1) Should you email another writer that's a total stranger and ask them to read your script?
2) Ask for feedback on your first or second script and then get angry when someone provides you a direct, honest evaluation?
3) Have another writer read your screenplay and then not return the same courtesy?
What say you?
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I don’t do any of the above.
I know I am a strange bird. But I don’t seek the opinion of other writers or even people aren’t customer or intended audience.
I also don’t give notes. I can tell in three pages of a person can write. Then when you tell them what they need to fix, they always come back with “thanks, can you read the rest of the script”.
I must be one of those people who can't write.
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I don't know how people have the time and energy to do either.
The kind of people asking for notes don't want notes. They want validation.
The kind of people giving notes shouldn't be giving notes. They want to feel like pros.
I don’t mind brainstorming with other writers but I don’t like to give away every element about my work. I’ve been suckered numerous times. Not that I don’t trust others but I like to share the bare minimum for security reasons. Tell them everything when pitching a script.
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None of the above.
1) I would never email another writer I didn’t know and ask them to read my screenplay.
2) I didn’t ask for feedback on my first or second script so I don’t know how I would have reacted if someone provided honest evaluation, I wasn’t happy about. Looking back I wish I did try that though because now I know I was doing a lot of things wrong back then.
3) I never had another writer read my screenplay but if I did, I would probably return the same courtesy, but again I never asked another screenwriter to read one of my screenplays.
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I am in a few Zoom-based script groups where we read (out loud) up to 10 pages of each other's work every other week. Even though we are the world's worst actors, it is super helpful. There is nothing like hearing your dialogue read out loud to make you realize you need to rewrite it. Better than unvetted "total strangers" and since we know each other we can be more honest about weak points.
Most notes are along the lines of "I was confused when XXX happened..." rather than "what is your protagonist's core wound?" So they give you great "reader" perspective, rather than broad critiques.
And since it's only 10 pages (with 10 minutes of Q&A after), we can usually get 4-6 sets in per session.
Jeff: Sounds like a good group. Smart way to do it.
Julia: I get people doing it frequently. I had two this week make a connection here and Faceback and ask me to read scripts (in one case several scripts) without the slightest attempt to get acquainted. These folks have a rather poor understanding of screenwriter protocol.
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Sure; they are excellent ways (for the rest of us) to thin the herd.
I guess I come from the other side of the fence on this prospect: https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/09/09/i-will-not-read-your-fucking-scr... I guess as Groucho Marx says - ' any company/clup that wants him as vice President/member he doesn't want to be a member of.
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I have a handful of 'readers' I trust. A few of them are screenwriters. Some are actors. A couple are producers. I will return the favor whenever asked. Or help them move across town - whichever is quickest.
"When someone tells you it's not working - they're almost always right. When they tell you how to fix it, they're almost always wrong." - I believe in that philosphy - and try and extend the same courtesy when I read someone's script. "I got lost, this didn't make sense, I didn't understand why they did this..." I tell them what I had a problem with (AFTER telling them what I loved.) I never make a suggestion on how to fix it. (Aside from typos and house cleaning notes).