Hey, everyone,
I don't really post much. I'm a bit of an introvert, but as people in my life keep telling me I need to get out more, I decided to show my face (albeit on the internet. Physically getting out more is more challenging -- you know, brushing one's teeth, combing hair, showering, wearing smart, clean clothes, money in the pocket, looking good and all that. Can't be bothered with that most days, but that's another story).
So, I recently renewed my subscription (I didn't get my money's worth on the last one. In the whole year I barely posted or visited the site, so I might as well get a bang for my buck this time around).
So...
I've been reading quite a few of the scripts that have been posted on here, including the archived ones (I posted some pages recently), and although I rarely comment on them (that may change soon), one thing I've noticed is a bad case of scriptalitis.
It seems more or less everyone is trying to write the same way. It's hard to define (and I should think about this more to better articulate this) but I get the impression that people are thinking script before story. It feels to me that people are trying too hard to write a script and not a story.
Yeah, I know, who am I, right? I'm no pro, but I get the impression that people are rushing into writing a script because let's face it -- writing a script is fvcking cool! Hey, I should talk! The pages I posted recently were first draft straight out of my head (and they show) because who wants to get bogged down with -- gosh, dare I say -- figuring out the story first?
But, like it or not, the heavy work is doing the stuff before you begin writing the script, like: story. Yeah, you know, what is the story? And that also includes, themes, who are the characters? Why this story? Why must this story exist? Why must you tell this story?
Ok, I'm going off subject a little bit, because my main point is the wording in some of the scripts I've read here.
For some reason, most people here who post pages use phrases and expressions in their scripts that have never been heard of before. It's almost as if writing a script allows you to invent your own language.
One of the most common complaints I have found in these posts is when someone comments on a piece of description that made little or no sense. Why did that writer use such odd phrasing? I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out. Similes and metaphors are used that otherwise would never be used. It's almost as though trying to be cool trumps actual story telling. I don't know why. Perhaps it's a "phase" thing, and you eventually grow out of it.
But if it wasn't for scriptwriting, how many people on here would still want to tell stories? Does anyone actually tell stories to their friends and family? Do you hang out with people and engage them with interesting stories that happened to you the other day, or many years ago?
I'm going off point again, I know, but what I want to say in a nutshell is that wanting to be a screenwriter makes people write in a very strange way.
I call it Scriptalitis.
I'm sure I wanted to go deeper than this but my more lucid thoughts escape me for now.
I don't really post much. I'm a bit of an introvert, but as people in my life keep telling me I need to get out more, I decided to show my face (albeit on the internet. Physically getting out more is more challenging -- you know, brushing one's teeth, combing hair, showering, wearing smart, clean clothes, money in the pocket, looking good and all that. Can't be bothered with that most days, but that's another story).
So, I recently renewed my subscription (I didn't get my money's worth on the last one. In the whole year I barely posted or visited the site, so I might as well get a bang for my buck this time around).
So...
I've been reading quite a few of the scripts that have been posted on here, including the archived ones (I posted some pages recently), and although I rarely comment on them (that may change soon), one thing I've noticed is a bad case of scriptalitis.
It seems more or less everyone is trying to write the same way. It's hard to define (and I should think about this more to better articulate this) but I get the impression that people are thinking script before story. It feels to me that people are trying too hard to write a script and not a story.
Yeah, I know, who am I, right? I'm no pro, but I get the impression that people are rushing into writing a script because let's face it -- writing a script is fvcking cool! Hey, I should talk! The pages I posted recently were first draft straight out of my head (and they show) because who wants to get bogged down with -- gosh, dare I say -- figuring out the story first?
But, like it or not, the heavy work is doing the stuff before you begin writing the script, like: story. Yeah, you know, what is the story? And that also includes, themes, who are the characters? Why this story? Why must this story exist? Why must you tell this story?
Ok, I'm going off subject a little bit, because my main point is the wording in some of the scripts I've read here.
For some reason, most people here who post pages use phrases and expressions in their scripts that have never been heard of before. It's almost as if writing a script allows you to invent your own language.
One of the most common complaints I have found in these posts is when someone comments on a piece of description that made little or no sense. Why did that writer use such odd phrasing? I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out. Similes and metaphors are used that otherwise would never be used. It's almost as though trying to be cool trumps actual story telling. I don't know why. Perhaps it's a "phase" thing, and you eventually grow out of it.
But if it wasn't for scriptwriting, how many people on here would still want to tell stories? Does anyone actually tell stories to their friends and family? Do you hang out with people and engage them with interesting stories that happened to you the other day, or many years ago?
I'm going off point again, I know, but what I want to say in a nutshell is that wanting to be a screenwriter makes people write in a very strange way.
I call it Scriptalitis.
I'm sure I wanted to go deeper than this but my more lucid thoughts escape me for now.
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