Screenwriting : More than one genre by Dale Devoe Inscore

Yes of course! Look at Kevin Smith - he wrote Clerks, Daredevil, Jersey Girl and now a Horror - TUSK! There are too many to mention. :-)

110% possible i can deff think of multiple directors with multiple genres under there belt

limiting yourself to 1 genre would be selling your imagination short

Dale, you rarely see it to be honest. Branding is key. I think you should stick to one genre until you have established yourself. The industry wants specialists not generalists. It's so damn hard to do one thing well that if you do several things people might assume that you don't do any of them that well, even if that's not true. Or they might think you're inauthentic, don't have your own voice or whatever. This goes for directors too. And actors we have to "type" ourselves until we get more power. Tom Hanks had to nail goofy-nice-guy-comedy before he could call his own shots and get to do Philadelphia, Saving Private Ryan and Road To Perdition.

Well Ami, I respect what you are saying and agree to a point, but none of those movies were what I would consider successful. I fact Daredevil was suppose to be a series, but the movie bombed so bad, they canned the idea. I'm thinking major success, franchise type success.

Anthony I'm talking writers. Yes there are dozens of directors out there that have had successful franchise type movies in different genres, but not so many writers. I really can't think of more than a couple lol.

Success, not really yet and although I agree somewhat with Dave I think that when learning how to write or learning the craft we should have the ability to do all. I think attempting all genres is a good learning experience. As far as features go I think it may resonate more true to what Dave says but with television so many genres or at least aspects of genres cross over in almost any good sitcom or drama.

Dave, I agree, out of the gate make a name for yourself in one genre. Make a movie or movies that are more than successful enough to franchise. However, once you've established yourself as a writer in the genre, how hard is it to truly successful expand to another?

Yea unfortunately Ami you used the one glaring example of why NOT to write diff genres lol. Allan Loeb is a crazy prolific screenwriter and sells in all genres. However, when starting out reps need to know how to sell you. so you can branch out a little - horror/thriller, thriller/drama, comedy/romcom, SciFi/action... but if you're writing torture porn, SciFi and family films no one will know what to do with you. its better to specialize because whatever genre the first script you sell is, that's what you'll be writing for 2-4 years! so choose wisely.

It seems to me most if not all successful writers, once comfortable with the success they've achieved in one genre. Tend to not wanna take the chance in another. I don't know, but I know I'm not the only writer out there coming up with what I hope to be great ideas in more than one genre.

Makes sense Danny. Although what do u do with really good ideas in other genres? Ghost write, partner up or maybe sell to another writer?

Danny, you must be joking! Kevin Smith is a brilliant writer. You could only wish to have his success. Dogma and Chasing Amy were nominated for Golden Globes and many other awards including Best Screenplay... so I would say Kevin Smith IS A VERY SUCCESSFUL screenwriter - in many genres. That was the question - not if the movies themselves made tons of money. That's a different question. I believe a good writer can bridge across several genres, they may have a favorite - but if the writing is good, it shouldn't matter.

whoa ok first off I love Kevin Smith but the movies he did outside of his normal comedy genre sucked for the most part. Chasing Amy is an a time fave , but Daredevil and Jersey Girl? come on...

Again Danny we are talking about the scripts - and Daredevil grossed over 100million at the box office - so I'd say even that is a GREAT success. But isn't screenwriting success selling your script and a bonus is having your script made into a movie - and even better it makes lots of money. And Kevin Smith didn't direct Daredevil or Jersey Girl, just wrote and sold it. So still success in my book! I liked Daredevil by the way.

Alle, please tell us about your successes over more than one genre.

I think if you put your 3 different scripts out there to friends/family and screenplay contests for feedback, it will most likely be clear which one is the strongest of the 3. Then you should write another script in that genre and try to master that particular style. Find something that's working and then exploit it for all it's worth - I think this is a good approach. You can always write other scripts for "fun" or for yourself and maybe send them to contests as well, but when you go to an agent or manager I think you want to be like "I do romantic comedies and I have three written, here are their loglines", and don't even bring up other genres. If the agent casually asks you what your favorite movies are, don't tell him your real favorites - Apocalypse Now and The Terminator, instead tell him your favorite romcoms so it fits his image of you. If you want to really take it far, you might want to ask yourself what would a [insert genre] writer look like . For example, if you write dark thrillers like Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven, 8mm) and you walked in a distressed black leather jacket and black jeans, unshaven, that might help your case. If you're writing comedies, maybe you come in wearing a t-shirt with an amusing slogan or phrase on it. If you have a website and you do action films, you don't want to use Comic Sans font. etc..

I once had a teacher tell me, "Pick a genre and stick to it. No one will ever let you do anything else." Every single other writing teacher, coach, colleague, etc. has told me, "If you're a strong writer, and passionate about an idea, WRITE IT. Don't limit yourself." There is no reason to set yourself up for failure by forcing yourself to write in only one genre. I myself have won awards for a sci-fi/action script, been a semi-finalist in a contest for a dark comedy, and have a powerful romantic-drama hitting film festivals soon. That may not be "success" as some people put it, but for a girl only a few months out of film school, I'd say it's pretty good. To get an agent, one might have to focus a bit, put out a number of screenplays of one (or several similar) genres. But there's no reason to let anyone force you to be boxed in. If you have passion for an idea, that will come through on the page, and if you research a genre enough, you'll understand it well enough to write it. Research, passion, and drive are all you need.

William Golding wrote "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "All the President's Men," and "The Princess Bride," so yes, it can be done.

um...its William GOLDMAN. @Ami, I think you'll find that real professional writers do measure success by what gets made, not by what sells. And making 100M doesn't make something a success when the budget was $100M!! that means it failed miserably. But Let's keep in mind a movie doesn't have to make 100M to be successful. There have been 390 films released this year. 325 of them have grossed under $15M.

The truth is for every William Goldman and Allan Loeb, there are 10,000 writers who CANT write multiple genres. I'm not saying don't try, but it takes a certain innate skill to write comedy. Or fantasy. or whatever. write everything but know where your strength is.

Ami I have to say that I consider daredevil to be a failure because they were going to franchise that movie and decided not to because it didn't do good enough at the box office.

I'll say it the way it was said to me. I'm in this business to make two things art and money, and I'll consider myself a success when the art I've made has made a lot of money LOL.

I too, have written in three different genres, thus far. These scripts were developed over many years though, so it was definitely challenging to do so. Quite possible, I think.

I think it's possible, just have to be willing to take the chance and find someone else willing to help.

I believe that you can and there are many reasons why. A writer who can write a drama, comedy and horror for example has shown that he/she is not a one trick pony and can use what he/she learned in each genre for the next script. A horror film is not just made up of horrific scenes from fade in to fade out but has elements of drama. comedy etc to create a compelling and realistic experience.

Focus, be the expert. My 2 cents.

The question was can a writer be successful in more than one genre and the answer is obviously YES - LOTS of writers are. Selling your screenplay is the successful part for the writer. Not what the box office does... the writer has no control of what happens to it after it's sold...unless he is directing/producing.

The reality is, however, a writer will become a success in ONE genre and AFTER making a couple of those types of films and them being well-received, they will then get the chance to branch out and do other things and genres and whatever they want. So yes, a writer can certainly be successful in multiple genres BUT to break in, reps will be looking for sell you as one type of writer and it is thru success in THAT genre that you will later be able to find success in others.

So glad Danny finally came around to agree, that yes a writer can be successful in more than one genre. Look at Leigh Bracektt too- across many genres and very successful. Also authors write (novels) under different names in each genre, MANY successful authors cross genres as well. If you are a good writer, you can write anything.

Dan G. I think you made the best point of all about those spec.'s. I also think that someone like me has gained a lot of experience making spec.'s better by focusing on another genre then going back to a genre making something that I thought was spec. worthy even better and better. I'm at the point for me as an aspiring, wanting to be produced writer where I'm in somewhat of a circular process, which in my opinion right or wrong helps me grow as a writer. I really can't speak for success or being produced yet but I think I'm on the right track because I'd rather have spec.'s in as many genre's as possible not a good spec. in one genre then half-assed spec';s in other genre's. I'm willing to do the work that is required and commited to that circular process of writing at least at this point in my life. Is that circular process a revelation or will it work for every aspiring writer, I don't know but I believe it is a common thread among those On The Verge so to speak. I admit Dale's question was in regards to having success I just think my way of looking at things is a step to that success. Dan M. I'm not saying your wrong about things but honestly your catch phrase which I have seen variations of from you "The Reality is however" makes you sound like a used car salesman, just saying and really mean no disrespect to you.

Pigeon holes are for pigeons ... Keep up the good work.

Woody Allen, Ben Hecht, Nunnally Johnson, Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond, John Huston, Ingmar Bergman

Writers are never limited by genre. better chance at attracting attention if you are versatile. IMHO

I think this discussion of genre, focus, has gone of the rails and become too binary. First - writing and selling are being conflated. You can write whatever you please, whether it increases your 'chances' of selling by writing in different genres is highly debatable. Second, a career is 10-30+ years. For myself I' worked in features for seven years, docu-drama reality television for 4 years and docs, tv, current affairs for the past 3-4 years. I haven't been pigeon-holed, although sometimes it feels that way when you can't just go with your creative whims on any given day, I was focused the opportunities that were presented and I took. All those writers and directors mentioned above have had decades to build their resumes. Woody Allen started as a comedian in 1965 and was considered a comedian for years. Writers, and anyone creative can be successful across genres it's just that those time spans are extended. To think you can flit from horror to romcoms to superheros and get any kind of traction is as a writer is against the laws of physics that every single other career trajectory on the planet is bound by.

I think it's worth considering voice and tone among all this. While some writers do move out of their genre, they often do so while carrying across their unique style.

Interesting point CJ. You know I was actually thinking the other day about screenplays that I've read. Honestly I must say with all the standardization that is required for formatting if a screenplay isn't titled can we recognize an established screenwriter's work among other's. I haven't read hundreds or thousands either but probably nearing a couple hundred. Sometimes I think it is just more recognizing if it is a good screenplay in general or not but can we really recognize an untitled screenplay by the writer's unique style? I think I could Tina Fey's because they are so simple and so very clear and good. Lost was unique unto itself. Brings me to the point of realizing too, how many standout screenwriter's are there out there. Standout screenplays yes, but standout styles? I don't know. They are certainly more rare than author's though. Maybe it takes more like decades to recognize these things and I admittidly only have a couple years at it.

To the original question Dale asked, many screenwriters have written successfully in multiple genres, but the tendency in Hollywood is to push writers into what producers/studios think is a writers "primary" genre. So if you have a big success with a thriller, folks will line up to push you and your agent to do another thriller and another and another and another...

I believe writers should challenge themselves and try genres they are not comfortable with. By trying other genres you might discover one that you really love and excel at.

Mitchell, you make some great points there but you're focusing on the audience relationship with writers rather than the industry relationship with writers. The big question here is what happens when an industry member has access to a script where they are very familiar with the writers distinct voice/style/tone but the story falls into a genre the writer hasn't previously written in.

Thanks CJ I think I understand what you are saying. It kind of brings me back into genre crossover's. Here's a bit of my perception of things even though I'm not sure having no experience really on the inside of the biz if I'm even right in my thinking. Personally I think even in television freelance and piecework would be an awesome job such as NCIS needing a House MD writer for a certain script. A good freelancer with a good agent would probably know where these pieces fit better. Instinctively and I may be wrong sometimes I think the freelancer's give more of a perspective of looking from the outside in and if those that know what they need learn a writer's unique style or abilities they can call upon them when needed. I tend to wonder in feature too if there are times when a television's writer's unique style would be needed. I realize there is such a thing as being too universal but really I think a writer's being so to speak wants and strives for that diversity, universality even if it is within one of their individually written features. So I guess what I'm asking are you aware of writer's that crossover for such things in the television biz and if you have any tips where would be a good place to start for aspiring writer's to mold themselves for such jobs? I imagine there are agents who specialize for freelancer's and piecework too but again with no experience on the inside I'm not sure. I think any good creation almost has to have the outside looking in perspective perhaps that's even why television shows sometimes fail. Are freelancer's doing piecework rare or fairly common? Just trying to learn here. Maybe this is a dumb avenue to even try to take breakin into the biz. I'm really not sure.