Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

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  • Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

    I'll begin.

    If I write more than three lines of dialogue, I always feel the need to break it up. And editing any dialogue to three lines w/o sacrificing its purpose makes me feel good. I get all haiku and sh+t with it, seriously.
    "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
    - Screenwriting Friend

  • #2
    Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

    Originally posted by roscoegino View Post
    I'll begin.

    I get all haiku and sh+t with it, seriously.


    I revise as I go. It's like I can't move onto the next scene unless I'm near-100% satisfied with the previous scene.
    Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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    • #3
      Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

      I go straight through and don't look back. If I forget a character's name I write **WTF IS THIS AS*HOLE'S NAME* or something and keep going. One time I kept calling a cop "Whosits" because I forgot what name I gave him, so eventually I just changed his name to "Officer Hoosits".

      If I stall I write what goes there in a note and keep going.

      Aside from the occasional midnight inspiration about a scene, only when I'm done do I look at what I've written.
      Chicks Who Script podcast

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      • #4
        Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

        Originally posted by sc111
        I revise as I go. It's like I can't move onto the next scene unless I'm near-100% satisfied with the previous scene.
        Yup. I call it Word Tetris.
        "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
        - Screenwriting Friend

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        • #5
          Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

          If the action's very important I never begin a new sentence on the same line as the first. Each sentence gets its own line.

          Always gotta make my female characters tough. Tough mentally or physically or both. No Adrienne Rocky "be careful, honey" BS. She's gotta kick ass too. I'm very Cameronic like that.

          I always think I've improved as a writer when I see fewer wrylies in my dialogue.

          When I get a block I'll go to YouTube and watch some vids ranging from stand up routines to bulldog puppies (yes, I want one).
          "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
          -Maya Angelou

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          • #6
            Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

            Originally posted by sc111 View Post


            I revise as I go. It's like I can't move onto the next scene unless I'm near-100% satisfied with the previous scene.
            I am new to screenwriting, but I have to keep moving as well. The same is true in all of my writing. It is why first drafts of even emails get eviscerated during rewrite.

            As for character names, thank God for "replace all." I also like " **WTF IS THIS AS*HOLE'S NAME*" as a place holder. You don't have a trademark on that do you?
            www.silvercop.com
            If we don't get the information, and if we don't get the leads, we can't track down the killers.

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            • #7
              Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

              Originally posted by sc111 View Post
              I revise as I go. It's like I can't move onto the next scene unless I'm near-100% satisfied with the previous scene.
              I operate under a similar style of madness. I treat my first draft as if it's going to be the last. It will take a while to complete, but my extensive outlining and incessant revisions along the way will keep me from needing to write unnecessary vomit drafts. I couldn't write like that even if there was a gun to my head. It has to be as close to great as possible. There is no reason for it not to be.

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              • #8
                Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                I use pre-printed worksheets to help me brainstorm/take notes.

                I do multiple drafts of my outline & tweak my action & dialogue endlessly. But once I have the action/dialogue in place, I never dismantle an entire screenplay in order to do a massive re-write-- at least I haven't yet.

                "Trust your stuff." -- Dave Righetti, Pitching Coach

                ( Formerly "stvnlra" )

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                • #9
                  Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                  I'm distracted and little uneasy, when I write with my back to the door, so I don't write with my back to the door.
                  Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                    - I never write FADE IN because I don't like the 3 lines it takes up.

                    - Whenever I catch myself writing "He smiles" or "She smiles" as a reaction, I stop writing for the day. If that's the best I can do in terms of a reaction, my brain is probably fried for the day.

                    - I never let any of my characters cry more than once.

                    - I never allow my characters to roll their eyes as a reaction. I feel that's a cop-out way to show their disapproval of something. I feel the same way about sighing.

                    - I write everything I write that day in REVISION MODE of Final Draft. Then next day, I read over the un-black text. If I like it, I clear revised and move to new pages.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                      I like to dangle my participles in public.

                      - Bill
                      Free Script Tips:
                      http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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                      • #12
                        Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                        Is not writing a quirk?
                        "Only nothing is impossible."
                        - Grant Morrison

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                        • #13
                          Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                          I always write with my WRITER cap on
                          "you have to write right, right?" -- Todd Gordon

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                          • #14
                            Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                            Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
                            I like to dangle my participles in public.

                            - Bill
                            If you really like it you can have the rights
                            It could make a million for you overnight

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                            • #15
                              Re: Screenwriting Quirks You Might Have

                              Better participles than colons.
                              "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
                              -Maya Angelou

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