Is It True That Looking At Your Own Script Makes You Go Blind?

Dear Screenwriter,

You know writing is hard. You've probably found that selling your writing is double, triple hard. You love your script. You've spent days, weeks, months even, making it as good as you possibly can. But when you send it out no-one seems interested. You get nothing back. Maybe a short note saying "Not for us". Maybe just a coffee stain on the front cover. Certainly no-one ever wants to buy the thing.

A couple of those experiences can knock your confidence. You start doubting yourself. Maybe you don't have it in you to be a writer? Maybe it's all an inside game, and you have to be connected to even stand a chance?

Well, the truth is that the limited slots for production mean there just aren't that many hours of drama being made compared to the number of writers who want to break in - which does make it a fantastically competitive field.

But there is also something else going on, because there are many, many writers who work regularly, loving what they do - and making EXTREMELY good money at it.

And remember, when they began they were ALL on the outside, lobbying to be let in!

So What's Their Secret? How Did They Do It?

Attitude helps. Good attitude, that is. You have to be cheerful, you have to be accommodating. You have to accept that making TV and making a movie are team games. Contacts help too, I won't pretend they don't.

But you know what? Contacts can get you in the door. Good attitude can get you called back for the next time. But the thing that really marks you out, the thing that has people queuing round the block to commission you, is simple. It's your ability to deliver a very, very, VERY good script.

Is Your Script As Good As It Could Be?

You've got to be brutally honest with yourself. You get one shot with most people. That means you should NEVER send out something you know isn't quite finished in the hope someone will see the potential and help you work it through.

If you don't believe your screenplay is the absolute best most fantastic thing you can do, well, you're sunk.

No-one will look twice at you - you need to hook them first time out of the box.

To do that you need a script that gives the reader goosebumps. A script that moves the reader to laugh, cry, fear, feel terrible sorrow and great joy.

Sounds tough. How on earth do you get to that point?

Only the gifted handful can do it, right? Definitely might as well give up, right?

Wrong.

If You've Got It In You, I Can Show You How You Start Getting It Out.

The right advice is priceless for every writer, because Writers get blind.

For days, or weeks after you have written a scene, you can't read it without experiencing the emotions you had when you wrote the scene. These emotions aren't produced by the words on the page, they are produced by your remembering writing the words on the page

That means that you genuinely can't judge the writing on its own merits until some time has passed. It may be days, it may be weeks or even months sometimes.

This multiplies up, of course. Over the course of writing an entire screenplay you get so close to your work you stop being able to see the wood for the trees. Here's the killer. Without a good time away from your script, you genuinely can't tell whether it is any good.

You simply don't whether your script is working or not.

Worse still - if you do have an inkling that something is wrong, you can easily go round and round in circles, obsessing over little details that just don't matter - and completely missing the 5 ton African Elephant that is planted in the middle of their script and is CRUSHING your story.

That's where a script editor comes in.

A good script editor will to point out the problems that you are too close to notice. As well as show you the problems you never knew were problems.

A good script editor will hold a fine lens up to your writing so you can see it clearly - along with everything that's wrong with it that stops it connecting directly with the reader's heart.

They will give you advice on structure, trimming redundancies, how to add texture, colour, balance, tone, warmth, humanity, and all the qualities that make a script truly memorable.

I’ve Been Both A Professional Screenwriter, And A Professional Editor Trying To Find A New Writer For My Show.

I’ve been writing for 25 years, but I had my first break as a trainee BBC Script Editor in London back in 1995. I worked as a Script Editor for the BBC and ITV for the next five years, doing full terms on several big popular mass market shows such as Casualty and The Bill. I also did long periods of development script editing for the BBC and World Productions, a multiple Bafta winning top indie production house.

In 2000 I moved into writing full time. You can check me out out on www.imdb.com if you want full details of my produced work, and behind the scenes I've been commissioned to write scripts and treatments for many different shows and most genres of television drama over the years. (Including recently "Trial & Retribution" for Lynda la Plante, and two episodes of the new Doctor Who spin-off show "The Sarah Jane Adventures".)

When I work on your script with you it's my job to make you concentrate on the questions you must answer, and the problems you must solve, in order for you to find the best version of your story, to make your screenplay so good it will give the reader goosebumps, make them laugh, make them cry - and make them BUY.

My job is to get YOU that much closer to giving up YOUR day job.

Will You PLEASE Get On With It???

OK, OK! Forgive me. I got excited for a moment.

Your way forward will depend on how committed you are to your writing.

Let me take you through your options.

The First Ten Pages Report

When I started out, the idea of junking a script without reading all of it would have seemed ludicrous - and almost immoral. I’ve known professional writers take 20 pages to get off the ground in a first draft. But times have changed. Many, many of the studios and the agents in the USA currently, and openly, operate a system whereby the first 10 pages have to impress, or the script gets rejected. The BBC Writers Room, one of the only ways into the BBC these days, does the same thing.

I don’t agree with it in principle, but, you know, the BBC alone deals with over 10,000 scripts a year. They HAVE to employ some crude tools to bring that pile down to a manageable level.

This means you could have the best script in the world, but if your first ten pages don’t convince, then people will simply never know about it.

I’m offering you that initial feedback.

The deal is simple. You send in the first ten pages of your screenplay. Plus your outline for the rest of the script.

I read the first ten pages, and then I decide whether you’ve managed to hook me - or whether if I were sitting there with a growing pile of unsolicited scripts I’d be itching to drop it and move on to the next hopeful.

Then, and only then, I'll read your story outline. If I see you have made obvious mistakes, or, by a simple rearrangement of what you've got I can make massive improvements to your opening, then I'll suggest what I see.

I’ll write you a couple of pages of notes giving you my reasons. It’s impossible to be specific about what will be in these notes, as every situation will be different, but be assured, I’ll be thorough.

YOU NEED TO SEND ME:

The next option is:

The Readers Report

This is the sort of process your script will go through whenever you send it in cold to a studio and it lands on the desk of one of those fiendish Script Readers.

Obviously I'm going to bring my own tweaks to it, but it's essentially this:

I pick your script up, and read it once. I go away and think about it for a while. I make a few notes to myself. I browse through it again. I write a one or two page report on it which includes the following elements:

Logline. This is a one or two sentence attempt to summarise what I have read in a way that will do the essence of the story justice. It’s the script in an absolute nutshell. It’s not a marketing aid, it’s not (usually) the sharpest high concept sentence, but it should boil down all those 100 pages into what actually happens.

Summary. Two or three paragraphs to summarise the story at the heart of the script. The lead characters, all the major events, obvious act breaks, and so on. This apparently pointless process (you wrote the thing, you know what the story is, right? Well, actually possibly not.) is actually a truly revealing process if you do it right. It uncovers just how strong the thread of story at the heart of the script (the 'spine') actually. (Trust me, scripts without a spine generally don’t get made.)

If something in the script isn’t part of this spine, then it tends to get left out of this summary.

This stage can be quite shocking, as you can find pages and pages of beautifully written dialogue melting away as clearly having no place in your story.

General comments: This is another few paragraphs where I give my entirely subjective take on the quality of the script, the quality of the writing, themes, tone, pace, generally how well it’s working in its own terms. (If I were working for a studio this is the place where I might flag up how well it matches the studio’s current strategic targets, but I’m not, so I won’t!)

Recommendation: The verdict. Do I advise the studio to reject this outright, or do I advise them to give the script further consideration?

YOU NEED TO SEND ME

For those of you who want the quick answer to: ‘Can I write, or should I go back to the day job?’ this might be the best option.

But then there is:

The Two Draft Consultancy

Now we’re getting serious. This is a much more detailed affair. This is a little slice of the real development process. It’s much more open ended, and involves real back and forth communication between you and me. It’s very much aimed at people who are really committed to their writing, and who are prepared to go the extra mile to get to a vastly improved version of their script.

You start by sending in your full screenplay. Any length you choose, though I recommend it’s over 60 pages of standard format - if you are going to get the full benefit you ought to be aiming at a movie length story.

I read it. I think about it. I read it again. I break the story down into its beats. I write those up, I divide them into plots, and sub plots, and see how they all play out.

I think about it some more, work out where it’s going well, where it’s not happening, where it works on its own terms, where it could do with cutting, or nudging sideways, or more story developing, or clichés removing.

I write up a mass of notes. Pages of the things, moving from general assessment of all aspects of the writing and the story, down to more detailed notes about where the story races along, where it flags, where it sparkles, where it’s as dull as river water and crucially, suggestions for you to think about to fix all this.

I mail the notes to you. You read them, and hit the roof. How can I be this stupid? How can I have missed the point so fundamentally? Why am I trying to turn your script into something you never wanted it to be?

If you feel like it, you email me and say ‘OK, Gladwin, I want to talk.’ I call you at a time of your convenience, and go through the notes and explain why I’ve written what I’ve written.

After a while you calm down, and you start thinking, ‘Hmmm, that Gladwin, he’s got a point. In fact he’s got several. Dammit…’

You start to really think about the points I’ve raised and suddenly you get what I mean. You start to see your script from the viewpoint of the fresh reader. You start to see just why you weren’t doing your brilliant idea real justice, how, in fact there were quite a few holes, how your perfect structure was falling into pieces behind your back.

And, crucially, you start to have brilliant new ideas on how to fix the holes and strengthen the structure…

You do a rewrite. Taking as much time as you need. Coming back to me for more advice as and when you need it. Emailing me as much as you like.

Eventually you finish. (Within one year - my one restriction on the process.) You send it to me again. And the whole process starts again.

I read it, break it down, think about it, write my notes, and fire them back to you.

Hopefully the structure is working better now, and the notes are more about niceties of plotting, plus trims, nips, tucks, comments on your dialogue, notes on formatting, layout, etc etc. All the notes that you should get when you are getting closer to having a finished version.

I mail this second set of notes back to you, you read, rage, digest, speak to me, hate me some more - and eventually come round. We say goodbye, and you’re free of me and free to set to work on your third draft, this time secure that this third draft will be immeasurably closer to being a professional product.

YOU NEED TO SEND ME

Time limit one year between first and second submission.

And then, finally, there is:

The Full Script Consultancy

This is the ultimate Gold Standard, for someone who has total commitment to their chosen path of being a screenwriter. This is a full immersion process, with no limits on access.

It’s the same process as the two draft report above, except that there are no restrictions on how many drafts you do, and there’s a two year cut off point. (Any more, and this isn’t a writing project, this is a lifestyle choice!)

Simply put, I’d be in this with you for the duration. Our goal would be to make your script the very best it can possibly be.

The one thing is, this would be a very involved process, so I would need to know that I can really help you, that I felt in tune with your writing and what you were trying to do - and that we were both happy we could have a working relationship.

Therefore I’d need to read your script, and we’d need to talk before you paid any money to me, and before I took the commission.

If you’re seriously interested in this, then the first step would be to email me and we can arrange a time to talk. (I’ll call you when it’s convenient.) If you like what you hear, then you’d send me your script.

I’d read it, and get back to you within a couple of weeks with an opinion on whether I think I could help you.

At that point we can talk more about how we would structure the work, whether it might even be possible to meet, and generally how best to proceed. (I do travel to consult, but I’m afraid you’d pick up the tab for the fares and the accommodation.)

What Does It All Cost?

Finally, the bottom line.

That's quite a price. Especially for the more high end services. Are you thinking you might be better off without?

If you’ll excuse me, let me tell you a bit more about how I failed utterly as a writer for an entire decade.

Back in the mid 1980’s I sold the first short story I ever completed. It was runner up in a big national competition. Bang. Just like that. I thought I’d got it made.

Over the next ten years I spent all my spare time writing novels, short stories, the very occasional poem, an even more occasional film script.

What happened? Fame? Fortune? Yeah, right. I sold just a handful of short stories.

No more than four.

In ten years!!

So something was going wrong. I had talent (well, I thought I did) but I clearly didn’t know how the heck to apply it. I even started wondering whether that short story had been a fluke - a real life version of enough monkeys hitting enough typewriters.

I read all the books I could find, I went on several dubious courses locally, I joined local writers groups, I made all my friends read my writing till they started changing pubs to avoid me.

I still didn’t sell any more.

Mid nineties I was about to give up on the ambition of writing for a living when I lucked into a free seat on the Robert McKee story course.

For three whole days I sat there scribbling notes while light after light came on in my head.

It was a turning point. It was my Road to Damascus, whatever you’d like to call it. Having his expert analysis and deeply experienced understanding of what was really going on under the skin of a screenplay started me thinking. If you ever get the chance you should definitely go and hear him talk.

But you probably can’t get to see Robert McKee that easily - most likely you’d have to travel thousands of miles, and he doesn’t lecture terribly frequently. And even then you wouldn’t be getting the one-on-one attention you’d be getting from me.

You see, even after seeing him talk, having it all made clear, it still took me years to put the pieces together enough on my own to make my first script sale. Losing my bad habits and gaining good ones without anyone I trusted to bounce off felt like trying to make an ocean going oil tanker do a 90 degree turn.

I did it in the end. And look, if you keep trying, you too can do it on your own. A lot of people do.

But just how long have you got?

Are you prepared to risk months, or YEARS of your life on a trial and error proces with no real map or compass through all the wrong turnings?

Or do you want to cut through the nonsense and get a professional opinion and guidance on your writing?

If you are ready to order now then just scroll down to the Order Here box below.

Important - If You're Still Undecided

If you're serious about wanting to know how to write better screenplays, but have still not ordered, you could well be hesitating for one of the following reasons.

Reason #1: Price, Price, Price. It's just worryingly expensive. And you can get similar sounding things round the corner for just a few dollars.

Now, is the service expensive, or is it reassuringly expensive?

When it can take several days to do really detailed work on a script, would you really expect me to charge any less?

Or would you really respect me if I did?

If you find someone working for a few dollars an hour, well, what could that say about the level of experience they will be bringing to bear on your script?

Look, if you don't have that kind of money to spend, I can absolutely respect that.

For many people writing is a pleasurable hobby, and they are not that serious in the long run.

But if you do have have the serious intent, and you do have the money, and you're hesitating because you don't know if it's worth it, all I can say is that learning from an expert can take years off your learning curve.

What's that worth to you?

Reason #2: You somehow just don't believe you can make it as a screenwriter. That's for the other guys.

Every screenwriter I've ever met has been different. Different social background, different age, some have no education, others have loads.

Some have a solid instinct for story, and the right ideas flock to their fingertips - and some (like me) struggled for years to put the pieces together before it all fell into place.

The point is you too can feel that moment when the light goes on - and it could be nearer than you think.

Reason #3: You don't believe there can possibly be a magic wand that can simply improve your writing.

There are definitely some people who should NOT buy any part of this program. No offense, but if any of these describe you, well… you probably shouldn’t be on this web page.

You CAN Be A Better Writer!

This isn't a fairy story – all sorts of people make it as working screenwriters. The studios are crying out for writers – but only those writers who can write a good script.

This is an opportunity for people who are serious about their writing. It’s for people who are prepared to expend serious time and effort on challenging their old patterns of working, and who are prepared to realise why what they have been doing hasn’t been working.

That realisation can be difficult – in fact sometimes I can’t think of anything more difficult – but, for those that stick with it, the rewards can be immense.

If you are willing to put in the effort to deal with the more challenging aspects of growing as a writer without giving up and walking away, then I’m MORE than happy to help you!

Order Here Just click on the button below the service you want to order. It will take you to Paypal's secure servers, where you can use major credit/debit cards or your Paypal account. Once you've made your order just send me an email to let me know you've paid, then sit back and relax. You're on the program. I'll email you very soon afterwards to say hello and get some details of your script so I know what I'm expecting when it arrives.   First Ten Pages Report - $110   Readers Report - $397   Two Drafts Consultancy - $1,800 (1st payment)   Full Consultancy: Email to Arrange an Initial Discussion   If you've got any other questions you'd like answering about any part of this program just send me an email.

To your writing success!

P.S. I started working for the BBC drama department back in 1995. It's been a great ride since then, working in the television industry - mostly incredibly fun, sometimes intensely frustrating. Whatever is going on, being a screenwriter really is endlessly engaging, endlessly emotionally rewarding - and how many jobs can you say that about?

I give thanks for that, and I hope that through this coverage I can help some of you move that bit closer to your ambition.

I look forward to talking to you soon.

P.P.S. Here's just a few of the Frequently Asked Questions:

'Will I receive real honesty about my work no matter how bad?'

Yes, you will. There’s no other way to proceed. I will never be destructive for the sake of it, and I will always point out the good, but if I think something isn’t working, I’ll tell you.

'Every screenplay is different. Are you applying just one method to them all? How can that work?'

Every script, and every writer, is different, with a different set of challenges. Each situation demands a different approach. I fully appreciate that, and I have the experience to make it happen.

I've seen other sites offering a list of the items they will cover for me. They promise to grade my script on very specific things like Characterisation, Number and Quality of Story Twists, Genre Adherence, Act Structure, Audience Appeal. Why don't you do this?

I thought about this, then I was reminded of something that happened early on my career. It was my first ever real development editing gig, and I was handed a project called 'Captain Pheare'.

The writer was a guy called Steve Shill, a very interesting and extremely talented guy. I absolutely loved his script - it was a Victorian super hero action adventure comedy, at a time when this was a very fresh idea. I loved it, the bosses loved it, and we all had high hopes of it going into production.

Then some focus-group-script-analysis-committee-group thing within the BBC got hold of it, and scored it along lines like the question mentions.

I forget the details, but basically they judged it in a load of categories, totted them up, did some sums, and the pilot script scored something like 72% when it needed to score 75% in order to 'guarantee' an audience.

BBC policy at the time mean that this crazy scoring system outvoted all the experience of all the drama department guys, and, despite all our love for this show, Captain Pheare got canned.

So was the point scoring system right?

Well, I see Steve has been writing for David Milch's utterly sensational HBO show Deadwood lately, and directing the equally marvellous Sopranos and ER. Funny; I may be mistaken, but I don't see any of the guys who came up with that point scoring system up there doing that.

(Sorry Steve, if you are reading this. Still gets me going, that one!)

'Is there a process of discussion, to arrive at mutual decisions?'

In the more advanced levels, very much so. Proper editing is a process of interaction to arrive at the best possible way of solving your very unique problems. But I’ve included options for those of you who just want a sounding board. If that’s you then you will be able to get the quick Yes/No answer about your writing you need.

'Would I get fairly quick feedback?'

I expect to get all feedback out to you within four weeks of receiving your script or your treatment. In some cases it will be quicker. To some extent it depends on how busy I am on my own writing.

'What must I do to get the most bang for my buck with this opportunity?'

You must have an open mind. You must be prepared to hear opinions which you could find unpalatable. You must be prepared to listen, really listen, to what is being said, and trying to understand the reasons for it.

Being able to take a critique without crumbling is critical to moving forwards.

I know only too well how it can hurt to have people tell me that something I worked long and hard on, had actually fallen in love with, isn’t working. It can feel brutal.

But I learned long ago that blind defence just doesn’t work. I learned that checking my ego in at the door was essential.

A bad editor will try to get you to change something because they want to make their mark on your script, whatever the cost to you.

A good editor will keep one eye cocked on the demands of the producer and the audience, while trying to do their utmost to work out what YOU are trying to do, and try to help you get to a place that satisfies all three.

I’m a good editor.

'Would you look at partial screenplays to see what would need improvement?'

In general, no. It’s almost pointless to give notes on a partial script. More to the point, I only want to work with people who are serious about writing, and who understand that this is a very, very tough discipline. One obvious measure of your commitment is whether you have finished an entire screenplay. I will look at whole screenplays, or whole treatments, only.

The only exception to this is the First Ten Pages component to the program, and that has a very specific job. For more on that see below.

'Would discussion be entered into after the event? That is, would you be prepared to clarify your comments (either by email correspondence or phone conversation)?'

Yes. You must feel free to come back at me if there is anything I have said or written which you don’t understand.

'Would I be able to 'upgrade' the consultation (ie: after having a 'lesser' consultation would I be able to take a more in depth one on the same work for a reduced rate?)'

It’s a possibility. It depends on how I see your script, whether I think I could help you any more, and on the workload the program develops for me.

'How do I deliver my manuscript to you?'

The easiest way is for you to email it as an attachment. File formats I can work with are Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, Word for Windows, PDF, Rich Text (RTF) and Open Office.There may be more - if you're not sure then mail me and I'll see what I can do.

Or if you didn't mind the extra hassle you print it out, and send it direct to me at my office, as if you were making a real submission to a real studio or a real agent. The advantage of this is that it would help me identify any immediate and obvious presentation errors. You know, the gold embossed covers and photos of the primary locations that people love to slip in.

'Will I keep entire ownership of my script, or will Screenwriting Goldmine acquire some rights over the project by virtue of having contributed materially to its development?'

The project will remain entirely yours, and I’m happy to confirm that any benefits that accrue to you as a result of this program will be completely yours alone. It’s my job to make your writing better, and the one off fee covers the work I do on that in perpetuity.

Will you find me an agent, or otherwise help me market my script?

Ahh, no, I'm sorry, I can't, and I won't. That's a whole different area of the forest, and one I'm not remotely equipped to deal with. You're going to have to do that yourself.

But it should be a heck of a lot easier with a good script!

Order Here Just click on the button below the service you want to order. It will take you to Paypal's secure servers, where you can use major credit/debit cards or your Paypal account. Once you've made your order just send me an email to let me know you've paid, then sit back and relax. You're on the program. I'll be in touch directly to say hello and get some details of your script so I know what I'm expecting when it arrives.   First Ten Pages Report - $110   Readers Report - $397   Two Drafts Consultancy - $1,800 (1st payment)   Full Consultancy: Email to Arrange an Initial Discussion   If you've got any other questions you'd like answering about any part of this program just send me an email.