The Top 4 Mistakes Screenwriters Make
How to Keep a Script Reader from Throwing Away Your Screenplay
Mar 4, 2009
Today, Adam Beechen is a successful freelance writer who has written scripts for popular television shows including Batman: The Brave and the Bold and X-Men: Evolution. More recently, he has served as the story editor for the upcoming TV series The Pink Panther, allowing him to supervise other freelance writers.
Yet when he first began living in Los Angeles in 1995, Beechen worked as a script reader for several film production companies including New Regency and Dreamworks – and discovered early on how many terrible scripts were out there.
Suite 101 caught up with Beechen at the 2009 Phoenix Comicon, where he shared some of the most common mistakes screenwriters make when writing a screenplay. Here, in no particular order, are four things that will send your script to the dumpster.
Top Mistakes Screenwriters Make:
1. Follow Incorrect Screenwriting Format
If a script is written on spiral notebook paper or formatted improperly, Beechen can guarantee it will not be read. Scripts must be typed up on 8 -1/2 x 11 inch white 20# bond paper, printed on one side with Courier New 12 point or Courier Final Draft font, and have one inch margins.
Screenplays should also have a white card stock cover (with the writer’s contact information on the cover page), and be held together by three brass brads. It goes without saying that there should be no spelling or grammatical errors.
To ensure that screenplays follow properly screenwriting format, Beechen suggests investing in good script software like Final Draft Software that will format the script as you write. He also advises writers to buy movie scripts as well as television scripts of the shows they want to write for so they can follow the desired TV script format.
2. When Writing a Screenplay, Put a Large Block of Description on Your First Page
According to Beechen, nothing makes script readers angrier than seeing a large block of description on the first page of a script – it shows them that the screenwriter hasn’t been practicing his or her craft.
Be descriptive but brief when writing a screenplay – it’ll make the screenplay easier to read and ensure that the script reader has a better experience with your screenplay than with a lot of the other submissions.
3. When Deciding Screenplay Length, Make Your Script Over 120 Pages Long
Even before reading a script, the first thing a script reader looks at is the screenplay length – mostly because script readers want to get through screenplays as quickly as possible so they can move on to the next one and earn enough money to pay their expenses. An overly long screenplay keeps them from doing that.
In Beechen’s words, “If a script is more than a hundred and twenty pages, I’m cursing! If it’s below a hundred, you’re my best friend!”
4. When Writing a Screenplay, Wait Until Page 60 to Write Something Interesting
In general, a script reader can tell within the first ten pages of a screenplay if the story will be any good – meaning the screenwriter needs to hook the script reader’s interest very quickly, or your screenplay will be tossed away out of sheer boredom.
Exceptions do exist – Beechen remembers being bored by M. Night Shamylan’s The Sixth Sense until he reached the twist ending, and enjoyed re-reading the screenplay again to see how it all fit. However, these are the rare exceptions to the rule.
According to Beechen, “You want to have a big moment of action that’ll make the reader say, ‘I want to read what the rest of this is about.’ So hook them early!”
Adam Beechen offers more tips on how to succeed as a writer in the entertainment industry. Read more at Preparing for a Television Writing Career and How to Launch a Television Writing Career.
