Marvin V. Acuna

Christopher Vogler (CV) and I conducted a wonderful tele-seminar a few weeks ago, it was great fun.

We had a stimulating Q&A session. However, due to the abundance of questions and the limited time we were unable to take and respond to everyone’s questions on the live call.

But, I promised everyone on the call that they would get their specific question answered and emailed to them directly. At this point everyone has received their individual response from CV.  Cool, right?

Well, it occurred to me that it may be beneficial to share some of it with you so I have randomly selected and posted a handful of the screenwriter’s questions and CV’s response here.  Enjoy part 3 of 4.

My hope is that it serves you.

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Suzanne-Muncie, Indiana
When you have limited funds and you know that you have an exceptional
script, what is the best way to get it into the right hands?

CV:  Do your homework.  Figure out who the critical people would be to
get your project made.  Who’s the ideal director?  Studio to release
it?  Actors to play the leads?  Find out the names and addresses of
their companies from sources like IMDB.com or the invaluable Hollywood
Creative Directory that lists all the major players.  Make your wish
list and send out query letters saying “Would you like to read a
terrific screenplay about X?”

Carmen Cifuentes-N. San Diego
After 11 months of research, writing and rewriting with a professional
coach I finished my script. It is a modern romantic comedy. An
executive at Overture says it’s high concept and wants a ‘dialogue
rewrite’. While concept is my strength, dialogue is my weakness. What
do I do? Dialogue writers are too expensive (thousands of dollars).
Please advice. Thank YOU.

CV:  You’ve been thrown a challenge.  Sounds like you’re going to have
to make a collaboration and find yourself someone at your level who
has the necessary skills.  You kind of have to turn into a producer if
you don’t feel confident growing a new brain as a dialogue expert.
(This could take years of study and practice to make any noticeable
change if it’s not your strong suit.)  You’ve got qualified
encouragement there so it’s worth some effort.  Can you get involved
in a local writer’s group and approach the best dialogue writer in the
group about a collaboration?

Amy-Irvine
In your opinion, what are the three biggest mistakes screenwriters
make? And do you have any recommendations on how to best avoid making
those mistakes? Thank you!

CV:  1.  Beginners sometimes overexplain and spend too much time on
introductions and details of backgrounds and action.  Solution:  Give
your writing a clean shave – go over it one time with one question in
mind: What can I do without?  You’ll be amazed by how much better it
gets when you start throwing stuff out.  It will read faster which is
a great selling point.

2. Beginners sometimes don’t differentiate characters enough.
Everyone sounds the same, and most often they all speak in the voice
of the writer.  Solution:  Make sure each character has a distinct way
of speaking that reflects something about his or her personal history
and attitude towards life.  Some people speak in incomplete sentences,
some people run on and interrupt themselves, some people use a big
vocabulary and colorful expressions while others are blunt and
literal.

3. Some writers fail by losing sight of their main theme, or perhaps
they don’t really know yet what the story is really about.  Solution:
Ask yourself “What is the one word that describes what I’m writing
about?”  It should be some basic human emotion or drive, like Love,
Trust, Betrayal, Loyalty, Friendship, Ambition, Terror, etc.  Make
sure every scene in your script somehow expands our understanding of
that single word, your theme.

Mark-Los Osos
Do you put any stock in scriptwriting software that seems to draw on
your book for inspiration? And If you don’t have an agent or known name, what will get you noticed so that someone will read your script? I have a fantasy rom-com that has been optioned. A known director likes it, but says it isn’t quite “studio ready”. Is this some kind of code? What should I look for and change if I don’t receive notes?

CV:  First, Not personally.  All the software I need is inside my skull.  But
hey, it couldn’t hurt if Vogler-inspired software helps you formulate
a thought.

Second, a truly great script that makes people excited enough to want to
tell somebody else to read it.  There is no other secret.

Lastly, it means he saw some good features in it but can’t see himself
sticking his neck out for it.  Trust your instincts on this one – you
can usually “smell” what it is that shot you down.  Something struck
that director as too corny or far-fetched, too underdeveloped, too
esoteric, or too much like other projects floating around the studios.