Screenwriting : Two words to remove from your writing thoughts. by Craig D Griffiths

It ain't Luck that drives some ppl to write before and after their jobs, or write weekends after family chores & responsibilities are done.

As for rules, I believe in some I think makes for a good/great movie. But from my experiences on novice writing forums, majority of ppl fail because they really don't know the why or the how.

Using the word luck to describe someone's success is, to me, an insult. In this business, with very few exceptions, it's earned.

The reason I posted this here. Is because this group tends to lean towards brains. I was reading a facebook thread and someone asked “how to get a screenplay made?” and “luck” was a major theme. RB is so right, if someone called my little success luck, I’d head but them (joke - I do enjoy a good idiot).

Me and ‘Rules’ are like oil and water. I believe in commonalities that have evolved from our shared existence. But I also see the word ‘rule’ used to scare and control new writers.

You make your own luck by working your butt off….25 years in the making and thanks to my recently hired editor I’m almost there!

It doesn't matter to me if some people believe it takes luck or if there are rules. They can believe in and do whatever they want.

"I was reading a facebook thread" - Well this was you're first mistake right there, Craig D Griffiths. ;)

Show me someone who calls another person's success "luck" and I'll show you someone who doesn't put in the work necessary to succeed.

I'm with ya, Simon. Best wishes with the project.

Dan G, I don’t care as such. But for the health of the community and art it may be better. We are somewhat philanthropic to new writers, we give good advice. You pass on years of experience. I think these words can lead to years of heartbreak.

Strange, as it often comes that some people in the filmmaking business have more trust in you than you have in yourself...and stumbling around those people is pure luck...don't care what anyone says...

One of my favourite song lyrics comes from Opportunity, in Annie.

"One thing I know, it's only part luck and so I'm putting on my best show"

This stuck with me - luck only gets you so far (right place right time, right person right moment, etc etc) but if you don't put on your best show, you won't go much further.

Craig. We all have our own philosophies when it comes to breaking in as a screenwriter. Some people think Lady Luck plays a big role. In some cases, they might be right. In some cases, it might just be hard work or a combination of hard work and Lady Luck. As far as rules go some people follow them and have had success and some people choose not to follow them and had success. If a screenwriter writes lower-budget film scripts it probably doesn’t matter. If they write bigger-budget film scripts following the so-called rules is probably more important until the screenwriter is more well-known. This is just based on my own experience so probably doesn’t mean much.

Well said. A producer friend of mine once gave me the advice to write as big of a concept as you think necessary, don't try to scale your story up or down to try and accommodate what you THINK will sell.

This writer never sold a spec and he's been steadily employed for a decade working on studio franchise movies. Here is his twitter advice about breaking in.

https://twitter.com/jestew3/status/1632548100782055424?s=46&t=QE6_iR24yN...

I started following that thread yesterday, Dan MaxXx. Great advice.

In acting, there are a few methods of study that basically boil down to 'do a ton of specific work on the character, script, world, etc, and then right before you perform let it go'. Yes, this is a VERY rudimentary explanation, but it's how I always think about "rules" or "guides". Get as much of the foundation knowledge as possible, learn structures and why they work. Then you can play as much as you want and you understand the why's of what you're doing.

Dan G, you added another that is interesting, success. But that may be another topic.

I don’t break rules, because I don’t believe they exist. There are commonalities. Many writers follow more traditional modes of storytelling sticking to these commonalities. Others do not. If a rule can be ignored and the outcome is still positive, does the rule exist?

What about writers from non-usa traditions. That don’t know these rules exist? Are we to never take lessens from Parasite or Rashomon?

@niki I believe actors will always know a character as good if not better than me. That is because of all that work you mentioned.

I think perhaps we need to use the word the basics, rather than rules. Then they become a leaping off point and when you outgrow them, you are not breaking them. You are just moving on. It would also stop that ridiculous statement “you can break them when you know them”. Instead it is just a natural progression to move on.

Craig. I think most people here have different definitions what rules are. When I think of rules I think of formating rules like INT. HOUSE - NIGHT for scene headings. I also think of things like ALL CAPING SHOTS and ALL CAPING a charater's name when they first appear on film. I don't consider how some tells a story or structure a rule. When it comes to rules maybe we aren't that far apartexcept on what our definition what a rule is.

Dan G I think of that as the accepted standard.

For me it is the “if your action is more than five lines your script will be thrown across the room”, type rules.

Craig, how do pro writers working in Australia, England, Asia- whatever country- format their pages? I am assuming many use common screenplay software.

As for "American screenplay rules" you stress over- don't. Keep doing you. If you making income & have steady screenplay jobs, dont change your ways. But if you're not at the level you want to be working with peers & mentors, maybe take a step back and learn from scratch.

Dan, format is not a rule. It is a format.

Never use “ing” stupid rule.

Never have more than. 4 lines of action, stupid rule.

The reason format is not a rule is because it has a word describing it, “format”.

Craig. Like I said we can have different opinons when it comes to defitions of what rules are. I am just going on what I have heard from other people in the business. I am not going to say I think using "ing" or more than four lines is stupid or not because it doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what the person who is reading the my script thinks. If I don't do what that reader was taught my script might have to work harder to convince them I know the business and how to write for it even if I don't.

Here is a closing thought.

If there is no definition for rules do they exist?

Is quality more important than the thing we cannot define?

Will a well written, compelling screenplay be ignored because it has “ ing” words for example? If it was this may prove the rules exist.

Would a bad story be sold because it stuck to some rules?

I think we use these terms rather than more complex discussion about quality and craft.

At the studios all that matter for formatting was proper use of sluglines, proper use of transitions. If it wasn't used properly there was a bias already. And yes, write a damn good story that's commercial and marketable (and the writer better understand storytelling and story structure).

Formatting is not a rule. Yes formatting is very important. Formatting is not part of this conversation. Trying to equate arbitrary rules and formatting is not a thing.

What someone calls a rule or not doesn't matter to me. That is something I don't even think about anymore. People suggest trying to avoid words that end in "ing" because active voice is normally prefred in screenplay. I take it as a suggestion but if you want to refer to it as rule that is fine with me. As I said I really don't care what other screenwriters do or think anymore.

Lingbergh E H is spitting out facts. He actually worked for a studio. Facts versus opinions.

Thank you for preaching the truth, Craig.

How did I end up with "Luck" by getting a screenplay noticed by a prolific producer just recently while I'm currently writing a book where "Rules" are meant to be broken in terms of it not behaving like most other books on the shelves?! How exactly am I like this?!? I hope I made a useful example using those two words in this context!

Hi Micheal, You wrote a screenplay, which is preparation. Without that preparation, the producer would never have noticed you. So I don’t see luck, I see preparation.

So you are writing an uncommon book. It doesn’t not have many commonalities that other books have, well done. Rules (not just writing) have a negative outcome when broken. You are not experiencing negative outcomes, so perhaps there are no rules.

I follow most of the rules but sometimes I break them. When I was a Staff Writer I had to follow most of the so-called rules. When I worked for an indie production company the weren't as picky when it came to those so-called rules. .Since a majority of the screenwriters here write for the indie market they should do whaterer they believe will give them their best chance to sell a screenplay or get hired. Good luck to everyone!

This subject comes up now and then. The one thing I noticed is you can’t change anyone’s opinion. If they think it is okay to not follow any rules they will never change. If they believe you must follow rules those people will never change either. One thing I know for sure is nobody knows what payoff for anyone. Just because something worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for someone else. I know screenwriters hate it when I tell them screenwriting is a tournament career. You have to be prepared to stay with it for a longtime and even then it might not pan out.

Dan G, people only change their mind when pressure is put upon them. This pressure may come from frustration from a lack of success. When they feel that pressure, perhaps they will see the opinions here and try something new.

If this gets them success they may continue. After all as a species we will continue to do what has made us successful previously.