Script coverage: a checklist to RECOMMEND – Part 1

Script coverage: checklist to RecommendScreenplay “coverage” and “analysis” tend to be used interchangeably, but there’s one key distinction:

  • Script coverage helps producers make business decisions; whereas,
  • An industry-level analysis of your screenplay helps you improve material before submitting to producers and screenwriting contests.

Additionally, coverage reports actually are more objective than subjective; therefore it’s important to understand how your writing affects coverage and the steps you can take to get your screenplay recommended to producers. Continue reading “Script coverage: a checklist to RECOMMEND – Part 1”

How to rewrite and improve the script

You’ve heard the phrase “writing is rewriting,” and that’s particularly true for screenplays and sitcoms because your goal as the writer must be to entertain, and the whole point of the rewrite is to shape your script into one that maximizes the Continue reading “How to rewrite and improve the script”

After the preliminary script reading: Rewriting the screenplay for the better

Well, after listening to the 22-minute audio recording of the script reading of the sitcom I’m developing, I came to two cruel-reality realizations:

  1. I can write better; and,
  2. I can direct better.

No worries, though, because, well, there is no spoon. Continue reading “After the preliminary script reading: Rewriting the screenplay for the better”

How to write a sitcom (step #4): Delivering the snappy dialogue

Andy Kaufman, Danny DeVito from TaxiSometimes it’s tempting to start pounding out dialogue for a scene before you’ve fully plotted the story or thought about core character traits, but such hastily written dialogue quite often is the worst thing screenwriters write — at least during the first draft anyway — because the goal of the first draft is to finish a first draft, not to have in hand a refined industry-worthy screenplay. But it’s okay, because dialogue easily can be improved simply by Continue reading “How to write a sitcom (step #4): Delivering the snappy dialogue”

The importance of specificity and decisions for the writer

Well, as I write this I’m thinking, “George, you have a [expletive deleted] script to finish,” but specificity and decisions are top of mind for me now, so I feel compelled to address these critical issues that are key Continue reading “The importance of specificity and decisions for the writer”

Write what you like and who you know

Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie HallOne of the best ways to learn how to write a screenplay is, yes, to just write one, but if you’ve never written one before, it’s easy to get derailed by the debilitating thought, “what should I write about?” Just write the film or TV show you want to see, for you’ll naturally be drawn to the genre that interests you the most, which, in turn, Continue reading “Write what you like and who you know”

The value of a script reading and how easy it is to do it

There’s no greater sense of accomplishment than, after months or perhaps even years of toiling over your script, you get to type those magical words: “FADE OUT.” Your characters have said what they have to say. Your plot has Continue reading “The value of a script reading and how easy it is to do it”

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