The Top Five Critical Mistakes Most New Screenwriters Make

Don’t Let Silly Mistakes Brand You as a Newbie

So you want to be a screenwriter. You know you’re a good writer and you start daydreaming about writing film scripts — the big deals, the parties with celebrities, the L.A. sunshine…once the Hollywood bug bites you, it’s almost impossible to exterminate.

The truth is getting your script read is extremely difficult, but if you do, there are newbie mistakes that will land your script in the trash and stop anyone from reading your work again. Fix these 5 errors fast:

1 — Writing what can’t be filmed.

This is the biggest mistake brand new screenwriters make. Once you think about it, it makes sense, but for book authors and blog writers, some screenwriting rules aren’t immediately obvious. Never write, Bob didn’t like Sally or Sally decided she needed new shoes or Sally thought she didn’t like Bob. Why? None of those sentences can be filmed.

While it’s best to leave specific camera shots to the director, there are ways to show internal thought processes that CAN be filmed. Sally looks at Bob. Bob: “Sally is there something wrong?” Sally smiles and looks away, then she looks back, glaring at him. The audience knows something’s up; the idea that Sally and Bob don’t get along…