied promise to be broken.
As the writer, you need to burn down houses. You need to push characters out of their safe places into the big scary world — and make sure they can never get back.
At a screenwriting panel last week, Robin Swicord said something that reframed the issue in a very helpful way.
Do you ever get sick of working with the same script that you are loathe to even look at it anymore? Yes.
I can’t reduce it to some simple “He’s Just Not That Into You” formula, but two months is far beyond the limit.
While it’s great to have an extra brain helping to write a script, you’re unlikely to always agree, and compromises may not always make sense.
Writer Elizabeth Gilbert discussing healthier ways to look at the creative process.
Is one reader’s frustration indicative of the Hollywood culture, or specific to him? Likely both.
They’re not a terrible idea, as long as they’re approached with the right expectations.
Don’t just think about who “owns” what. There are more practical considerations.
I’d recommend writing the one that has the best ending.
The Kevin Williamson Problem, explained.
Hollywood folk are savvy enough to realize that the guys who wrote Saw aren’t any sicker than most screenwriters.
