So I have this completed magnificent script with science faction.
Now I have known this is a mistake, but I had it in there. Careless? Got carried away with my idea, spent more time admiring my words instead of the script.Science faction is when a newbie or careless person writes a sci-fi script about an invention/development that already exists.
The Exec was cool, pointed out my mistake. So I slapped myself, spent six hours reading the necessary medical material all to make changes in FOUR scenes to make my story science fiction again.
*Trick; I imagined the current research 50 years ahead.$39 for a “dude, you phucked up.” Worth it.
Script: Love Across Hades
I am glad someone thinks their screenplay is magnificent and admires their words on paper. I am the opposite. I always think my screenplays are just okay and my words get the job done.
People think that because they have an imagination they're qualified to write science fiction. Scientists should write science fiction just like biographers should write biographies.
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Thomas. So real estate agents should only write about real estate.
The fiction is less important than the speculation, the “What would happen if...” question. I still love reading Neuromancer, even though we already have the internet and VR. Sci-fi deals with our relationship with technology, so the fiction portion matters only as much as it enables us to ask the aforementioned question.
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Dan, I was being a little facetious. But I was proud that I had mixed sci-fi with horror. My science discovery was already discovered, so my pffft went the foundations of the screenplay. Just a liddle wake up call to the ego.
Dan, Depends how low you want to set the credibility bar. Authenticity of a cop show might be questionable if not written or consulted with a cop.
Thomas. Getting authenticity is critical, but no one should limit themselves. A writer must recognize when he/she does not have the background for a topic and seek HELP.
I have a script with some scenes in Mongolia. I wrote the backbone and sent it to a Mongolian Film student in LA to review. When she was finished laughing, she corrected it .
I seek cultural/science help . Example, I rely on a native American couple to correct anything I write about their culture.
Stories are universal, but local flavor/knowledge/twists are critical to getting a tale to look feel and sound right.
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I am not a scientist but I have written and even sold one of them. I am not a cop or a criminal but I have written quite a few screenplays in the crime genre and couple are in pre-production.
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my screenplay The Titron Madness is based on probable science. I spent some time talking with subject matter experts and uni professors on the matter. Any sci-fi is interesting because people expect to be taken on a journey, but there still needs to be a level of believe-ability which needs to be backed up/verified in your script.
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Wachowski siblings, George Lucas, Alex Garland are not scientists. This thing is mostly imagination and storytelling craft. Be an expert at writing drama.
Yes Dan, I have gone the full pendulum. My first sci-fi script I was so obsessed with getting the science right that I forgot the drama. Reviewer " I now know a lot about gravity, but nothing about the main character and his motivation."
Gotta get the balance right.
Anything super sci-fi, space, well into future etc. you don't need the probability factor as high. (or even at all) Audience already accepting of that so you have more licence and room for the actual story and character arcs. But grounded sci-fi is different. The audience needs to believe in that possibility/fear/issue/technology.
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Dan MaxXx is spot on -be an expert at writing drama. That old adage "write what you know" is about writing the emotions you know, not the rules of a particular world. Those you can learn in order to make your script feel genuine. Emotions are much harder to fake on the page. Peter Roach - sounds like it was worth the money to find out you made a mistake before you pitched to too many other people. First impressions are important.
Why would someone try to fake emotions? You can learn how to express them just as you can make up the rules of your script's world. Whatever you "learn" or make up, your success is what has made Hollywood what it is today.
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You just really need to write a well written screenplay and use it to make contacts that can help you advance your career. In the last month I made two new contacts who are considering my screenplays. Even if they don't they are good contacts to have.
Thomas Thorpe I've read many a script that fell flat because the writer glossed over the emotions and focused instead on the plot. They failed to see the importance of the beating heart that was needed to drive it forward.
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Can I write a story about vampires if I'm not a vampire?
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Jeff. The bloody truth is no.
Nice pun, Dan. Lol