10 EASY TO AVOID REASONS

I don’t write many screenwriting posts that attempt to ‘teach’ anything and the reason is simple:  It’s very difficult to teach something you haven’t experienced yourself.

XTRA | I’m not a screenwriting expert.  I just love to write screenplays.

With that in mind, I feel I have inside knowledge about screenplays that do not sell… Because I’ve never sold a screenplay.  Obviously, these aren’t the definitive reasons your screenplay won’t sell but they certainly don’t help.

1. You lack confidence.

2. You make excuses.

3. You rush to the finish line.

4. You think your first draft is glorious.

5. You’re Your grammar needs to improve

6. You spend more time talking about your script than actually writing it.

7. You can’t take criticism.

8. Your screenplay isn’t good enough.

9. You aren’t passionate enough.

10. Your screenplay has no heart.

THEY ARE ALL CONNECTED

Number 1 is a tough one to get over and is usually the cause of number 2.

Number 4 is an extension of number 3 because you never want to rush things but it happens.

If you think your first draft is incredible you likely aren’t enthusiastic about the rewrite process.  Which could mean your grammar is terrible.

When you’re stalled, you don’t put the work in.

Number 8 will haunt you.  You could easily lose focus and the work will suffer.  You can always make your screenplay better so stop talking about it (#6) and get the work done.

Most of all, if you aren’t passionate about the story you’re trying to tell, it won’t show in the pages you write.  Number 9 & 10.  Figure out those and you’ll find the fundamental cure to 1-8.

Of course, it’s my goal to one day write about the 10 things I did to SELL a screenplay…  It’s a work in progress.  I sincerely hope there are no grammar mistakes in this post.

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HELP KICK START YOUR BRAIN BY CREATING SOMETHING
CHEESY, LAME, CLICHED AND/OR TERRIBLE…

I had to wake up this morning at 6 AM to take my dog to get his hair cut.  That might sound awful to most but I consider myself a morning person even though I normally work late.  Personally, I think waking up before the sun rises is the best time to write screenplays.

So while I was getting ready, I decided to challenge myself to come up with something new.  It could have been anything really.  A short, a feature, a concept or simply a main character would have sufficed…  I had nothing or at least nothing I would consider good.  Every idea I came up with was either something I had already seen or something I had no interest in seeing and that’s never a good thing.  Sick of coming up with good ideas for a screenplay, I decided to switch gears and come up with a horrible screenplay idea.

THE BAD SCREENPLAY

This technique may sound counter-productive but it’s not.  It’s just as difficult to come up with a bad screenplay idea if you set out to do so.  The whole point is to be creative and get your mind working.  (Especially if it’s 6 AM)  Within minutes, I was making myself laugh with my horrid storyline and the cheese ball action hero I created.  I called my bad screenplay idea:

THE MENTAL NOTE

The story is set in 1972 inside a mental hospital that houses diabolical super genius Pinter.  One day, he somehow manages to medicate the head of the hospital in order to retrieve information on a top secret formula that induces violent behavior in patients.  He uses this to create an army and escape.  Opposing Pinter is a lonely police officer, Bruce, who has just finished a night shift and is on his way to visit his dying wife.  Pinter and his army arrive to ‘diagnose’ more people and Bruce is the only one who can stop him.

The only reason I’d want to see this movie is so Bruce can stand before Pinter and say things like:

I’ll make a mental note of that!

And Pinter would reply:

…  Go ahead!

See I told you it wasn’t very good.  However, while I was figuring out how my main villain would meet his end, I came up with a new idea for a short film that I liked.  And it’s all because of a mental hospital, a secret formula and a cheesy catch phrase.

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DON’T BE AFRAID OF PAGE ONE

I sat down last week to write a couple scenes I may include in a feature I’ve been working on the last little while.  The idea blossomed into a short screenplay idea that could serve as a sequel for the story.  It was an interesting take on the the concept I created but the more I developed it, the more it didn’t fit with the overall style I wanted to achieve.

Still, the character is both interesting and tragic so I wanted to write the short.  It’s one of those stories that, if done right, could be cool.  However, there is a fine line between cool and cheesy in this case so I had to be careful.  That was last week.

I still haven’t written the short.

A part of me hesitated because I hadn’t really broken ground on this new world I’m exploring.  My feature is still a month or so away from PAGE ONE but still I found myself intimidated. Even though the current story is a short that’s merely set in the world of my feature, I still wanted it to be perfect.

It was my first opportunity to nail an introduction to a reality I’m very excited to write about.  I’ve stared at the blank page on a number of occasions trying to figure out the best way to get going.  I think a lot of writer’s find themselves stuck on page one because you desperately want it to be amazing. That first paragraph is written, deleted, written, erased, written, overwritten, overridden, deleted again and restarted.  At least in my case it is…

I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to the opening sentence. It sets the tone for your script.  True, I’m only working on a short screenplay but the FIRST sentence is crucial especially since every sentence is crucial.

The same thing happens to me every time I start a new script.  I shouldn’t be surprised by now.  I know PAGE ONE is coming.  Even if I ignore it and walk away.  It’s still going to be waiting for me when I get back.

So I decided to try something else.

JUST LIKE A BAND AID…  RIGHT OFF!

Why wait?  Clearly my feature screenplay is influencing this ‘prequel’ idea so why not write the first page of my feature?  If I’m so worried about how the universe will be introduced then why not write it.

That’s when my imagination really fired up and I felt inspired.  I was about to start my new feature.  Officially.  I hadn’t planned on starting it until well into the summer but there I was writing my first sentence, my first line of dialogue, my first page.

When I finished the scene, I immediately felt like it could be better but the idea was there.  At this early stage, it’s the IDEA that takes priority.  I can improve the language as the screenplay evolves.  That first page also gave me a fresh take on the short I want to write.  Suddenly, it all made sense.  Maybe this short screenplay idea has a place in my feature after all?  Maybe it fits.  Sometimes, working on a separate idea will feed another.

That was my first hint that my new world is coming to life and that’s a pretty exciting feeling.

We shall see after I get passed PAGE ONE.

HOW MY NEW HAT INSPIRED A NEW LOOK
FOR MY MAIN CHARACTER

I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy.  It’s a style I’ve come to embrace and while I switch up the shirts everyday, there are two main stays in my fashion rotation.

A plain blue hat and my a Adidas Superstar shoes.  For at least the last 4 or 5 years, I’ve been purchasing variations of both.  The tradition of the blue hat started when I first began working for a Sports network.  When you’re surrounded by die hard sports fans every day, the logo on your hat is big.  I’m very particular when it comes to hats and went through a streak where I couldn’t find a Jays, Leafs or Raptors hat that suited me.

So I went plain blue and it worked for me.  It’s the same with my shoes.  Each year, I buy a new pair in the Spring and retire my old shoes.  The cycle restarts and I’m ready for another year of film and television work.

Recently, I was at a Blue Jays game and my girlfriend had me try on a few hats.  Out of the blue we both chose the same one and a white Blue Jays hat is now tops in my rotation.  It’s a big change for me.

What does this have to do with screenwriting?

Somehow, getting a new hat and rethinking my overall ‘style’ got me thinking about characters in my screenplays.  Specifically, a nerdy character that stars in my latest short.

Creating a character’s look can be extremely specific or simply general guidance for the costume designer.  There are examples of both everywhere but I tend to give general descriptions unless it’s really necessary.  Still, sometimes it is necessary to really describe a characters fashion sense in order to fully convey the person you imagined on the screen.

Getting a new hat made me rethink the character I’m in the midst of creating.  Perhaps this is an opportunity for me to add a little bit more depth to the character.  What if he wears a hat.  Is it old?  Is there a story behind it?

Mark Zuckerberg wears sandals in The Social Network and that adds a tiny but significant detail to the story.

Is there a way you can learn more about a character by dressing them in different ways?  Absolutely.  If it lends to the story, why not take the opportunity and add a couple layers to their story.

Getting a new hat caused me to think about how attached I was to my old one.  Whether I like it or not, my hat and shoes said something about me.  What would a change in style say about my character?  How would he react?

Obviously, I’m not going to waste screen time sending my character to the mall to buy new shoes but I did come up with a different look than my original plan.  It’s a look that better suites the story I want to tell.

It’s amazing what a few sentences can change.

It wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t let go of my old hat.

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PS: The shoes stay.

I’m almost finished.

After months (or years in the case of my latest screenplay) of work, I’m finally almost finished.

My little side project has gone through quite the development process over the last little while.  I’ve seen each page evolve as I have as a screenwriter.

I think when I look back 10 years from now, I will look back at this script as a turning point in my screenwriting career.

Why?

Mainly because I promised myself once and for all that I wouldn’t start another feature script until I completed this story.

Now I can see the finish line. I know where I’m going with the story and the scenes are laid out in front of me.  The characters are working and the emotions are there.

You can imagine how excited I am to finish it.  I’ve been filled with an overwhelming sense of anticipation all week.

Yet this morning I had to take a step back.

I didn’t want the finish line to blur the pages I have to write before I get there.  They have to be great.

So with 15-20 pages to go, I took the morning off from writing new pages and went back to page one.

I wanted to go over every single detail and make sure I was ready to finish my story properly.

It was a fantastic decision as I wound up eliminating 2 scenes and an entire character.  I’ll miss the material I created but the story is better for it.

The process actually inspired a new scene in the second act that may or may not be my favorite of the entire script.

It wouldn’t be possible if I rushed through the final pages simply to get it done.  That’s not enough.

You can’t take short cuts.

There’s nothing better than finishing a screenplay but it means nothing if you feel like you didn’t dedicate yourself completely to every single page.

Sometimes, the lure of the finish line can cause you to miss the little details and revelations that make a script great. 

Don’t fall victim to this trap.

Tomorrow, I’ll know that I’m 100% ready to reach the end.