I seem to just pontificate and not offer anything of substance so I asked the gang at my Post facility to let me copy the "Common Beginner Mistakes" they have posted on their bulletin board. No one remembers what website they lifted it from, but all this is somewhere out there -- I didn't jot down any of it myself.
It's possible this was a thread from this board? Maybe... sorry if I didn't attribute anything where attribution belongs.
Hope it's fun for some (one?) of you
Common beginner mistakes
Person 1
Okay, other then BIG problems such as bland story, poor structure, glaring errors, or bad format what are the most common beginner mistakes?
What little things add up to make you put a script down?
I’ll start:
1) Twisting reality to make the story work. If a character is shown doing "bad" things you can't expect us to pretend he/she is good. If the story is set in real life you must obey the rules of this Earth. We will suspend our disbelief only so much. I read three chapters of a novel once then stopped when the hero got his horse to walk across a rope bridge. Yeah right.
2) Losing continuity in the story. Read pages a while back where a guy was in a ring surrounded by hundreds of screaming people. Suddenly he looks around, he's all alone, and so he makes a run for the door only to be grabbed by a bouncer and tossed back in the ring. Huh?
3) Thinking scenes. Sam sits and thinks for several minutes.
Several minutes is three pages!
4)My personal pet peeve? Unintentional alliteration. Small smiles, big boys, tender touches, mushy moments, etc.
They just stick in my mind and take me out of the moment.
Person 2
in addition to what you've mentioned, here's my list, in pretty much this ranking order [yours coming after]:
1. novel-ish writing excess, instead of concise, clear, screenwriting style in the action element... this is the most common newbie 'sin' i come across in the hundreds/thousands of scripts i'm sent...
2. poor formatting... yes, it does make a difference!... if you want your work to be taken seriously, it needs to look as professional as possible... i won't even read far enough to see whether the story/plot is great or not, if the script is sloppy and/or amateurish-looking...
3. poor grammar/spelling/punctuation... no agent or producer is going to go to the trouble of correcting a writer's basic skills goofs... if someone wants to be a professional writer, imo, they must hone their skills to a professional level before trying to sell or enter their work...
this is, of course, just my own personal take on things... in addition to these and scripter's pet peeves, one thing i come across all too often, that i find hard to deal with is many new writers' conviction that their first, one-and-only screenplay will have some chance to be sold...
i'm accused of negativism by some, for pointing out that it takes years to get good enough at this craft/art to write marketable scripts and that the myth of a writer's first script being sold is just that.. a myth... most don't want to accept the fact that a lot of work and learning and studying and writing go into success in this industry... they seem to think that just anyone can write a screenplay... if that were true, they'd sell for pennies, and not thousands/hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars!
Person 3
"this is, of course, just my own personal take on things... in addition to these and scripter's pet peeves, one thing i come across all too often, that i find hard to deal with is many new writers' conviction that their first, one-and-only screenplay will have some chance to be sold... "
Often, the first screenplay or manuscript written by a screenwriter or novelist is really about the writer. It can be hard for some people to admit that their personal stories may not be interesting enough to make mass sales. These writers are usually convinced that they have the greatest master piece of all time. That's why Ed Hansen, Carlo Padula, and all the other con artists posing a producers can take then in.
Basically, once you finish your first project and get it read and critiqued, it's simply best to move on and write your next screenplay. New writers shouldn't spend undue time correcting first script or two, because the story premise itself may be flawed, not viable.
Person 4
This is not a fault of the writing, but it is still a mistake. A newbie convinced that they can attract top talent to their script, like their favorite actor or director when all they have written is a script or two that hasn't been produced.
Person 5
SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME THINKING ABOUT WRITING AND NOT DOING IT (aren't I just doing that now). That's got to be no 1.
Sending my script out too early - before it was as good as I could get it.
Thinking my script was the most fantastic 100 pages ever written and anyone who didn't want it was either blinkered... or more probably stealing my ideas.
Thinking that cause no-one wanted it that they were saying it had NO MERIT AT ALL. (& even if they were....)
Oh, yeah, and thinking you only have to write one.
Still I didn't do the only 'fatal' thing... I didn't give up...
Person 6
Explaining or trying to justify why an action has been performed.
Ruben hits Jessie across the back with a two by four. Jesse falls to the ground groaning because he's been hit so hard by the board.
Writing fancy. Using big and unusual words instead of keeping things simple and clear. You don't want the reader to have to use the dictionary.
Using a characters full name every time they appear. Intro them with the full name and then choose either the first or last name to identify them in dialog and then stick with that name.
Person 7
How about explaining what a character is thinking?
"Jesse starts to open the door, but stops because he remembers how his mother told him to always knock first."
I think many of the biggest beginner mistakes revolve around not grasping the whole "visual medium" thing.
Person 8
Even with visual thing... you have to take care not writing something that sounds like it'd call for special effects (unless, of course, you are writing a SFX script).
"He smells her perfume as he enters the room."
Huh? Perfume isn't even mentioned before or after the scene...SO HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S PERFUME???
Well, be happy that your script is sold. And any writer who gets produced will need to accept that is work is going to be substantially changed.
The writer is many ways, of all the behind scenes people, is the least powerful.
As for what this director is doing, let him do it. What matters is that he makes a good film.
Person 9
too true, 'bout that perfume thing!... i'll hafta add, 'writing stuff that isn't SEEN or HEARD' as one of the most common and annoying newbie goofs...
when it gets too much like this , try some primal scream therapy... just go out on your balcony or into the closet and scream as loud as you can, till it feels better... it really works... and saves lives!!! [yours and the director's]
Person 10
Points I'm fully aware of, believe me. After several years in the screenwriting game, I figured I'd seen pretty much everything. But this current director is really throwing me for a loop with all his rewrite ideas. And hey, as aggravating as it is, I'm thankful just to have sold the script...and having the very real possibility that it'll get produced this year.
Always remember: A bad day as a screenwriter is still better than a great day as an insurance salesman. (My apologies to all you insurance salesmen out there.)
Person 11
Giving famous people unintentional cameos.
A large storage building filled with shelves. Motley crew unloads wooden crates from the trucks.
Just read that one today!!
Oh me oh my.
Okay, one more
Writing "magic" characters and vehicles that suddenly appear or disappear from nowhere and to nowhere.
{does not apply if your story is actually ABOUT magic.}
They must come from somewhere and go somewhere.
"Since no one in Hollywood gives a f-ck about "we see," writers may want to concern themselves with the factors that the town really does care about: story and craft."
Person 12
1. Message speeches
If you want to send a message with your script ("Drugs are bad"; "Don't let yourself be bullied"; etc.), send the message through actions. A big, messy message speech, on the other hand, turns your script into a sermon. The merits of movies as teaching tools can be debated, but it's better to show what you want us to learn than to tell us.
2. "Brilliant" dialogue.
At best, this is gratuitous dialogue that draws attention to itself, taking the audience completely out of the story. At worst (and most frequently) it's dialogue that's SUPPOSED to be clever, but really is just painful to read.
If the dialogue you write is making you laugh, it's probably bad (especially if you're not writing a comedy), because usually the humor comes in the voice of the WRITER, rather than the CHARACTER. There's always a sacrifice to be made in this case. You should sacrifice brilliance for character; not character for brilliance.
3. On the nose dialogue
People rarely say what they mean, and characters should be no different. This kind of dialogue stands in the way of your script's believability.
MARY
I love you, John. I wish you hadn't left me last year. It was the hardest year of my life. I don't think I'll ever be the same.
JOHN
I know, Mary. I didn't want to leave, but I didn't like the person I was becoming. I think if I'd have stayed, you wouldn't have liked me much either. I needed to take that year and figure out what I want out of life. And now I know the answer: I want you.
MARY
I want you too!
Give me a break! Nobody talks like this! I know it's hard to believe, but if do your work on the rest of the script, this will suffice:
MARY
So...you're back?
JOHN
Yeah. I am.
MARY
You should hang up your coat.
If you've established the situation, the actors and director can handle the subtext.
You have to develop an ear for dialogue, so beginners shouldn't be frustrated if their characters don't sound natural right out of the chute. My advice is to worry about these problems when you're REVISING your script, not while you're composing the first draft. And remember:
What your characters SAY is not nearly as important as what they DO.
Person 13
Oh I hate those big secret reveals:
BAD GUY
Now that I've got you captured, I suppose I can tell you the whole thing before you die. You see, I killed your father and your mother and your brother and I raped your wife and your children and blamed it all on you. blah blah blah... now you know, you can die.
GOOD GUY
Not so fast.
Pow, Pow.
It's possible this was a thread from this board? Maybe... sorry if I didn't attribute anything where attribution belongs.
Hope it's fun for some (one?) of you
Common beginner mistakes
Person 1
Okay, other then BIG problems such as bland story, poor structure, glaring errors, or bad format what are the most common beginner mistakes?
What little things add up to make you put a script down?
I’ll start:
1) Twisting reality to make the story work. If a character is shown doing "bad" things you can't expect us to pretend he/she is good. If the story is set in real life you must obey the rules of this Earth. We will suspend our disbelief only so much. I read three chapters of a novel once then stopped when the hero got his horse to walk across a rope bridge. Yeah right.
2) Losing continuity in the story. Read pages a while back where a guy was in a ring surrounded by hundreds of screaming people. Suddenly he looks around, he's all alone, and so he makes a run for the door only to be grabbed by a bouncer and tossed back in the ring. Huh?
3) Thinking scenes. Sam sits and thinks for several minutes.
Several minutes is three pages!
4)My personal pet peeve? Unintentional alliteration. Small smiles, big boys, tender touches, mushy moments, etc.
They just stick in my mind and take me out of the moment.
Person 2
in addition to what you've mentioned, here's my list, in pretty much this ranking order [yours coming after]:
1. novel-ish writing excess, instead of concise, clear, screenwriting style in the action element... this is the most common newbie 'sin' i come across in the hundreds/thousands of scripts i'm sent...
2. poor formatting... yes, it does make a difference!... if you want your work to be taken seriously, it needs to look as professional as possible... i won't even read far enough to see whether the story/plot is great or not, if the script is sloppy and/or amateurish-looking...
3. poor grammar/spelling/punctuation... no agent or producer is going to go to the trouble of correcting a writer's basic skills goofs... if someone wants to be a professional writer, imo, they must hone their skills to a professional level before trying to sell or enter their work...
this is, of course, just my own personal take on things... in addition to these and scripter's pet peeves, one thing i come across all too often, that i find hard to deal with is many new writers' conviction that their first, one-and-only screenplay will have some chance to be sold...
i'm accused of negativism by some, for pointing out that it takes years to get good enough at this craft/art to write marketable scripts and that the myth of a writer's first script being sold is just that.. a myth... most don't want to accept the fact that a lot of work and learning and studying and writing go into success in this industry... they seem to think that just anyone can write a screenplay... if that were true, they'd sell for pennies, and not thousands/hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars!
Person 3
"this is, of course, just my own personal take on things... in addition to these and scripter's pet peeves, one thing i come across all too often, that i find hard to deal with is many new writers' conviction that their first, one-and-only screenplay will have some chance to be sold... "
Often, the first screenplay or manuscript written by a screenwriter or novelist is really about the writer. It can be hard for some people to admit that their personal stories may not be interesting enough to make mass sales. These writers are usually convinced that they have the greatest master piece of all time. That's why Ed Hansen, Carlo Padula, and all the other con artists posing a producers can take then in.
Basically, once you finish your first project and get it read and critiqued, it's simply best to move on and write your next screenplay. New writers shouldn't spend undue time correcting first script or two, because the story premise itself may be flawed, not viable.
Person 4
This is not a fault of the writing, but it is still a mistake. A newbie convinced that they can attract top talent to their script, like their favorite actor or director when all they have written is a script or two that hasn't been produced.
Person 5
SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME THINKING ABOUT WRITING AND NOT DOING IT (aren't I just doing that now). That's got to be no 1.
Sending my script out too early - before it was as good as I could get it.
Thinking my script was the most fantastic 100 pages ever written and anyone who didn't want it was either blinkered... or more probably stealing my ideas.
Thinking that cause no-one wanted it that they were saying it had NO MERIT AT ALL. (& even if they were....)
Oh, yeah, and thinking you only have to write one.
Still I didn't do the only 'fatal' thing... I didn't give up...
Person 6
Explaining or trying to justify why an action has been performed.
Ruben hits Jessie across the back with a two by four. Jesse falls to the ground groaning because he's been hit so hard by the board.
Writing fancy. Using big and unusual words instead of keeping things simple and clear. You don't want the reader to have to use the dictionary.
Using a characters full name every time they appear. Intro them with the full name and then choose either the first or last name to identify them in dialog and then stick with that name.
Person 7
How about explaining what a character is thinking?
"Jesse starts to open the door, but stops because he remembers how his mother told him to always knock first."
I think many of the biggest beginner mistakes revolve around not grasping the whole "visual medium" thing.
Person 8
Even with visual thing... you have to take care not writing something that sounds like it'd call for special effects (unless, of course, you are writing a SFX script).
"He smells her perfume as he enters the room."
Huh? Perfume isn't even mentioned before or after the scene...SO HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S PERFUME???
Well, be happy that your script is sold. And any writer who gets produced will need to accept that is work is going to be substantially changed.
The writer is many ways, of all the behind scenes people, is the least powerful.
As for what this director is doing, let him do it. What matters is that he makes a good film.
Person 9
too true, 'bout that perfume thing!... i'll hafta add, 'writing stuff that isn't SEEN or HEARD' as one of the most common and annoying newbie goofs...
when it gets too much like this , try some primal scream therapy... just go out on your balcony or into the closet and scream as loud as you can, till it feels better... it really works... and saves lives!!! [yours and the director's]
Person 10
Points I'm fully aware of, believe me. After several years in the screenwriting game, I figured I'd seen pretty much everything. But this current director is really throwing me for a loop with all his rewrite ideas. And hey, as aggravating as it is, I'm thankful just to have sold the script...and having the very real possibility that it'll get produced this year.
Always remember: A bad day as a screenwriter is still better than a great day as an insurance salesman. (My apologies to all you insurance salesmen out there.)
Person 11
Giving famous people unintentional cameos.
A large storage building filled with shelves. Motley crew unloads wooden crates from the trucks.
Just read that one today!!
Oh me oh my.
Okay, one more
Writing "magic" characters and vehicles that suddenly appear or disappear from nowhere and to nowhere.
{does not apply if your story is actually ABOUT magic.}
They must come from somewhere and go somewhere.
"Since no one in Hollywood gives a f-ck about "we see," writers may want to concern themselves with the factors that the town really does care about: story and craft."
Person 12
1. Message speeches
If you want to send a message with your script ("Drugs are bad"; "Don't let yourself be bullied"; etc.), send the message through actions. A big, messy message speech, on the other hand, turns your script into a sermon. The merits of movies as teaching tools can be debated, but it's better to show what you want us to learn than to tell us.
2. "Brilliant" dialogue.
At best, this is gratuitous dialogue that draws attention to itself, taking the audience completely out of the story. At worst (and most frequently) it's dialogue that's SUPPOSED to be clever, but really is just painful to read.
If the dialogue you write is making you laugh, it's probably bad (especially if you're not writing a comedy), because usually the humor comes in the voice of the WRITER, rather than the CHARACTER. There's always a sacrifice to be made in this case. You should sacrifice brilliance for character; not character for brilliance.
3. On the nose dialogue
People rarely say what they mean, and characters should be no different. This kind of dialogue stands in the way of your script's believability.
MARY
I love you, John. I wish you hadn't left me last year. It was the hardest year of my life. I don't think I'll ever be the same.
JOHN
I know, Mary. I didn't want to leave, but I didn't like the person I was becoming. I think if I'd have stayed, you wouldn't have liked me much either. I needed to take that year and figure out what I want out of life. And now I know the answer: I want you.
MARY
I want you too!
Give me a break! Nobody talks like this! I know it's hard to believe, but if do your work on the rest of the script, this will suffice:
MARY
So...you're back?
JOHN
Yeah. I am.
MARY
You should hang up your coat.
If you've established the situation, the actors and director can handle the subtext.
You have to develop an ear for dialogue, so beginners shouldn't be frustrated if their characters don't sound natural right out of the chute. My advice is to worry about these problems when you're REVISING your script, not while you're composing the first draft. And remember:
What your characters SAY is not nearly as important as what they DO.
Person 13
Oh I hate those big secret reveals:
BAD GUY
Now that I've got you captured, I suppose I can tell you the whole thing before you die. You see, I killed your father and your mother and your brother and I raped your wife and your children and blamed it all on you. blah blah blah... now you know, you can die.
GOOD GUY
Not so fast.
Pow, Pow.
