Screenwriting : David Trottier's 20 Screenwriting Myths by Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

Thanks for the article, Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal". If only I would've known #3 ("Think big!") when I started writing. Haha I like #17 ("For a pause, use the term 'beat.'”) the best. I show character reaction instead of writing "beats."

Maurice: I did the same thing on three and wrote a lot of tentpole screenplays. A producer I worked with sent my African American Gangster/baseball epic to Tyler Perry. At the time, both VP Matthew Moore and President Ozzie Areu read the script, but Ozzie said the budget exceed their average film by 20 million bucks. But it was an honor that Matthew loved the script, and they both read it.

As far as beats, I rarely use them. I used one in the most recent script I wrote.

I remember “beginning” to write! I also used character reactions instead of “beats”. One of my all time writers Syd Field instructed me otherwise.

That's pretty cool that Matthew Moore and Ozzie Areu read your script and Matthew loved it, Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal".

I think using character reactions is better than using beats, Amber Wagoner. Character reactions make scenes better, and character reactions give actors more to work with.

I

I think your comment was cut off, Amber Wagoner.

It just said I 100% agree Maurice Vaughan

Oh ok, Amber Wagoner. :)

Maurice: I was blessed to have TP productions review three optioned scripts via my producer. Nice people.

Thanks for the share. I read the article and I will engage with that in my opinions.

I am not an indigenous Australian, but the term Uncle is used as a sign of respect and not necessarily a family connection (I do have indigenous family members). So Phil, you are taking on the Uncle role in the forum - just an observations.

I agree with some of the statements and disagree with the explanations.

6. Yes to camera directions, but not for the director, for the reader. They have to be able to see the film in their minds. If that takes the occasional “we follow Jill done the aisle”, so be it.

7. Plot should be an outcome of character. A badly written character is bad regardless of plot.

8. A goal may not be a key, but it is like salt, you can taste when it is missing.

12. We have an Aaron Sorkin we don’t need two.

13. Yes and No. The reader knows (or should) what their employer is looking for in a screenplay. So you must writer for their employer and hope the reader can do their job.

14. Formatting makes readers comfortable, why would you miss that opportunity.

15. Formatting not perfect, just not bad.

18. First time million dollar sales. Just like the previous thread about “Never write a western”. To say something has gone is dangerous. I would say “You are not that good, so you will not make a million dollar sale”.

20 - regarding not being as good as William Goldman - see the Aaron Sorkin comment.

This was a fun read. Some interesting takes on things.

Thanks again Uncle.

It's a charlatan craft and all the "by the book-ers" will just have to live with it...I made 10 years into graphic design and made thousands of euros income of it without a single day of school or training...I made my rules as I went and mixed them with the apostolates (which is exactly what's going on here on a global level) Bottom line here and the graphic craft is - ure right if ure making money outta it...

Just boilerplate rules. Follow them if you're average. Too much Advice will fuck up your craft: theory how-to screenwriters vs. working writers.

Haha -- Number #5 cracked me up in three pieces, so true!!

Thank you for posting this. Helpful hints in there. This, "It is less difficult to get a mid-sized or small producer who has deals (relationships) with larger producers to read your script…" wasn't a myth for me. I confess, I lucked out. In any case, it's all subjective and fluid. Different scenarios for different people...depending on who you know, etc.

Thanks for posting.

Martin: You're welcome.

Dan MaxXx: I agree. I've marched to my own drummer for years. And that mutha had led me to some interesting places!

Hey remember - that's Dave T's pov only It's not carved in stone.. Your learning curve WILL trend along as you continue to write/learn. Be reasonable but go your own way.

Liked the objectivity encouraged by the list as a check list. Appreciate it, Phil.

Quite reassuring. Thank you!

Roberta and Eve: Glad you liked the article.

My favourite:

18. I wanna write a blockbuster script, sell it for a million bucks, and retire on a farm in Vermont. Screenwriting is not the lottery or a sweepstakes deal, and the days of beginners selling specs for a cool mil are gone. Agents are looking for writers who want to write all the time, not one-hit wonders. Screenwriting is a profession and should be treated as such.

$1M spec. Minus comm fees to agent, manager, lawyer and paying Income tax is about $300,000.

But Geoff, what does one do when one has written a pilot and nine hour long scripts in a series before learning this?

On a $1M spec, I think the writer will be left with around (plus/minus) $425K. Start with the $1M, then take away agent, manager, lawyer, WGA fees. Then deduct state and fed taxes from that amount (which is about a $740K plus/minus remainder) to get to the $425k. FICA tax not included.

Thanks for sharing!

Teleah: You're welcome.

Phillip, Dave's article was so nice I had to read it twice!

Dave's takes on myths 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, and 19 really resonate with me.

10: I really liked Dave's message about thinking of paradigms as guidelines, not rules. Me, I'm into whatever it takes to make a script resonate with readers...and that means borrowing from a Michael Hauge or a CJ Walley from time to time.

11: Took me a while to learn to use lines like "He staggers to the boat" instead of "He's walking slowly to the boat." (Thanks, Holly Jurbergs, for showing me how to make action lines active!) There's more than one way to show a character walking ("lurching," "sauntering," etc.)...and if it helps readers, I'll use those other words. Fun to mix it up.

13: Dave touched on something I really had to get through my head once I came back to screenwriting. After all, if what I've written can't turn a reader on, then I need to repair the script so that it DOES resonate with that reader.

14 makes me glad I lucked onto a computer that already had a copy of FD 6 when I inherited that computer. (Don't have to worry about formatting as a result.)

17: Thanks to reading scripts here on Stage 32, I no longer use "pause" or (gasp) "beat." I now use three dots...or better yet, I try to characterize the characters and/or moments.

18: Back in my first try at scripts (1980-1994), I looked at the money and the chance to make a name for myself...but now, I look strictly at the FUN of creating something that (I hope) ends up on the big screen/small screen/computer monitor.

19: No, I'm absolutely, positively, definitely NOT God's gift to Hollywood (or any other "wood"). I realize that if a script of mine gets the green light, I become part of a team...a team out to turn that script into a movie/TV show/podcast people will enjoy. That script is just a blueprint...and the performers and the crew get to take the next step: "If there's anything you can do to feel more comfortable in your role...anything you can do to make that script better than what I've written...go for it!"

Thanks bunches for the post, Phillip!

Jim: You're most welcome. Thanks for your thoughtful post.

Roberta (sorry I can’t tag you) I’m not sure what you are saying. I have a batch of scripts for TV and Film. If I was in it for a guaranteed income, then I’ve come to the wrong gig in town. If I wanted to write because I’m a writer, then this is the best gig in town. I have to write for sanity’s sake in an insane world. How about you? If you have written all that material, then I’d say write some more. Don’t stop.

I use three dots or repeat "pauses"/"beats" with character reactions and character reflects also, Jim.

Given there are 90 nuclear power plants in the United States and 8 have had nuclear meltdowns, I wrote my series because I wanted to world to learn of how to survive a nuclear meltdown and to educate them as to given the necessity of nuclear power how in the future, say 2050, we will no longer be using nuclear fission but nuclear fusion, which while expensive to build, produces much more power and is not prone to meltdowns. No. I want my scripts produced.

Well, let's see . . . I have a pilot and nine hour-long episodes and four two hour features done and ready. Just beginning to put them up on my wall. Any agents out there? LOL

Roberta - your nuclear meltdown/survival series sounds awesome! I would love to see it made.

Michael, So nice to hear someone else thinks my series is important enough to deserve production! Much went into enriching its information base and we all should know how to respond in a nuclear meltdown as among the 90 plants in the United States, to date there have been eight meltdowns!

So would I, Michael. Roberta's series is unique, and it'll be helpful to people in real life.

Thank you, Michael and Maurice!

You're welcome, Roberta.