??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

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  • ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

    I've read around 30 scripts in the last couple months. Some from my favorite movies, some many people say you need to read and some from the best screenplay nominees the last few years. While many/most were enjoyable to read, I haven't taken away much to improve my own writing. For all the time spent reading these scripts, I feel it might have been better to have just spent the time writing instead.

    What am I missing? My guess is that I should be trying to "analyze" the scripts, rather than just "reading" them. But is that really more helpful than buying a screenwriting book and seeing someone else's take and processing that instead?

    What have you learned from reading lots of scripts and how has it changed/improved your writing?
    Last edited by Troy; 10-03-2013, 10:28 PM. Reason: spelling

  • #2
    Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

    You've missed the point.

    I'd say that reading lots of professional scripts likely demonstrates how to utilise the craft: it shows not just how to format, but how to construct a story, when to skip scenes, how to write good characters...

    So, you've read 30 scripts and when you look at your own work, you still can't see anything differently?
    This means that either your work's already at a top level or you're not comparing it properly to the higher standards you should be aiming to achieve.

    It's going to take a hell of a long time to get that good - some people never do and nobody can ever say why - but if simply reading a screenwriting book or 30 scripts would make admired pro's out of everyone, don't you think this would be the easiest job in the world?
    Cufk, Tish, Sips.

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    • #3
      Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

      Here's what I've learned from reading scripts:

      - that there's no one way of writing. The Zaillian Dragon Tattoo script is as lean as its heroine; Alan Ball's American Beauty is like a novel; the Coen brothers' True Grit is like a folk song. All work. All are beautiful. Perhaps most importantly, all read like films.

      - that whatever you think of auteur theory, 90% of imagery is there in the script. So you have to write visually - not describing every book on the shelf, but learning to conjure a world.

      - that professional scripts move lightning fast. This still blows my mind. You read a script of your own, or from a good amateur friend, and you pause after about 11 pages; you read a pro script and you read it cover-to-cover in half an hour.

      - that in a professional script you always know where you are. You don't have to flick back a few pages to remind yourself who someone is. You don't suddenly think, wait - why are they here? What are they doing again? It's a clarity often missing from amateur scripts (and my own).

      - that sometimes a great script doesn't lead to a great film. Read all the Alien III scripts - there are a dozen or so - then scratch your head as to why they were still having to write pages whilst shooting.

      - finally, that writing a good script is really f**king hard and there's still a massive difference between them and mine.


      Personally I'm not sure about 'analysing' a script in terms of breaking it down and figuring out how it works. I guess it's a fun thing to sometimes notice how a particular writer did a particular thing. If you're writing a thriller then maybe reading thrillers will help. For me the best thing about reading professional scripts is that it just helps on a gut-level, makes me realise this is what I want to do and makes me itchy to get back to whatever I'm writing.
      My stuff

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      • #4
        Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

        Originally posted by Jon Jay View Post
        Here's what I've learned from reading scripts:

        - that there's no one way of writing. The Zaillian Dragon Tattoo script is as lean as its heroine; Alan Ball's American Beauty is like a novel; the Coen brothers' True Grit is like a folk song. All work. All are beautiful. Perhaps most importantly, all read like films.

        - that whatever you think of auteur theory, 90% of imagery is there in the script. So you have to write visually - not describing every book on the shelf, but learning to conjure a world.

        - that professional scripts move lightning fast. This still blows my mind. You read a script of your own, or from a good amateur friend, and you pause after about 11 pages; you read a pro script and you read it cover-to-cover in half an hour.

        - that in a professional script you always know where you are. You don't have to flick back a few pages to remind yourself who someone is. You don't suddenly think, wait - why are they here? What are they doing again? It's a clarity often missing from amateur scripts (and my own).

        - that sometimes a great script doesn't lead to a great film. Read all the Alien III scripts - there are a dozen or so - then scratch your head as to why they were still having to write pages whilst shooting.

        - finally, that writing a good script is really f**king hard and there's still a massive difference between them and mine.


        Personally I'm not sure about 'analysing' a script in terms of breaking it down and figuring out how it works. I guess it's a fun thing to sometimes notice how a particular writer did a particular thing. If you're writing a thriller then maybe reading thrillers will help. For me the best thing about reading professional scripts is that it just helps on a gut-level, makes me realise this is what I want to do and makes me itchy to get back to whatever I'm writing.
        Thank you. What you've said gives me some more perspective. Hard to disagree with any of your points.

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        • #5
          Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

          Reading pro scripts is all well and good and it does show how there are lots of ways to get the job done, but I feel like I've learned infinitely more about my own writing from reading lots and lots of amateur scripts...which isn't to say all amateur scripts are bad.

          It depends on what kind of person you are, but I feel like it's a lot easier to spot how not to do something and take it out of your own writing than to emulate something that you hold in high regard.
          On Twitter @DeadManSkipping

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          • #6
            Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

            I like to read a script every few months or so, I just can't stand chain reading them. That said I think from reading both pro and amateur it has helped me to identify the flaws in my own scripts easier.

            But in the end the script is just a blueprint. I find watching as many films as possible is more helpful.

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            • #7
              Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

              What I have I learned?

              That "we see" a lot of these rules don't exist.

              Only a good story does.

              One should study other's works in order to learn how to craft their story, imo.

              Identify the author's voice and in turn, try to cultivate your own.

              Is there a magical number?

              Each person is different.
              The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

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              • #8
                Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                This is a fantastic list. I added a few under it.

                Originally posted by Jon Jay View Post
                Here's what I've learned from reading scripts:

                - that there's no one way of writing. The Zaillian Dragon Tattoo script is as lean as its heroine; Alan Ball's American Beauty is like a novel; the Coen brothers' True Grit is like a folk song. All work. All are beautiful. Perhaps most importantly, all read like films.

                - that whatever you think of auteur theory, 90% of imagery is there in the script. So you have to write visually - not describing every book on the shelf, but learning to conjure a world.

                - that professional scripts move lightning fast. This still blows my mind. You read a script of your own, or from a good amateur friend, and you pause after about 11 pages; you read a pro script and you read it cover-to-cover in half an hour.

                - that in a professional script you always know where you are. You don't have to flick back a few pages to remind yourself who someone is. You don't suddenly think, wait - why are they here? What are they doing again? It's a clarity often missing from amateur scripts (and my own).

                - that sometimes a great script doesn't lead to a great film. Read all the Alien III scripts - there are a dozen or so - then scratch your head as to why they were still having to write pages whilst shooting.

                - finally, that writing a good script is really f**king hard and there's still a massive difference between them and mine.


                Personally I'm not sure about 'analysing' a script in terms of breaking it down and figuring out how it works. I guess it's a fun thing to sometimes notice how a particular writer did a particular thing. If you're writing a thriller then maybe reading thrillers will help. For me the best thing about reading professional scripts is that it just helps on a gut-level, makes me realise this is what I want to do and makes me itchy to get back to whatever I'm writing.
                ... character development is essential; we must write characters that an A-list actor is actually inspired to play. No out-of-central-casting stereotypes. To do this we have to know our characters intimately not as if they're just acquaintances we know little about.

                ... to write at a pro level you have to think out of the box. No seen-it-before or me-too scenes, characters, dialogue. Be daring. Surprise yourself, first.

                ... pro-level scripts make the reader feel something: anxiety, fear, sadness, excitement, anticipation, tenderness, empathy, etc. And to do this in a genuine way I have to dig around my own feelings to satisfy the writing commandment: write what you know.

                ... a great script fulfills the reader's/audience's desire for catharsis and balance. Which is something real life doesn't always provide for them.

                ... a great script makes the reader forget they're reading words on the page; there are no speed bumps that toss me out of the read. This requires precise writing to keep the reader in the "dream" of the script.

                ... a great script never bvllshits the reader for the sake of executing plot; never manipulates characters into doing things they wouldn't do just to hit a plot point.

                ... a deftly-infused theme separates memorable scripts from an "okay" script I forget a week later. This applies to all genres, not just drama.

                Analyzing why this or that works well is helpful. However, thinking that reverse-engineering a great script reveals all of its secrets is highly misleading (which is why I think the how-to books are highly misleading).

                There's always a ghost in the machinery of a great script that is unique to and specific to the psyche of the person who wrote it. Even he or she can't always "see" it at first glance because there's a type of alchemy going on in the writing process. The only way to bring this alchemy to our own writing is to be as honest and genuine as we can. Never skim the surface for pure effect or pure entertainment.
                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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                • #9
                  Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                  I don't actually notice that I've "learned" anything new with reading scripts; all I know is that I write better material after say, reading William Goldman. My voice becomes focused, inspired. Technically speaking, I've learned a great deal already. Sure, there are other techniques I can aspire to seek out. The point, however, is that my scripts look and read like scripts. I read because it's immersion, pure and simple. If I'm reading scripts, my mind thinks scripts.

                  It's like re-reading the one screenwriting book you have, or Aristotle's Poetics, to give credence to what has already been inserted into your head.
                  "...it is the thousandth forgetting of a dream dreamt a thousand times and forgotten a thousand times."
                  --Franz Kafka "Investigations Of A Dog"

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                  • #10
                    Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                    I think it's hard to put a finger on, but it's really about the process of osmosis.

                    A lot of the stuff we learn doesn't fit into neat boxes. That's part of why you need to read scripts: the stuff that fits into neat little boxes can be summarized in a book or by a teacher. The other stuff, not so much.

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                    • #11
                      Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                      Many good answers already. You could also learn where to start and end a scene and how clean a script reads without all the extra stuff a beginner might be tempted to write -- formal hellos and chit-chat instead of getting to the point, descriptions of things that don't matter, background information a beginner would dump all at once that would be more effective later, or not at all, or with more finesse. You'd learn how different writers create unanswered questions, tension, laughs, drama, and keep you hooked. You'd see how they're always anticipating your thoughts, know what you're wondering about, what you already know and don't need to be told again. You learn how to take command of the story.
                      Last edited by Joaneasley; 10-04-2013, 01:11 PM.

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                      • #12
                        Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                        Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
                        I think it's hard to put a finger on, but it's really about the process of osmosis.
                        Completely agree with this.

                        Everything I learned about screenwriting came from reading scripts and watching movies. I don't think there's a better way to go about it.

                        (But then again, even this is subjective and depends person-by-person).

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                        • #13
                          Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                          Not gleaning one single thing after reading 30 produced scripts?

                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF2ayWcJfxo

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                          • #14
                            Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                            I remember studying Plato's Theaetetus in school. It argued that to truly understand anything you need to examine its boundaries. The highs and lows.

                            I think you'll learn the most studying the very best AND the very worst of scripts. In fact, I would argue that studying terrible (pro) scripts is more vital.

                            Oddly enough, I never learned more about characters and storytelling than I did from watching The Last Airbender. The whole movie was a checklist for what not to do in a script.

                            a) Complicated text crawls with no images over black [ Check ]
                            b) Confuse your audience on page 1 [ Check ]
                            c) Have your main characters endlessly narrate [ Check ]
                            d) ......

                            Here's a funnier take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSOzeeoVQOY
                            I'm never wrong. Reality is just stubborn.

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                            • #15
                              Re: ??? What have you learned from reading lots of scripts?

                              Originally posted by Troy View Post
                              I've read around 30 scripts in the last couple months. Some from my favorite movies, some many people say you need to read and some from the best screenplay nominees the last few years. While many/most were enjoyable to read, I haven't taken away much to improve my own writing. For all the time spent reading these scripts, I feel it might have been better to have just spent the time writing instead.

                              What am I missing? My guess is that I should be trying to "analyze" the scripts, rather than just "reading" them. But is that really more helpful than buying a screenwriting book and seeing someone else's take and processing that instead?

                              What have you learned from reading lots of scripts and how has it changed/improved your writing?

                              What I learned from reading professional scripts (and since I worked as a story editor I read hundreds of scripts, some from professionals and many from amateurs) is how writers who had mastered the craft dealt with any number of problems that any writer faces in working out a story.

                              How you introduce a character -- or multiple characters in a way that allows us to distinguish them.

                              How you orchestrate characters. You read a professional writer analytically and you begin to understand the thinking behind why particular characters are present in a story and why the characters are who they are (as opposed to being some other completely different sort of person, or more than one person, or nobody at all).

                              You see how decisions as to when things start and end -- when the script starts, when scenes and sequences start and end.

                              The whole issue of handling exposition and setting things up and paying them off and properly developing the theme and establishing the tone and maintaining it across the story.

                              And most importantly, it's reading a scene where you know what the story purpose of a scene is, which may be quite simple and straightforward, and there's an obvious way that the scene might play out to convey that story purpose -- and it's something that we've seen twenty times before, especially if we've read a lot of amateur scripts, but instead of doing it that way, or the second way the scene might be written, or the third, the writer writes it in a way that you'd never in a million years imagine -- but that nevertheless is believable and memorable.

                              These are the things that professional writers know how to do.

                              NMS

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