It’s easy to spot novice screenplays. They often involve massive sets, special effects, and large casts along with exotic animals, spaceships, dinosaurs, or aliens. All of this means that the movie would cost hundreds of millions to make, which a risk-averse Hollywood would almost never do for an unknown story. There’s a reason why Hollywood’s […]
One huge mistake novice screenwriters make is that they start writing with no clear goal. They don’t know where their story is going, who their characters are, or what theme they want their story to tell. The predictable result is either a half-completed screenplay or a poorly written one that falls apart after the first […]
Read most screenplays and you’ll spot the same mistakes. One common mistake is that characters speak dialogue that fails to reveal what their goals might be or what their personality might be. Instead, their dialogue simply responds to the other characters, and they don’t have much purpose either beyond dumping exposition on the reader. Don’t […]
The above picture is really from Disney’s latest live-action remake of “Pinocchio”. Put simply, it’s a perfectly example of what not to do when writing a screenplay. While on his way to school, Pinocchio actually stops and studies a pile of horse droppings on the street. This isn’t just a moment that’s easy to miss. […]
One huge problem novices make is writing scenes filled with characters who take action, but who seem flat like puppets, simply taking action because that’s what the plot needs at the time. Scenes should never be about characters just doing something. Scenes need to be about revealing characters and the best way to reveal characters […]
Far too many movies focus on action, special effects, gunfire, car crashes, and stunts. This is never a formula for success (watch “Bullet Train”). At best, this will create a visually interesting story to watch and completely forget two seconds after the movie ends. Watching someone dangling out of a speeding train is mildly interesting […]
Before painters put a drop of paint on the canvas, they sketch out their ideas first. Yet far too many screenwriters start by simply writing and rewriting with no clear goal to aim at. The end result is a mess of jumbled ideas that fail to support each other, the theme, or the characters. If […]
There’s a huge difference between beginner screenplays and professional screenplays. Although they both may be formatted correctly, the beginner often tries dumping information to explain the story. Such information dumps bury even the best ideas from sight. Instead of dumping information on the audience, scenes must be structured. Structured scenes not only tell a story, […]