Screenwriters have a wealth of advice and opinions they can acquire on the internet, including videos, articles and being a member of a writer's group. What's the best piece of advice you would offer a new screenwriter? I'll get the ball rolling.
When writing, often times, less is more. Consider the quality of your words before quantity.
Happy Holidays!
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Never stop writing. Never!
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Don't waste time on toxic forums.
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Don't overwrite.
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Apply David Mamet's three questions to your story before you start writing: what is your hero's goal (and why)? What happens if they don't get it? And why now, i.e. what's the urgency? I might also add - why does the antagonist want what they want?
Do it for the love of it, or don't do it at all.
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Then “everything is secondary to story”.
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Hi Phillip,
Best advice I ever received was "tell me a story I never heard before."
Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Phillip!
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I'm not sure if anyone told me this or I worked it out on my own; certainly there's a lot of lines out there to reinforce it. But, for me, the best advice is write because you love it. Write because you have to. Because the only guarrantee is the reward you get from putting your story down. Everything else is gravy. While this might sound pessimistic, I think it's important to set expectations at levels you can have something to do with. Was it old Bill Shakespeare who said something about expectations being the root of all heartbreak? If you write to win an Oscar, chances are you'll be bitterly disappointed. If you write to get a blockbuster, chances are you'll be disappointed. See where I'm going with this? Write because you love it. Write because you don't know how to live without writing.
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Movie lingo for newbies! Terms you'll hear that DO NOT mean your project will be made with/without you:
1) "optioned"
2) "in development"
3) "attached writer/actor/Director"
4) "looking for financing"
5) "pitching HBO/Amazon/Hulu/Youtube/Apple..."
Until cameras are rolling & checks clear, it's just BS.
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Phillip - I agree. A screenwriter's word choice is critical to success. Learn to write tight - mine has gotten so tight it squeaks. I'm confident that I can tell a 200 page story on 100 pages.
If they remained after the first bit of advice. I would follow up with.
“Read as many great scripts as you can. Every academy award winner in the last 20 years”
Then I would give them a list of writers.
“ignore everyone who isn’t one of them, including me. Because if you are not on that list you are not worth listing too.”
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Find a story you love and make it your own.
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Write 2-5 pages per day, everyday. Consistency is key. And make them interesting so that you don't become bored because if you're bored writing it, your readers will be bored reading it. Finally, as they shout in Mortal Kombat - "Finish him!" Always finish you script even if its bad. You can always fix it in the rewrite.
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Writing the first 80% is easy, completing the remaining 80% is hard.
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Be yourself. Write what's in your heart.
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Practice patience...a lot.