Screenwriting Tips... You Hack

What They Think

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:29:07 -0800

Hey, remember that time I started a script notes service? Remember how I said I didn’t have any fancy quotes or testimonials yet?

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Click over to the new Testimonials page on the Hack Notes site to see what customers have been saying about the service.

Remember, Hack Notes gives you 3-4 pages of quality, constructive notes on your draft for only $60 — comparable to the lowest prices on the net.

Screenwriting Tip #176

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:18:07 -0800

It’s not a good idea to start a new scene with the word ‘Meanwhile’.

Screenwriting Tip #175

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:18:00 -0800

I don’t need to know your female character’s cup size. Seriously.

Screenwriting Tip #174

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:50:00 -0800

“As you know, Bob…”

If Bob knows it, Bob was there when it happened, and Bob’s not suffering from amnesia… why is your character reminding him?

Screenwriting Tip #173

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:33:52 -0800

‘EXT. THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING - DAY’

Uh… you know what ‘EXT.’ stands for, right?

Screenwriting Tip #172

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:26:00 -0800

If your script’s a comedy, please have at least one joke on Page One. Otherwise you’re like the stand-up comedian who opens his routine by coughing nervously and asking how everybody’s evening is going.

Screenwriting Tip #171

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:08:04 -0800

Fight the temptation to add eye-rolling, pacing, standing up, sitting down, coughing, fidgeting, folding arms, etc. to your conversations.

White space is King. Let the dialogue breathe.

Screenwriting Tip #170

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:15:22 -0800

This is the opposite of organic: Your protagonist looks out the window and notices something that reminds him of his childhood, causing him to start blurting out his backstory to whoever’s standing nearby.

Screenwriting Tip #169

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:16:44 -0800

Script titles that will get you on the Black List:

Bizarre place names.

Sex-related puns.

Something that sounds like the title of a Jonathan Lethem novel.

Anything with swearing in it.

Welcome

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:48:00 -0800

And just like that, I suddenly have a bunch of new readers. If you’re new here: Hello and welcome to the show. A few points of interest…

These tips are presented with tongue firmly in cheek. As the warning label said, they’re for novelty purposes only. The point is not to ridicule or offend anyone — on the contrary, the intent is to make better screenwriters out of all of us. That and make fun of bad spelling.

Every couple of months, I run a ‘Guest Posts Week’ during which I post tips from anyone and everyone who sends them in. It’s a ton of fun. But you don’t have to wait — if you’ve got a great tip, go ahead and send it to the email address at right. I’ll save your witty advice until the next Guest Post Week.

Are you the sort of writer that likes to gather notes and feedback between drafts to improve your next rewrite? Or maybe you just finished a first draft and you need advice on how to take it to the next level? Then you might be interested in Hack Notes, my script notes service. Hack Notes is all about cheap, honest, professional screenplay notes. Check it out.

Got questions or suggestions? Why not click on through to the comments section and introduce yourself?

Screenwriting Tip #168

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:47:56 -0800

Real people don’t talk to their reflection in the mirror, unless they’re self-obsessed or slightly unhinged.

Screenwriting Tip #167

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:22:11 -0800

What your spell checker can’t tell you is that ‘peaked’ and ‘piqued’ are not synonymous.

Screenwriting Tip #166

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:59:33 -0800

‘EXT. DESSERT - DAY’

Yeah, that’s not good.

Screenwriting Tip #165

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:43:17 -0800

When you write ‘All hell breaks loose’, what you’re actually saying is ‘I couldn’t be bothered to write real action lines here’.

Screenwriting Tip #164

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:05:25 -0800

The trend of character names in comedy titles is over. Or maybe I just pray it is.

Screenwriting Tip #163

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:07:34 -0800

Unusual character names are great. Unusual character names that nobody is sure how to pronounce are NOT great. Your readers will keep tripping over them.

Screenwriting Tip #162

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:11:33 -0800

Honestly, it’s not THAT hard to spell the word ‘rogue’.

Screenwriting Tip #161

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:16:52 -0800

Imagine you were an actor, and you had to say these lines. Which ones sound weird or ridiculous? Which ones sound like cliches when you say them out loud?

Screenwriting Tip #160

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:04:27 -0800

No need to put (beat) or (pause) into the dialogue because you think it’ll sound nice — the actors will have their own ideas. Parenthetical beats work best for suspense or timing-dependent jokes.

Screenwriting Tip #159

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:45:54 -0800

You can’t just tell us there’s speech coming from the radio, or the TV, or some character in the background. You have to actually write the dialogue.