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7 On Structure # 2: Plot Construction – Meandering

SPOILER ALERT: Children of Men and Harsh Times Plot construction is something a lot of “official” script reports look at it in detail. If you send your script to an initiative in order to apply for a course or for funding for example, there is a very good chance the reader will be asked to look at this and comment on how the writer has built up his/her narrative. There are two main problems that I usually flag up in this section of official script reports; there are of course many more, but it’s surprising just how many scripts have… Read More »7 On Structure # 2: Plot Construction – Meandering

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Top 5 Scripts We Can Learn From

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, since one of the most often asked questions I get is “What script can I read that will help me improve as a writer?” My answer? There is NO one script that will help you improve as a writer, for no script is perfect. Also, our ability to obtain scripts – whether it’s a transcript, the “right” draft (ie. the one that made it to the screen), etc – is limited largely to the internet. Then there’s your personal preferences, from genre right through to whether you like/dislike certain elements… Read More »Top 5 Scripts We Can Learn From

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Rights And Responsibilities

WARNING: Major Spoilers for Wolf Creek are present in this post towards the bottom. My husband works with kids who have behavioural difficulties. This ranges from kids who have a basic attitude problem because they’re finding growing up hard, right through to kids who have been abused and/or neglected and kids with special educational needs such as Asperger Syndrome. I don’t think he’s paid even half what he’s worth, especially since he loves working with these kids. And who else wants to? Not very many people. But that’s a soapbox moment for another time. One thing that my husband is… Read More »Rights And Responsibilities

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Read All About It

So there you have it: two posts, two rowdy comments sections, readers vs. writers, new writers versus working writers. Some interesting stuff, the headline being: THERE ARE NO RULES. Except– Don’t be boring. Oh and– Believe in yourself. And pay some attention to formatting. But make your scene description as interesting as possible – whilst not loading it up with “fillers”. And don’t tell your story through dialogue. Plus develop your voice and what you’re trying to say. And last of all: make sure, if your script is in a bit of a mess, you have raw talent to back… Read More »Read All About It

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What’s In A Visual? NCI Pt 2

Well, quite a lively debate kicked off in the comments section of my last article: for those of you who don’t read the comments (and you really should, for moments like these if not the general threats, double entendres, paddies and frank admissions by various readers), the mysterious Dublin Dave proposed that all that was needed was engaging the Reader, not adherence to supposed rules like Thou Shalt Not Overuse Staring. He went on to post a link to an interesting example of where he thinks internal thought processes can aid the action, Ron Bass’ My Best Friend’s Wedding which… Read More »What’s In A Visual? NCI Pt 2

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What’s In a Look? NCI Pt 1

Quite a lot. Especially when your characters “look” at each other all the time in your scene description. Same goes for staring, gazing, glowering, eyeballing, scrutinising or any other synonym for the word “look”. Until I starting script reading on a regular basis, I had no idea how much my characters “looked” at each other and how much of a problem this *can* become for the Reader. Now let me get this straight: “looking” is not a problem per se – until you do it all the time. It’s easy to fall into this trap. You want some actions, you… Read More »What’s In a Look? NCI Pt 1

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Please Leave A Message And I’ll Get Right Back To You

Many thanks to the peeps that emailed to wish me a happy birthday yesterday… 28. Yuk. I was supposed to be a squillionaire by now and have my own TV series like Lynda La Plante. But let’s brush over that bit and concentrate on the good bits – successful reading business, kids, husband, yeah that works for me. But I better be a squillionaire by next year else I’ll have to release said husband and kids back into the wild since they’re obviously the ones distracting me from greatness. Right, I’m off to sunny Bournemouth tomorrow… FOREVER! That’s right, the… Read More »Please Leave A Message And I’ll Get Right Back To You

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Character Sacrifice

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! Mentioned – Aliens, Severance, Night People, Dog Soldiers, Devil’s Advocate, CSI:NY, Eastenders and Spooks. “Greater love hath no man than this,: that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John, 15:13) David Bishop makes a good point this morning about Dr. Who and two characters that sacrifice themselves to fight a big scary monster while their friends get away. Unfortunately, those two characters don’t do it at the same time, but separately, one after the other, so ultimately the viewer is left bored at the repetition. Whether it’s scary monsters, a terrorist attack… Read More »Character Sacrifice

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The Ten Page Test, Part 2

So I told you that stating your intent was probably the most important part of The Ten Page Test: if a Reader doesn’t know where you’re going with your story by page ten, then chances are they won’t read on. Why? Well – would you? Think about it: you have a veritable stack on your desk, plenty more where that came from and chances are you’ll have plenty to take home with you too. What’s a decent “cut off” point, a place where you can say, “If I don’t know by now what this story is going, chances are I… Read More »The Ten Page Test, Part 2

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The Ten Page Test, Part 1

The BBC Writers’ Room does it. Red Planet will be doing it. The Film Council do it with initiatives like 25WOL. All the literary agents I have read for do it, so do some indie prodcos and screen agencies. What am I talking about? What I call The Ten Page Test: the presentation of ten short pages so intriguing, so well formatted, so full of sparkling dialogue that a Reader will forego the chance of another cinnamon swirl and read your script in full. Hooking a Reader, making them actively WANT to go beyond page 10 of your screenplay is… Read More »The Ten Page Test, Part 1

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The Gospel According to The Reader

We are gathered here today to bathe in the light of The Revelation of script readers’ terms and what they really mean. We The Readers are but seraphim in the heavenly production process and no one really listens to us anyway, but we *may* permit you through the Pearly Gates of options and deals or leave you outside to be devoured by the ravages of Time and perhaps Satan, who will let his evil hounds pick over your skeletal remains. Praise be to the Lords of Screenwriting (Lawrence Kasdan, Bill Martell, Danny Stack and all you other unsung Gods and… Read More »The Gospel According to The Reader

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Don’t Waste My Mutha*$%*^* Time!

Love that line. Al Pacino in HEAT. I forget the mechanics of the scene exactly – I think he was questioning-stroke-threatening an informant – but that’s what good movie moments are made of in my book: you may not remember the whys, you remember the how. And Al Pacino was so manically exhuberant here, repeating the line just enough without becoming irritating, that it stuck in my head and undoubtedly countless other viewers’. We all want these moments in our screenplays – those lines and moments people repeat to each other, out of context. It’s those little bits of movie… Read More »Don’t Waste My Mutha*$%*^* Time!

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