Archives for the 'Screenwriting' Category
Avoid the “Mirror Scare” cliché
Here’s another cliché to avoid when writing your script: the overused “mirror scare” trick. You’ll see what I mean when you watch the video. Remember to try and be different when writing. Don’t rely on things that have been done before. Be different! Check out previous clichés to avoid here.
Avoid the “Enhance” cliché
I’ve already featured the cell phone “no signal” cliché here, and now it’s time for you to realize that the idea you had to feature a cool “enhance” bit in your script is a terrible one. What do I mean by “enhance” cliché? Watch the video.
Avoid the “No Signal” cliché
Here is a video to convince you not to use the dead cell-phone cliché in your films. It’s lazy and it’s been used thousands of times.
Writing better scene openings
Screenwriter John August works through a scene to improve its opening.
Writing better action
Screenwriter John August works through a scene to improve the action.
Writing better scene description
Screenwriter John August works through a scene to improve the scene description.
Introducing Scrippets
Screenwriter John August came up with “Scrippets,” a Wordpress plugin which allows for properly formatted script excerpts to appear in a Wordpress post. Check out how it looks below, using a scene from John August’s GO.
INT. RUNDOWN SUPERMARKET - DAY
A cash drawer slides shut.
On the far side of the checkout stand, a STRINGY HAIRED WOMAN counts food stamps. Her eyes are sunken, black. She’s got a screaming BABY on her arm and two rambunctious BOYS in the cart. They’re wearing pajamas and raincoats.
It’s five a.m. and the store is almost empty.
Containers of frozen orange juice spin endlessly on the conveyor belt. Ronna Martin -- the girl in the ditch -- is bagging groceries.
RONNA
Paper or plastic?
She wears a green apron with a red “Yule Save More” button.
RONNA
Paper or plastic?
She’s been working for fourteen hours, and it shows. Her intonation doesn’t change at all.
RONNA
Paper or plastic?
STRINGY HAIRED WOMAN
Both.
Finally satisfied she has all her stamps, the Woman starts looking through the receipt. In the cart, the boys knock gum from the stand.
STRINGY HAIRED WOMAN
You didn’t double my coupons.
RONNA
They’re at the bottom. In red. Where it says, double coupons.
She finishes one bag and starts another. The Woman is watching her carefully.
STRINGY HAIRED WOMAN
You can’t do that. You can’t put Windex in the same bag as food. It’s poison.
Ronna fishes out the Windex and makes a big show of wrapping it in a plastic bag.
STRINGY HAIRED WOMAN
Don’t think you’re something you’re not. I used to have your job.
Ronna puts the bag in the cart. Looks her dead in the eye.
RONNA
Look how far it got you.
Pretty cool, right? I will be using Scrippets to highlight popular scenes from movies so you can see how they were written before they were filmed.
Study other writers’ screenplays
The internet is a great research tool for any subject, including screenwriting. There are many sites that provide free scripts for the majority of movies. The best way to learn is to read lots of screenplays and study their style. Notice what they have in common with each other and how they are unique. I find this particularly useful when I see a cool and unique scene in a movie and wonder “Hmm… I wonder how this scene was written in the screenplay”.
The following websites provide scripts for free:
http://www.simplyscripts.com/movie.html
http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/table.html
http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm
http://www.moviescriptsandscreenplays.com/
Writer’s block? Take a week off.
There are times when I am writing something and I come to a dead end. I don’t know which direction I should take the story in or what dialogue to use. The problem being that I have been writing consecutively for days without really taking a break to soak it all in.
The downside is you get tunnel vision. I like to take a few days or even a whole week off from that project and do something else… maybe some editing or sound production to keep my creativity juices flowing.
After you return to your script in progress, you’ll often find that you now have an idea where to go next. You’ve read through it with fresh eyes and it’s time now to continue writing. So next time you find yourself trying to write the next scene without success, take a break!
Diablo Cody wins Oscar, brings hope to aspiring screenwriters
So tonight Diablo Cody won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Why should you care? It was her first screenplay. If this doesn’t inspire you, the aspiring screenwriter, then I don’t know what will. She went from being a blogger to writing a screenplay and now she’s an Oscar winner.
This just goes to show that anybody can make it as a screenwriter long as you write something good. It doesn’t matter where you come from or if you know someone who knows someone at a studio. If you genuinely write something good, it will get noticed.
So let Diablo Cody’s win be an inspiration to you to keep writing. But remember to write from the heart and not from the wallet. Don’t worry about whether or not you think your screenplay will sell. Worry about telling a great story with great characters because while big budget, special effects driven movies make a lot of movie, they aren’t remembered 20 years down the line. Nobody will say, “Hey, remember Transformers?”, they’ll say, “Remember No Country for Old Men? Remember the coin toss scene at the gas station? Wasn’t that an amazing scene that sent chills down your spine?” And you will agree.
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