Common Mistakes Screenwriters Make & How to Avoid Them

Learn common screenwriting mistakes and how you can avoid them with top literary manager and former script reader at CAA Jon Hersh!

PLUS! You'll receive an exclusive list of Common Screenwriting Mistakes to help elevate your writing!

A great script can open a lot of doors, but mistakes and errors can slam those doors shut just as fast. What if you have an amazing story, but glaring formatting errors? Or emotional character arcs, but gaping logic holes? Executives and reps oftentimes don’t have time to look past simple mistakes and errors. They’d rather just “pass” and move onto the next piece of material. Readers are ALWAYS looking for a reason to pass. So do not give them that chance with unforced errors!

In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar, you will learn how to avoid the most common pitfalls that screenwriters make. Not only can these mistakes turn readers off from reading your script, but in the long-run they can even derail careers. These mistakes run the gamut from formatting errors, conceptual problems, bland characters, plot holes, common dialogue issues, and so much more. If you want to have a fruitful career as a screenwriter, it’s critical you are aware of these mistakes so you avoid them in your writing. Let’s work toward eliminating these missteps so that readers won’t get distracted by the little things and can focus on what really matters – your story on the page.

Teaching you all the common screenwriting errors and how to avoid them is literary manager Jon Hersh. Prior to working as a literary manager, Jon was a development exec for 3 years, and a script reader at CAA for 4 years before that. Jon has read and evaluated thousands of screenplays. Some of those were memorable reads that garnered widespread success, like THE BIG SHORT, JOJO RABBIT, and JOHN WICK. But for every big hit, there are countless error-filled screenplays that never got made because the reader couldn’t look past the glaring - yet avoidable - mistakes the writer made.

Jon has compiled a list of the most common mistakes he’s noticed in his many years in the business and is sharing it exclusively with the Stage 32 community. This list not only includes Jon’s pet peeves, but notes he has seen from studio executives, producers, production company executives, agents, directors, actors, and others. When a script really works, you can overlook a few issues here and there. But if enough of them build up, they risk tilting the scales toward the dreaded “pass.”

If you’re looking to get positive reception on your screenplay, get your project made, and build a lasting career as a screenwriter, this webinar is a must!

PLUS! Jon will provide you with his list of Common Screenwriting Mistakes to help you avoid them when you dive into writing your own screenplay.

"I'm excited for the opportunity to speak with such a strong community of writers. Thank you Stage 32 for arranging such a fatsastic forum. I look forward to keeping the dialogue going!" - Jon Hersh

• General Errors
• From typos to grammar – spell check isn’t a catch all!
• How to avoid rookie formatting errors and inconsistencies.
• How to harness the power of formatting and use it to your own advantage.
• How to not raise eyebrows at your page count
• Conceptual Issues
• You’ll learn about honing your conceptual hook.
• Determining the difference between High and Low Concept ideas.
• How to avoid concepts that make execs’ eyes roll.
• How to avoid concepts that have been done to death.
• Logline errors that could prevent your script from getting read at all.
• Character Missteps
• The importance of differentiating your characters from each other.
• Zero-ing in on your protagonist early in the story.
• Injecting sympathy (or at least making your hero interesting).
• Bringing emotion into your characters.
• Plot Holes
• How to avoid structural issues that could lead to a page 1 rewrite.
• Hitting the plot beats that matter.
• Keeping logic issues to a minimum, from small character logic flaws (he wouldn’t do that!) to widespread mythology issues (none of it makes sense!).
• Dialogue pitfalls
• How to avoid “on the nose” dialogue
• How to avoid expository “info dumps”
• Nailing your tone
• Best practices to avoid all these common pitfalls
• Q&A with Jon

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