Screenwriting : Difference between someone reading your screenplay and someone proofreading. by Andrew Finn Burhoe

Andrew Finn Burhoe

Difference between someone reading your screenplay and someone proofreading.

I have come to a very narassistic attitude about when someone reads a screenplay when being written. You hand it to them to be read. You look for story. Instead they respond with, "On page 10 your lead says ain't. Ain't is not a word people say." It defeats the purpose of them reading it. If I want a it to be proofread I'll hire an English teacher. Or am I the only one?

Elliott Maguire

It is frustrating. Those things are easy to fix. Story isn't. That's what we want help with. Maybe some of them are jealous and just want to be hyper-critical :)

Andrew Finn Burhoe

Maybe, but I feel thinking that way creates a faux reality of ones work. If you hand something to someone I'm expecting to hear their thoughts on improvement. Not fucking spell check. People do this constantly when it's not even the first draft.

Andrew Finn Burhoe

Teacher - your grammar gave me a headache. Me - then why offer to read it. Getting around that one doesn't help. Haha.

D Marcus

I find it very difficult (as a writer) to ignore mistakes in a script I'm asked to read. It takes me out of the story. Now in your specific example (a character using a colloquialism) I'd say the reader is a fool. That's not proofreading - that editing. However, as a reader I expect the script to proofed before I read it. When there are a load of corrections I just have a difficult time finding the story. It might be jealousy, or overly critical readers. It also might be people who prefer that the writer correct the easily correctable before asking someone to read their script.

Andrew Finn Burhoe

D - I get where you're coming from. Remember handing a paper to a reader once who was good friend. Told me about the story, but also went through and marked what needed fixing grammatically. But that's really hand holding. Adam - your agent I think has his/her head on their shoulders. But yes. Make damn well sure who you hand your script to.

Diana Amsterdam

I get paid to read and give notes, and I have been for many years, so I hope my experience can be of some value to you, Andrew. First, choose a few trusted individuals to read your baby. People who have a reason to know what they are talking about. Second, please understand that careless mistakes such as typos, misspellings, and misuse of language make your script look amateurish, and make you look careless. It's like going to a job interview with your shirt unbuttoned and your shoelaces untied, so take care of that.

Nkosi Guduza

Ha, yes. I like this post I'll be putting up a post about rewrites in a few moments, if y'all grace me with your thoughts, it's kind of similar to this in some ways I think. Yes, please, just read the screenplay for story, when we eat we don't focus on the dribbles of rice on the side, why should we that's stupid, we leave it on the side, it's the main bulk... that's where the meal is. :) x ...after the main bulk, is devoured enough we might scoop up the dribbles, or bin them. The bulk is rarely binned, that's how I screen-write, or write for screen ;) x

Mark Souza

It's common. I'm always grateful they read it, and fix any errors they found that I hadn't already fixed. As it's a favor, always be happy for whatever feedback you get.

Rick Hardin

My wife does all of my editing/proofreading and it used to REALLY bug me when she zoomed into the little things like grammatical errors when I was really looking for story feedback. We have both gotten past that. I recognized that I was handing my script to her because I was proud of it and wanted mostly feedback but also my ego was looking for validation that my idea was good and deserved to be built upon, so I was upset when the first thing she did was to take out her red maker and started to point out errors. These days I’m very glad for her proofreading because after the 3rd or 4th rewrite I find myself so close to the project that I miss all sorts of misspellings, typos and grammatical errors because of all the editing and changes. And at the end I want something very polished and very professional to send out into world. My advice is find two people to look over your story, one who will look at the story line and characterization and another one to look at the details because ultimately you need both. You might find it really hard to find both of those traits in one person.

Andrew Finn Burhoe

Love the feedback on the thread. I think what is being confused is this. Proofreading, drafts and concept of story. Proofreading - find all the things you can't spell or write well. Draft - having a full script and rewriting it to death it until you have a workable story Concept of story - what the hell you trying to say. Handing a script to someone is important. However, it you say please only read the three pages I handed and tell me if it makes sense in a story. Well almost of the time people go and tell you suck. Oh really why? And you get no answer. Fail to grasp how this is constructive, beneficial, or useful. And the idea of pride? None. I have none when I hand it to someone. None. Which is why I tend to ignore the portion of having anyone read my stuff. Instead I write what I want and revise myself. Change dialogue or descriptions or scenes or deleting scenes/characters/dialogue. Either way someone will have to read it. So I offer the idea of how to say, "please with the strength you have in your mind let alone body. Do not. And this part is critical. Please do not proofread." Did that once and that person gave th best critique for the story. Imagine. Haha

Andrew Finn Burhoe

Diana. I have one friend who when she reads my stuff never says anything on grammar. Always thinking like an audience member. And surprisingly enough if I don't have the answer the. Either it is no good for the script or needs a revisement.

D Marcus

I, personally, find it impossible to offer any meaningful critique reading three pages. Or even five or ten. Sorry to hear you have so many rude people reading your scripts, Andrew. There is no excuse for anyone to tell you you suck without saying why. I think your policy of writing what you want and revising yourself is a good one. I also simply cannot not comment on typos and spelling errors when someone asks me to read a script. I suspect most people are the same way which is why you keep running into them. That's what I say you should fully proof anything you send to anyone asking for advice or critique - don't give them the ammo to dismiss your writing due to silly, correctable mistakes. Even if it's three pages.

Andrew Finn Burhoe

Never put your big bills first. You're bound to use them up.

Shane M Wheeler

It can be worse. I know people who intterrupt constantly when trying to explain the basics of a story and giving criticism without having read a word, or try to rewrite an entire script that's finished by a logline alone. If you can get someone to read your script at all, it's very helpful; if they give back good criticisms you can build on, or proofread at the same time, that can be useful too.

Dustin Bowcott

List your script on a site like simplyscripts and wait for feedback. However, it's payback system over there. Check out who review other people's work, then review theirs. They should pay you back as soon as they get time.

Kim Nunley

Sounds like you're going to the wrong people for feedback. If I'm looking for notes related to story, I send my stuff to other writers who understand storytelling. However, if you share your work with something and they points out something that bothers them in your work, such as a lead saying "ain't," it does let you know that they were taken out of the story for a moment, which can also prove to be valuable feedback.

Andrew Finn Burhoe

Kim you might be right. But nothing is more interesting in experimenting with showing it to people who have no concept of story. Also in film school good luck getting the right feedback.

Kim Nunley

I hear you, Andrew. I just think those who aren't familiar with storytelling concepts will have a hard time deciphering why something isn't working. They'll just know they're not into it, but not know why. I'm sure it's difficult connecting with people who will give you quality feedback while you're at school. I've built relationships with other writers via Twitter that have eventually become my go-to's for feedback. I wish you the best with your work.

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