Screenwriting : Is that a positive move by Burchell C Hanson

My perspective as a novelist is this: Almost no writers publish their first novel. I have two "trunk novels" and part of a third that will never be published, although I may revisit one of them and try to rewrite it. So. What makes screenwriting different? When and if I attempt to write a feature script, I don't expect my first one to make it. If this is something you were told - then first of all: 1. It is not personal. They are not rejecting you. (I have had two editors in my life reject me. I will never submit to either of them again because that behavior is unprofessional. I would consider it equally unprofessional coming from a director or a script doctor). They are saying that script is not ready. 2. Write another script. KEEP writing. That goes for prose. Why would scripts be any different? My recommendation to anyone in this situation is to stick that first script in a drawer, write another one, taking to heart any comments that more than one person made on the first work - as long as they're specific and constructive. Leave that first script in a drawer. Maybe in a few years you'll be able to come back and rewrite it into something good. Your very first attempt at anything is not going to be very good, regardless of your talent. Also, you have to learn to take rejection if you're going to make it in the industry, especially as a writer. Rejection is not personal and, as I said, if it is, that reflects on them, not you.

Burchell - Screenwriting is a craft and the only way you get better, is to write. Everyone thinks their first script is awesome. Write three or four, then go back and read the first one, you'll be horrified by what you wrote. That's not to say that you can then, re-write it.

This is a universal for almost any writing. Stephen King has unsold stories, but he's probably written more than most could ever hope to. It's not that your first script won't sell, but it is very likely that if you're going to be a writer, it won't sell until you've written several other scripts. It's like going fishing: your first script is the bait, and the fish may just not be interested in it, and you're forced to keep moving from pond to pond looking for the fish that is, possibly never finding it. But, if you have several types of bait, you can try out some of the others, and suddenly the fish that turns up their nose at the first you've tried hooks on something else. As you try out new and different types of bait, your skill as a fisherman improves, and you may figure out where the right pond is to use that first bait you tried, how to modify the bait to make it work, or that it wasn't very good bait in the first place. In a similar vein, give a man a fish, he eats for a day, but teach a man to fish and he can eat for a life time. Writing is the same way. One script will probably not make you into a writer and keep you in work.

understood . but as you said Dan, i would not tell a writer that their work will never make it, i just think it's discouraging. i feel what you saying too shane, i would feel better if a pro would look at an amateur and say hitch that bait right rather that telling them they wont catch.

I know this comment will pull some boos but hey y'all,there is such a thing as talent, no matter what any of the Never Give Uppers, most of whom are more than willing to take your money, may tell you. Just as someone who can't sing on key or hold a note is not going to win American Idol--and the odds are just about the same for getting your first or for that matter any spec screenplay sold---someone with no writing talent is not going to make it, no matter how long, hard, and faithfully they try.

I have to agree with Diana. Most screenplays, let alone first ones, are pretty bad, and nobody like to be told that their baby is ugly. I wanted tough love on my first screenplay. It ended up being read by the director of an Oscar winning feature and he told me to keep writing, because he recognized that I had talent and that was my catalyst to keep writing and I did. That script has been optioned three times in Hollywood, but not made to date. Screenwriting is all about execution. You can have the best ideas in the world, but without the talent to craft, story, character, snappy dialogue, theme and pacing, you'll never just never make it. The good news is, the more you write, the better you'll get, providing that you humbly learn and correct your mistakes along the way. But like anything else, talent is what will make you great. Because If it was that easy, everyone would do it.

let us get to the prow. and hear that i,ts not good enough but us as the writers should not dis encourage our fellow writers by telling them it wont work. let the professionals judge the writer when it gets to them.

Hey Burchell, I hear you, but it isn't always that easy to get your screenplay in front of the professionals ( at least the ones who aren't taking your money) and it is both wise and humble to listen to folks who give you their honest best opinion.

Either a script is outstanding or it isn't. Better to hear the truth right up front.

If you are going to be a writer you need thick skin and the ability to motivate yourself. Not everyone is going to like our writing. The truth of the matter is 99.9 percent of our first scripts are bad.

Hi Burchell, I agree with Jacqueline. If someone tells me my script sucks, but cannot give a clear reason why... I pretty much do not take it at face value and move on to someone who can sit and tell me the flaws... constructively... Just rejecting with an opinion can do two things, 1. work on your self-esteem and put you in a "will my writing ever be good enough" mode for awhile. 2. Can I trust a positive feed back in the future.

The motivational wisdom behind telling someone to expect failure is not necessarily bad, in my view. Not just from the perspective of writing, and while context of screen writing should be taken for what it is worth and the difficulty for anyone to find a way to get their work read (let alone produced), the life lesson I take from your question is this: stand up and prove them wrong. Put your best to the task, all you have. Take your best effort and add more to it. In a lifetime, failure is guaranteed at one point or another. The real test is, what will you do afterwards. I think that is what every working screenwriter wants from you and, in turn, wants you to give back once you are established doing your own fine work (IMHO: I actually carry around grains of salt to hand out to people after giving advice. What do I know?)

I have been told that in general that everyones first five scripts/films will suck so take this time to hone your craft and let the crap scripts flow out of you so as to make space for the good ones to me it kind of sucked at first until I realised its a great piece of advice I have now spent seven years writing getting better and better and also making my scripts longer but this is just one man opinion

If any writer has finished a script, they should be given a hug. Talk about it and celebrate. At a later date, talk to the writer and casually go over the script in a chill read through. First you establish a relationship that is focused on making the story as good as possible. To tell someone their script is crap is typical, often from people who have never written a good one themselves. Check out the book\audio of Steven Pressfield, "Do The Work".

Well, appalling to whom? More important than writing the "perfect" script is learning how to love the work you write. I've learned that if you don't love it neither will anyone else. Look at it in the same way as anything beginning to flower. It's a process.

@Michael, Whilst I understand your sentiment, it is, IMHO, flawed. You're right, you can love an appalling script, but others won't and no amount of coveting will make it better.

Well, Marvin & Floyd, what producers are mostly looking for is somebody they can work with. The script and story aeme two different things. They can like one and not the other. They want a story teller first, then they want a script. A good book to read: "Good In A Room". It's all about relationship first, then the work begins. It takes many stages before you get down to the script, which is most often read by a reader you will never meet and they provide the notes. All you want in the beginning is a relationship with an actual influential person who likes you and the way you tell your story and the vibe you bring in the room with you.

@Michael - That's a naive statement. Producers are primarily looking for good material. If your material is poor, you won't even get to the position to see if they can work with you. Story and script are indeed two different things. One is an idea the other is execution. If you can get both right, your in business.

Kahryn, It's not garbage, as compared to what? It was your first attempt, like trying something new. Give yourself some credit. That's what a life is for, to learn. If you expected to hit a home run on your first at-bat, well, that's a different issue. I have consistently re-written scripts over the year and now really appreciate the work I did early on. There are many others I've met who could never be perfect and today they are bitter and spent.

Marvin. Actually, they are looking for something they haven't seen before. Good or not. If it's original they'll hire a writer to make it better.

Like I said - naive. There are plenty of fresh ideas out there, but why aren't they getting made? One word... EXECUTION.

I've helped a lot of my friends hone their screenwriting skills. In doing so I've never told them their first script was garbage. I gave the constructive criticism to help them re-work it and I've found that they usually move on from it on their own. They continue to write and get better. If you're going to take the time to read someone's script, telling them it's garbage is a waste of time when you could tell them what they need to work on to get better. Also, the best way to know good writers is to read the screenplays of amazing movies.

Dan is absolutely correct. New writers need to understand it takes time to read and give notes on a script only to then have them look at you like you've lost your mind. A few years ago, I was asked to read a newbie's first script and the biggest not I had was that he saturated the script with camera direction. I mean SATURATED... E.G " We dolly alongside the falling soldier as he falls in slow motion, as bullets pepper his chest lost his silent screams" I advised the writer of suggested ways to fix this and his response was "Well that's how they write it in the scripts I read online." I then told him that the majority of published, movie screenplays are shooting scripts, but alas, it fell on deaf ears. The nail in the coffin of our conversation was this statement "I think I'll go with what I have." I haven't seen or heard anything since.

I've not told people their first project was garbage (unless it really was), but sometimes it is difficult to shake people from a first project when their best move would be to put it aside and write something new. I was very positive, full of constructive criticism, but my suggestion to put the novel aside and start something new fell on deaf ears. Last I heard, the novel they'd been writing for over five years is STILL being revised as we speak. I've found when revisiting my work after a few months of setting it aside, I can appreciate it more as if it were written by someone else, corrections are easier, and editing takes on new life. I can see better where I feel the story fails me as a reader, rather than as the initial writer. I find that distance to be invaluable in the process.