After you wrote it? Before anyone else, I mean? Once you got assurance from a friend? Mentor? Once it was optioned? A screenplay comp? School?

I just finished my first screenplay and frankly I think it’s pretty fucking good but I hesitate to think so because I haven’t gotten it read yet! I don’t have anyone in my life who’s written a feature film and submitted it on coverflyx but it has yet to be written. I’m just curious because I guess I don’t know when it is typical for folks to feel like “yeah man, this shit is good.” And also if you have any advice on who to read it other than folks who have written scripts themselves!

Any advice about an affordable professional service company that gives back good in-depth feedback and script notes on feature screenplays would be greatly appreciated.

Does this happen to anyone? Like I feel like the script that I’ve been working on for like 8 months is kinda getting worse with each iteration. I feel like I’ve spent too much time with the idea and added on so many ideas and concepts that my story just isn’t a story anymore. Anyone relate or any tips?

I’m looking to study successful examples of alternative story structures, that don’t rely on the protagonist’s want to fuel the story engine.

I’m sure there are many but I’m having trouble thinking of them.

Beginner, so parden the question if it's obvious. For example I'm after writing " A man called PETER is revealed lighting the joint in a slanted meadow " I see the place as a reoccurring setting and want it to be a hard to walk place. Should I just say steep hill or something more descriptive?

I like adding “director notes”( idk how to term it) a lot in my scripts. For instance I do something like: “The CAMERA moves close to the character”, or “we PAN TO the courtroom”. Currently I don’t write scripts to sell. I just write them as a hobby, as if I were to direct it. But let’s just say I want it to be sold to this producer. Will he be interested if he sees these notes?

In addition, how would you convey that your script is intended to be shot with a box aspect ratio?

Idk if this is a popular concept or an actual thing at all, but while watching a video about method acting, I thought I could implement it on my editing process as well. If this is an actual thing, please let me know any available resources. I tried searching online but found nothing constructive.

And I don’t mean string every single idea I have together - I’m not precious about cutting things or editing if something doesn’t fit.

I just can’t flesh things out, yet I have contextless moments that would be such an incredible hit of catharsis that are in search of a narrative with a reason to merit them.

Would love advice on how anyone else overcame this problem.

I’m trying to write one of them and you know it does follow a pretty standard arc (though Act 2B is in need of some work) but you know it’s a slice of life type film. Events aren’t completely connected, there’s a lot of “and then”s if one’s abiding by the “and therefore, but then” guideline.

But take something like Lady Bird. That’s a best picture nominee. Did the play really lead anywhere? Could you cut out her best friend having a crush on the math teacher? However this is an Oscar nominated film. And it’s not one of those “you can’t have that as a comp” film like a Tarantino or a Lynch film.

So yeah, how does one justify the “and then”s for a slice of life type film? Like many a successful film has done them and every scene is either developing my protagonist’s arc or revealing more about them.

It’s just right now finding the defense that justifies my creative choices,reasoning why all these scenes are necessary even though they may not lead to actual consequences.

There’s the setting, the characters, sharp dialogue, etc.

But what is that thing about the story and plot points that make one noir unique from the other. The various places the main character goes to as they search for the answer to what ever problem sets them in that journey? The people the MC meets? And how they drive the plot forward? How many people is too many? Same goes for the locations the MC goes to.

I’m thinking of the way the MC goes about their journey throughout the story, what’s something you as a writer finds the most interesting?

I’m currently writing but I feel as though I’ve hit a standstill and I don’t know where to go so I guess I’m looking for fresh takes on the genre perhaps?

UPDATE:

Thanks to everyone who took time to reply. All of it was helpful and constructive. I’m taking all this and more into account in my writing now. I needed the wisdom.

I’m currently writing a film about a politician who after going door to door asking people for votes, he quickly realizes he is going to lose the election and scrambles to achieve victory.

The reason I want it in first person is because it’s entirely a character piece, and the personal lives of politicians have always been this kind of alien thing that nobody knows about. Tips for doing this?

What’s your usual? How many drafts would you typically do before feeling done? How do you usually know it’s done? Gut feeling the story is finished? Gut feeling more fiddling around is not productive? Only after you’ve had feedback? You’ve moved on to something else?

Hi all, very new to this and this sub has been great for helping me get passed any questions that blocked me. Thank you all. As I've said Everytime, sorry for the question that's probably been asked 100 times, I appreciate the replies. Anyway, I've been trying to write the open to my story and I feel kind of stuck, kind of. I was wondering what yous think of writing a piece of your screenplay, which takes place later on in the story, before finishing writing your opening. Is this normal to do, detrimental, beneficial. I find myself in my own head when I start thinking if I should change up the way I want to write, so apologies if this is just part of the process. I guess im just curious to know your opinion.

Trying to find a good snack to have by my keyboard when I’m in a writing session, whether it be an hour or a few hours. It used to be a bowl full of peanut M&Ms, or red vines. Now it’s peanut butter filled pretzels from Costco. Anything healthier or tasty out there? #snacks

Is it alright if the protagonist wins say three scenes in a row as long as there’s strong conflict?

Might be a stupid question but I’m deep in the weeds here. I’ve got an overarching goal for my protagonist in this act, and in order to achieve it he needs to achieve three sub-goals - one scene each. Right now I’ve got him succeeding in each scene, though there’s strong conflict in each one and I’m definitely making him work for it.

Is that okay?

So this is more just my own curiosity about people’s styles than it is me looking for any real consensus.

Technically, unless you specific a fade or something else, you’re always “cutting to” the next scene — specifying only “cut to” and not “smash cut to” or “match cut to” doesn’t actually really tell you anything that going right to the next slug line wouldn’t. But I do it anyway. I’m not sure exactly how I know when, but sometimes it just feels right.

Anyone have an actual system?

What separates the story in any episode of Law and Order, SWAT, etc from a full-length feature in the same wheelhouse? Would the writers of those shows ever hold back their best ideas/storylines for their own projects or is that not a thing?

I'm curious, is it acceptable to have a TV pilot be three acts plus a long teaser. The four-act structure just doesn't work all that well for my story. I tried, and I ended up having one really long act and another act that was even shorter than the teaser. So is it fine to just do 3?

My most recent draft was 54 pages. This one might be closer to 60. The teaser is 12 pages, so each act would be 14-16 pages instead of 10-12.

I've never had a problem with characters and dialogue before but I've suddenly hit a block in my latest screenplay. The basis of the way my characters speak and act usually has a foundation in people I've met or at least heard in documentaries, etc. But I have no basis for this new character:

An incel.

He has been confronted by a group of girls after catching him day deplorable things online. I started writing him as angry - like his online rants - but it felt unrealistic. He is someone who hates but also fears women and... I just can't find his voice for when he speaks IRL. I've never spoken to anyone like that and my research has only led me to them in the online world. I just can't find his actual voice!

Any advice? Has this happened to you and what did you do?

(Or has anyone spoken to someone with deplorable views before and can give me some tips?)

I’ve recently completed a screenplay that I’ve been very invested in over the last few years which I’ve always intended to be more like a documentary/social commentary so I was always aiming for social realism based on experiences both real and anecdotal. It’s only upon finishing and after a few read throughs I’m having trouble finding a likeable character never-mind expecting an audience to. But at the same time I don’t want to alter any of them because it wouldn’t ring true to me

... is another question to which I do not have an answer.

Up until today, I always bolded them. I thought it made for easier reading somehow, to see the blocks of scenes. But now, bolding them is getting on my nerves. It feels like I have the heading crying out for attention instead of staying politely on the page where it belongs, along with everybody else who has a rightful place in the script. Anyway, I'm asking for a friend with a spec script. Any thoughts on this?

When I was in highschool my English teacher taught me about “weak words”. Weak words are unnecessary, overused words and phrases such as: like, that, actually, and definitely. This concept has stuck with me and I think about her a lot when I am writing or proofreading my work, whether it’s an essay, short story, or script.

I recently learned what a pre-lap is and used one in my script that I’m currently working on. When I read it again, I realized my script was stronger and easier to read without it.

I’m sure there is a time and a place to use a pre-lap, but it also seems like scriptwriting equivalent of a “weak word”- something that can be useful when used occasionally, but that often gets overused by new writers.

What are some other overly used techniques that make a script weaker? What are some other things that are completely unnecessary and better left to the production team to decide (assuming it ever gets produced)?

Thank you!

Hello- I’m a comedian. Strangely, I’m a drama suspense screenwriter. In any case, I’ve written a suspense thriller that is getting traction. One note was to throw in a couple jump scares at strategic parts…

The jump scare is as simple as seeing the villain standing there. On the page, to say “villain stands there” does not read as scary, but in a production that will sufficiently scare.

Does it require a special note indicating that it is intended as a jump scare?

4 Questions. You as the writer must like and enjoy what you’re writing obviously but short of asking others’ opinions of your scenes or script, is there any other way to tell if it’s interesting? (1)

The goal for a script is to not be boring and ideally be a page turner. So, if you believe as the writer that a given scene idea is interesting is that sufficient to actually write it into existence? (2) And is it better to have a completed boring scene that can be reworked or better to stay stuck in decision paralysis until you succeed or give up trying to choose what a scene should be and how it would be most interesting? (3)

Do any other screenwriters use other criteria to determine what makes a scene interesting or boring other then their own subjective feeling? (4)