I can’t count the times an aspiring writer complained to me, “But I read a script by So-and-So Famous Writer and they did that! And now you’re telling me I can’t?”
Yes, they did break so-called sacrosanct screenwriting rules. But you can’t break conventions until you have mastered them.
These conversations inspired my last three ScriptMag columns on Breaking The Rules, particularly the dictatorial “Show, Not Tell.” Each explores a different type of masterfully breaking the rules, and offers examples from screenplays and teleplays by revered writers across genres and decades:
And, possibly my favorite,Breaking The Rules Part 3: Pro Secrets – The Deft Cheat, explores techniques to create memorable scenes, evoke mood, and reveal unspoken character dynamics in engaging, cinematic, magical moments.
These articles showcase how A-List writers, having mastered the fundamentals, skillfully bend, break, and reinvent the rules with intention and finesse. Once your storytelling reaches that level, you can, too.
Read, Read, and Read
Rather than feeling frustrated, see these scripts as opportunities to learn. The great writers who came before you left a roadmap – scripts that demonstrate what they did and how they did it.
Aspiring writers no longer have to visit a museum to study the masters. While you can make an appointment at the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library, or travel to the AMPAS Margaret Herrick Library, now thousands of scripts – dating back to the early decades of film – are readily available for free online, with just a little bit of sleuthing.
Search for:
[TITLE] screenplay OR teleplay PDF download free
While some sites feel shady or host useless transcripts, award-nominated scripts are often officially released by the studios to promote them to the industry. Ignoring these resources is like trying to become a surgeon without studying anatomy or observing live surgeries.
Learning from the Masters
Throughout history, mastery required apprenticeship and often hardship. Michelangelo began apprenticing at 13. He studied the masters. He dissected cadavers to grasp the underlying musculature of the body before turning to sculpture. By 24 he had completed the Pietà. Michelangelo wanted to create a work he described as “the heart’s image.” His most famous sculpture, David, was completely when he was he was 29.
Studying and mastering the skills of the experts is your opportunity to dissect and examine what is beneath the surface of human emotion before you become a renowned sculptor.
As a writer, you don’t need to cut up bodies or clean paint brushes, but you should study the master writers to grasp how they reveal what lies beneath the surface.
Essential Reading: Career-Launching Spec Scripts
To inspire your reading list, I’ve selected some of my favorite scripts by first-time screenwriters, whose debuts led to box office success, critical acclaim and even Academy Awards® for nominations for Best Original Screenplay.
Before the 1990s, many nominees had extensive experience in theatre or television. But the 90s were a Golden Era for spec scripts as studios were still eager to buy them in the 80s, leading an abundance of unique, original works. Bygone days for the industry, I’m afraid.
12 Angry Men (1957) – Reginald Rose technically this won Best Adapted Screenplay, but it was based on Rose’s own original teleplay, so it’s my call to put him on this list
The Producers (1968) – Mel Brooks (Won) (What arena hadn’t Mel Brooks notched impressive achievements prior to this, with a career that started on the Borsht Belt just after WWII and flourished in television and theatre in the 1950s. Nevertheless, this was his first feature film, beating 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick and Faces by John Cassavetes.)
Breaking Away (1979) – Steve Tesich (Won)
Moonstruck (1987) – John Patrick Shanley (Won) (note he had written and continues to write numerous successful plays)
Thelma & Louise (1991) – Callie Khouri (Won)
The Fisher King (1991) – Richard LaGravenese (Won)
The Sixth Sense (1999) – M. Night Shyamalan
American Beauty (1999) – Alan Ball (Won)
Being John Malkovich (1999) – Charlie Kaufman
Gosford Park (2001) – Julian Fellowes (won)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) – Nia Vardalos
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – Michael Arndt (won)
Juno (2007) – Diablo Cody (Won)
The Big Sick (2017) – Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
Get Out (2017) – Jordan Peele (Won)
Promising Young Woman (2020) – Emerald Fennell (Won)
In The Beginning
What fascinates me most is each writer’s origin story: Each “in the beginning” is different. Some writers were ready to quit – just one more idea that they simply had to write. Others were just starting out. Some wrote a first draft in days, others went through hundreds of versions.
As a special treat, here are some enlightening interviews with the writers on how these specs came into being, their writing, and what they want to say with their stories:
While I urge you to consume a steady diet of good scripts, don’t shy away from the bad ones. Analyzing where and why they fall short will sharpen your skills and strengthen your storytelling techniques. Growing up, once in the theatre, I never walked out of a bad film; there was always something to learn.
Your best education is right at your fingertips! Start reading, studying, and dissecting.
Ernest Hemingway is credited with saying, “The only kind of writing is rewriting,” although countless writers have expressed a variation on “Writing is rewriting.” While this conventional wisdom is solid, in screenwriting, continually doing a traditional Page-One Rewrite yields diminishing returns.
While I’ve offered up seven essential pointers for the polish and hone phase of rewriting, these innovative techniques that can boost your next draft, creating an impeccable script and an exceptional reading experience – key to impressing readers and advancing your career.
Rewriting is always work, but it comes with rich rewards. Adopting this new system can make the labor easier and produce more impressive results.
Press Pause
Congratulations! You did make it to “Fade Out.” But before you jump into a rewrite, step away. A little time off can yield big benefits. Set a time limit of a day or two so you have a plan in place, setting boundaries in advance.
After staring at the screen, writing, reading, and reworking, a break is an opportunity to refresh. Get out – of your workspace. Do an activity you enjoy, utterly unconnected to writing. Choose something active that doesn’t involve a lot of thinking but has a tangible result. Whatever floats your boat: baking bread, hiking to a scenic spot, working in the garden, or working out.
My favorite benefit of pressing pause is the phenomenon of “Sudden Illumination” – that spark of creativity that happens when we stop hunting for answers and instead to allow for the creative magic of the solutions that pop up when we stop seeking them.
So step back and take a not only well-deserved break, but an essential opportunity to refresh, re-energize, and let your subconscious take the wheel.
Press Print
I remember thinking I would never be able to write creatively on a computer. Now I can’t imagine how I survived writing on paper, with arrows and asterisks drawn all over the page whenever I discovered a better way to say something. Cut and paste – yes, please!
But rewriting is different.
I never post a column or a blog without printing it out. An astonishing amount of little errors slip by when reading on the computer. The inevitable better ideas can be scribbled in, and a couple of good old arrows and asterisks can move text around, then back to the computer to implement it. I can’t explain it, but there is something powerful about having words on paper and a pen in your hand.
This is a crucial aspect of the Just One Thing Rewrite, so please print. Don’t bother with three-hole punch paper – you’re not gonna need it. And that also means no brads necessary. Now you’re ready to work.
Scene-by–Scene
Solid scenes stand alone, as if they are a small story unto themselves. The best way to check is by reading one scene at a time – but not in order, or you’ll become caught up in the through line. The strongest scenes do two things at once – advance the plot and develop character.
Ask Yourself: Are you giving characters time to digest new information or shift emotional states? Is there a build in the big moments? Are you getting into the scene as late as possible? Does the scene build and end on a strong note? Can you wrap it up with a “bow” or a “button” – a great line and/or a meaningful action or reaction? If the scene was cut, would the screenplay still work? If so, it’s not essential. Does the scene add something new to the story? If not, then revise it or cut it.
Be on the Look Out For: Scenes that are filler. Expository scenes, transition scenes, and flashbacks are all scenes to consider trimming, revising, incorporating into other scenes, or cutting.
Dialogue Only
Each character should have a distinctive voice. By the time readers are in Act Two, we shouldn’t have to read the slug to know who is speaking. Read it aloud to hear the flow. If it’s awkward coming from your mouth, even a terrific actor won’t make it work. Great dialogue has a flow, a build, and a rhythm. See my ode to Aaron Sorkin as part of my discussion of “The Rule of Threes” in dialogue, along with many other terrific examples here.
Be on the Look Out For: Characters whose voices don’t remain consistent. There might be a distinctive cadence to their dialogue. If they use slang or have an accent at the outset, then they shouldn’t suddenly switch from “ain’t” to “shan’t,” or from “y’all” to “youse.”
Description Only
I’ve devoted entire ScriptMag articles to description, but here’s what you should focus on in the description-only pass:
Are you giving us what is essential to know about the character when they are introduced? Is this something that can or will be conveyed cinematically?
Are you conveying the atmosphere of significant settings? Just enough to give us the flavor.
Is your detail too specific? Small details slow the pace. Unless they’re essential to conveying the atmosphere or establishing the character, we don’t need them. Leave the color of the shirt to the costume designer and the pile of the rug to the set designer.
Are you telling us what we see as we see it? A character doesn’t flinch before the punch is thrown. Using “as” is a dead giveaway here.
Do the sentences read smoothly? It should flow for the reader. Avoid lengthy sentences. Punctuate perfectly.
Ask Yourself: Are you using the same verb or adjective in close proximity? This signals weak writing and gives the piece a repetitive feel. Push yourself for variety, without going overboard.
Be on the Look Out For: More than three things in introducing a primary character or significant setting is giving us a grocery list, not a description. Avoid obsessing over small actions that our brains automatically fill in. Of course a character extends their arm to shake hands or turns the knob to exit through a door. Speaking of exiting, watch out for description that sounds like a play, such as having characters “enter” or “exit” a scene. It feels flat, not cinematic.
Backasswards
This may seem counterintuitive, but the backwards pass is a terrific tool because it pulls your focus to the look and the formatting. The last page is a terrific place to start. If it’s a half page long or less, now is the time to hunt down widows/orphans – lines with only one or two words – and rewrite the sentence so it is tighter. With strong word choices, you can say more with less and have greater impact for a better read. That’s the real goal. And, although less significant, you’ll also have a shorter page count.
Ask Yourself: Are there big blocks of dialogue or description? If so, what can be tightened and trimmed, or cut altogether. Is the page cluttered? As I said in “Five Things Readers Wish Every Writer Knew,” reading is literally hard on the eyes. We’re not asking you to make our job easier, just don’t make it more difficult. Keep it clean, clear and consistent. Scene numbers are for shooting scripts. If you have characters whose dialogue is in a language other than English, just above the first time it happens try this:
NOTE: Portuguese dialogue is in italics and will be subtitled.
I’m sure this will controversial, but I’m encouraging my consulting clients and the pro writers working on projects with me to eliminate unnecessary formatting, even if it means overriding the software. We really, truly do not need (CONT.), or (cont’d), (MORE) and CUT TO. Call the software company for help if you can’t figure out how. Keep parentheticals to a minimum and never use them in description – it’s either significant or it’s not. I also find characters exact ages in parentheticals to add annoying visual clutter. Unless significant to the plot, or in the case of kids from babies to teens, “thirties” will do fine and not limit casting. All CAPS for sound effects is outdated, but if you’ve got a particularly significant one, the BOOM of an explosion or the furious SLAM of a door that needs to land with impact, then have at it. Underlining or CAPPING for emphasis in dialogue adds clutter. It’s cleaner and every bit as impactful when italicized, just as it would be in a document. Honestly! Nevertheless, be judicious.
Be on the Look Out For: Inconsistent formatting. The spacing between lines and scenes can be thrown off in the best of programs. How you choose to convey the text of a sign or a jump in time should always look the same. No long slug lines. This is no place to convey the setting; that’s the job of description. Dashes and ellipses in dialogue are two different things. Dashes indicate a pause or hesitation, stuttering or sputtering, or being interrupted. Ellipses indicate trailing off, such as a character searching for what to say, and imply a longer pause. Lots of ellipses add a lot of clutter. Don’t be heavy-handed with either.
Just One More Thing
An experienced reader can – and will – pick up your script and be able tell in one to two minutes tops if you’re an accomplished writer or an aspiring amateur. One of my earliest ScriptMag articles, It’s Not Easy Being Green, shows you how to convince us you’re inexperienced, brought to you straight from Sesame Street!
Any of these rewriting techniques can elevate your writing, which is essential in impressing readers with your execution.
All of them are designed to trick your brain into seeing your words on the page with fresh eyes.
While a great consultant can catch these fumbles, practicing them with these rewriting strategies will train your brain to become aware of them as you write. Strengthening these muscles one at a time makes the heavy lifting easier with each script and every draft you do, as it becomes instinct instead of effort.
It is one of the highest compliments a writer can receive.
The most sought after characteristic.
The hallmark of a true storyteller.
It sets pros apart from the rest.
It’s the writer’s voice.
The writer’s voice is a magic ingredient that makes your writing irresistible. And makes the Industry want to meet you, hire you, and learn what you are writing next.
A few weeks ago, I was working at my “Saturday coffee shop,” musing over what my next article should be, when a woman from across the patio got up and made a beeline in my direction. I could tell she wanted to ask me something. As she got closer, I was astonished to realize that I recognized her.
She wanted to take my picture to send to a former intern who looked remarkably like me. Turns out, I also look remarkably like me, a former intern of hers from a bajillion and a half years ago. We were surprised and delighted to reconnect. I blurted out that horrid, disingenuous, cliché – “You haven’t changed a bit!” – because it was true.
D. Diane Miller was likely the second person I ever worked for in my Hollywood career. Neither of us can recall how we met, but reconnecting this way seemed serendipitous to us both.
As I chatted with Diane, I suddenly realized what I wanted to write about – mentorship. And the bosses and mentors who impacted my career and my life.
That’s why I’m always adding new mentorship packages for the writers I work with as a consultant, so they can benefit from this crucial ingredient to success. You can read about them here.
It takes both talent and serendipity to break into the industry. And by that I mean the combination of preparation, relationships and lucky timing, mentorship is the surest way to gain those ingredients and to advance once you’ve gotten a foot in the door.
The best part of mentorship is that at some point you’ll be able to give someone else a hand up.
Toe to Toe
As I think back on my time with Diane, I’m struck with two things. First, even though I was truly just a kid, and an intern, she treated me with respect, included me in meetings, and handed off tasks, never doubting I would accomplish them.
Decades ago, Diane constantly worked with male business partners and in all-male settings. Never, ever, did she seem to be on anything less than an equal footing. When I asked her about this recently, Diane said that in many ways she considered women superior to men, and was reaching down to lift them up to her level!
How to Take A Meeting
Her business partner at the time, a male producer, took me to my first ever, real film industry meeting. He had been in the business for ages, and knew exactly how it worked. It was a Meetings 101 primer – the kind that you aren’t offered in any Ivory Tower.
I soaked it in. I watched him start with what seemed like casual, small talk and then deftly transition to the project that was the purpose of the meeting. So smooth. Wow. That’s how it’s done.
In the room, I learned that once my “active” work was done, the single most important thing I could do as a producer once the pitch began was shut up and observe. I sit the writer directly across from the most important person in the room, and I sit off at an angle where I can watch not the writer, but the decision-maker, observing their expressions and their body language.
Where did we hook them? When were they confused? When were they utterly engaged? All this feedback based on reactions would go back to the writer later so we could make the pitch better.
Never lose sight of your value. See yourself on equal footing with your peers.
Watching how it’s done in the real world surpasses even the best how-to books.
Never Let Them See You Sweat
My first real industry job was as an assistant at a boutique literary agency. There is no better place to learn how the business works than an agency. Infinitely harder than working for two independent producers, but a priceless education, and I was eager to get schooled.
I worked for the two youngest, i.e. lowest level agents: A man who worked in feature and a woman who worked in TV. As the lowest on the totem pole they had to do more – read more, submit more, network more. They were trying to break new writers, prove themselves, and handle added responsibilities for the agency of covering studio open assignments and network staffing.
2 bosses + several incompetent assistants who proceeded me + young agents working 10 X harder than the partners = 60-hour work-weeksyields BIG learning curve.
To top it off, my two bosses had offices on different floors! I was literally running. My agents were sending out up to a dozen submissions a day. This is back in the olden days of scripts on paper, sent via delivery service, each with a perfect cover letter attached. I worked hard as hell, and I handled it. Except for getting a complaint from the bookkeeper that I was rushing around the script library/Xerox room/kitchen and looked stressed. Seriously?
So I trained myself to speed walk and whistle while I worked. OK, I can’t whistle a tune to save my life, but I hummed, and I smiled. No way was I going to be accused of not being able to handle the pressure.
My male boss, Gary Pearl, early in his career then but now a highly successful manager- producer, is the person truly responsible for getting me into the business. Except for a handful of quirks which I readily adapted to – may of which I picked up and still use – I knew exactly what he expected of me, and I could deliver.
Breaking into The Industry
In case I haven’t harped on the importance of having relationships to get into the industry as well as to advance, here’s the scoop:
My younger brother Neil, went to Tulane University where he helped reinvigorate a chapter of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, or Sammy as it is called. After Neil graduated, he was offered a job as a national field rep for the fraternity. Pretty awesome job. He traveled the country helping new chapters spring up, as well as visiting existing ones where the brothers attempt to throw the best party you’ve ever seen while he tried to get then “scared straight” on alcohol, hazing and safe sex. Perhaps I’ve made it sound a bit too glamorous, but that’s the gist of it.
Through Sammy, Neil get to know the chapter advisor of the UCLA house, an alum, which is Gary. Who meets met I puts me up for a job as assistant to the partners, which I don’t get, coming in second place to a guy with a law degree. The next opening is for a new assistant he’s sharing with another agent. And this time I get the job.
Mentorship Learning Curve
While I freaked out that I lacked the agent sensibility, Gary taught me that if I wanted to be a development executive and a producer, I needed to focus on learning what my taste was. When I knew what types of stories I was attracted to, then I was ready to find a job with a producer who shared my taste.
Mentorship Opportunities
Gary gave me the opportunity to do some development work, helping a green writer who had interest on a script and was stuck in rewrite hell with a development exec who he wanted desperately to please but was confusing him. Here’s where I learned how to talk with writers in the way that will bring out the best in their work, different for each individual. And, because of the development exec and his notes, I saw what happens when you fail to tell a writer what it good, what is working and why. It can disappear. And the script doesn’t get stronger in the next pass. This was one of my early experiences in working closely with a writer and supporting them through the writing process. Invaluable!
Mentorship Takeaways
Relationships, relationships, relationships.
It’s not just who you know, it’s who you know knows!
Nervous or not, put on a brave face, get in there and push to excel.
Learn your taste in material, it’s invaluable.
Looking for Mentorship?
My Screenwriting Elevated Seminar includes 3 1/2 hours of one-on-one time! Read more here. Flyer here.
I’ve just finished a ScriptMag.com article on “drive” for my column, Breaking & Entering, comparing how automotive engines work to propela car forward, to what it really takes to successfully propel yourself toward a career in screenwriting. Operating on four-wheel drive means constantly creating material, building craft, generating ideas, and studying the marketplace while preparing to market yourself.
The article was sparked by several stories I’ve heard recently, from folks working to launch their careers and making progress.
And then there were check-ins from two of my former interns. For me, the comparison between these two fellows really drove home the concept of drive. One has relentless drive and determination. The other has wicked smarts and skills.
Former Intern Number One (FI#1) is a highly motivated young writer. He has been at this for a couple of years since graduating from a screenwriting program. He keeps me updated on his progress – from shooting a web series, to persuading a literary agent assistant to read and respond to his query, to seeking advice on how best to turn that contact into a meaningful business relationship.
When FI#1 asks – and hisrequests are specific – I offer up advice, help rework his query letters, and I have also written a glowing letter of recommendation for him.
Like all good relationships, this is a two-way street.
Whenever I need help at a screenwriting conference or speaking engagement, FI#1 steps up. And he makes the most out of the experience by sitting in on classes, networking, and using any free time with me to plot out his next career moves.
FI#1 does not contact me constantly or needlessly, but only when he has something worthwhile to pass along. Here’s a recent update:
I’m working with a writing partner now and we are hitting it off like nobody’s business. It’s a great partnership. She takes my big crazy ideas and helps ground them down into a workable story. We took the graphic novel idea I had over last summer and found an artist who is working on helping us bring it to life. It’s all pretty exciting.
We even managed to fashion the idea into a TV pilot script that we are ready to start pitching. And one of my contacts is very interested in the idea and wants to help shepherd it over to his studio executive contacts.
So now it’s moving forward in two markets. All good things, right?
Thank you so much for all your insight and helping me stay sharp and motivated!
Exerting his drive in multiple directions, as I suggest in my article, “Driven To Succeed,” is paying off faster than I can write this blog. Latest update:
Our pilot got a script request off a query letter, so I reached out to a manager contact for advice on when to bring in a manager. Not only did I get advice, but she asked to see the script, loved it, and by the end of the day was sending it out to a production company that she knows is looking for something like what we have. Just like that!
“Just like that,” my ass. Smartly played!
I want FI#1 to succeed. And he wants to make me proud of his accomplishments.
Former Intern Number Two (FI#2) is still in college, and eager to break into the industry. He’s not exactly sure what he wants to be when he grows up, but he still has time to figure that out. He’s smart to be laying a foundation while still in school. He is extremely bright, articulate about story, and has an astonishing film vocabulary – truly one of the best I have ever seen. I was grateful to have his help last summer, as he plowed through every task I handed off.
FI#2 has kept in touch with me sporadically, mostly about the weather. Not exactly newsworthy.
When another former intern told me that her program coordinator – from a prestigious private university – recommended they keep in touch with the people that they worked with over the summer by sending a Halloween card, I was horrified. If you want to be treated as a professional, then you need to act like one – even when you’re just starting out.
For FI#2, there’s no joy in this crazy process of breaking in and moving forward in the industry. It’s a chore, rather than a step forward in fulfilling his life’s ambition. In truth, it is rough going. You might as well buckle up and enjoy the wild ride.
He recently asked for help with the “arduous process of searching for and applying for internships” for the coming summer. Vague, right? Negative attitude too.
I turned it around to specifics and positives:
“Arduous” is a tough place to start from. Is it really that bad? There are tons of resources out there.
Start by asking me to write you a letter of recommendation.
Then figure out what area you are most interested in working in/learning about – Agency? Prod co? Studio?
I rattled off a list of where to search for internships online. He was shocked at the many resources at his fingertips. (Seriously?) He then took me up on the offer to write a letter of recommendation.
It took a month for that task to move up on my To Do list. In the interim, I forwarded internship listings that I thought would be a good fit for him. I sent him a draft of a solid letter of endorsement, asking him to take a look and let me know if there was anything he wanted me to change, before I sent him a final copy on letterhead.
It’s been two and a half weeks since I carved out time from my producing projects, my script consulting business, and my responsibilities for the children’s literacy nonprofit that I run, to pull together a recommendation letter. And months of sending leads his way.
Not
a
single
reply.
Lest you think me callous, FI#2 is not sickly or, heaven forbid… dead – I’ve seen him posting on Facebook.
I’m not griping – well, maybe a little – but here’s my point:
If we were to wager on which former intern will most likely succeed in a business that is challenging to get a toehold in – and even more difficult over the course of a career, who would you put your money on?
Drive and determination win out – even over brains and talent.
Please tell me that you see the significant difference in communication styles between these two young men – highlighted with my italics – and that you recognize the practical lesson here. I coach my interns on ways to effectively maintain their relationship with me, as well as how to interact with other people in the industry.
I could load you down with practical pointers on how to network successfully, build industry relationships and have a savvy, professional approach that makes you sound like you belong in the business. But I’m not convinced that “drive” can be taught.
It’s partly personality and outlook. I do believe it is an ability that can be encouraged, cultivated, and refined. Time and experience helps, but I think you have to have the right mindset from the start – or figure out how to get into it pretty damn quick.
There are those who yearn for a career in film, but don’t have what it takes to make their dream a reality. The brutal truth – it takes more than aptitude or talent. It takes prowess, initiative, and the sheer hunger to succeed.
