Contents

4 The Screenwriting Structure Hack that Nobody Talks About 6 Rate the First 10 Pages of Your Script 9 Five Reasons Why Your Script Needs a Paper Edit 13 Top Three Mistakes In Writing Virgin Stories 17 Ten Tips For Writing Loglines 21 Ten Things Every Filmmaker Should Know About Screenwriting 26 What an Ampersand Means in Screenwriting Credits 28 Useful links

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About Raindance

Since 1992 Raindance has been offering advice and support for independent filmmakers. We started the Raindance Film Festival in 1993, and the British Independent Film Awards in 1998.

Most of our year is spent training thousands of new and established filmmakers in all aspects of film. Among high profile alumni are Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins), David Yates (Harry Potter), Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn

– who actually met at a Raindance course. Raindance training is one of the world’s largest catering for over 3000 students per year.

In 2011 we launched an innovative Postgraduate Film Degree with Staffordshire University and the Independent Film Trust.

In 2014 we re-launched our production arm, Raw Talent with the feature Deadly Virtues. 10A Craven Street, London WC2N 5PE Tel: 0207 930 3412 www.raindance.org

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Introduction At Raindance we recognise the plight of screenwriters. Thousands of years ago the ancient prophets understood the plight of screenwriters and inserted a bit of bible code to guide screenwriters in the 21st century: “In the beginning was the word and the word was God” John 1:1 There you have it – a spiritual ordination for screenwriters. All movies start with words. Of course how you write the words will impact on the saleability of your script. I am hoping this handy guide of articles from the Raindance website will offer you useful advice. If on your travels you encounter rejection or success, please let us know. We will learn from your dark moment and rejoice in your successes and shout it from the turrets of Raindance. Let’s write screenplays, Yours in filmmaking

Elliot Grove, Founder

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The Screenwriting Structure Hack That Nobody Talks About By Alex Bloom Having a strong grasp of screenwriting structure is essential if you’re an aspiring screenwriter aiming to break into the business. However, while there’s a ton of theory out there on act breaks, plot points and what has to happen where, there’s not much in the way of practical things you can do to help improve your sense of structure.

This is what I’m going to show you in this post — a hands-on exercise that will put theory into practice and immerse you in how films are actually put together.

Here’s what you do:

Put on a movie and pause it right before the first scene starts. Open up your laptop, bring up a blank document and name it according to whichever movie you’re about to outline. (You might also want to open up IMDb in another window as you’re going to need it for names.)

Hit “play” on the movie and simply start writing what you see. That is, a short summary of each scene as it happens in the present tense. You don’t have to go into major detail here — just type out the basic conflict in each scene and what the end result is.

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For example, if you were writing an outline for the movie Whiplash, you might write the first scene as follows:

“At a top music school, Andrew practices the drums alone. He’s interrupted by an alpha-male tutor, Fletcher, who’s looking for players. Andrew plays for him, but Fletcher leaves unimpressed.”

As I said, we don’t need to extraneous details here, like the fact the camera slowly zooms in on Andrew playing, or that he wipes his brow with a cloth, or that Fletcher asks Andrew why he stopped playing, and then why he started again. Just put down the bare bones of each scene — enough to understand the movement of the plot and that’s it.

It can be helpful to start each scene summary with a place or time, for example, “At a top music school”, or “Outside, Lester and Ricky smoke a joint”, or “At the airport, Max picks up a business woman, Annie”.

Once you’ve watched the whole movie and written down what happens in each scene, it’s time to break it down. Go through the outline and divide it up into three big acts, noting where the end of each act occurs — the break into Act Two, and Act Three. Then, break the movie down into its seven sequences.

As you may know, most Hollywood films can be broken down into seven or eight sequences, with two in Act One, four in Act Two and one in Act Three. This means there are two extra “mini-climaxes” at the end of a sequence in-between the start of Act Two and the Midpoint, and in-between the Midpoint and end of Act Two. (Check out our site for more info.)

By continually outlining and breaking down movies every week, you’ll really get a hold on structure and specifically on how sequences work. I suggest breaking down films in your chosen genre, or if you write in multiple genres, writing an outline in each. This will help immerse yourself in not only the structure of movies, but also in the specific genre conventions you write in.

This is a very simple, yet extremely powerful exercise that will not only work wonders on your sense of structure, but on other aspects of your screenwriting, like scenes, genre and characters. I suggest outlining and breaking down a movie a week and in three months time you’ll really notice a difference in your sense of structure.

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Rate the First 10 Pages of your Script

By Raindance You keep hearing everyone banging on about how important the first 10 pages of your script are. In those few minutes of reading, you are told, whoever is holding your script in their grubby paws will have already made up their mind. No matter what happens in the 2nd act, no matter how wow-ing your finale, if your first 10 pages aren’t mustard-cutters then your script has already been rejected.

Now you can either bitch about the shallowness of the industry, how your work can’t possibly be judged on such a small sample, and probably never sell your script. OR, you can accept that those rules might be harsh but they’re fair, endeavour to make your first 10 pages flawless thus giving the rest of your script a fighting chance

As a caveat: a lot of people are looking for things like “a strong, original, writer’s voice” and of course those things are very important. But we can’t help you with that. What we can help you to do is avoid all the mistakes that instantly flag your script up as amateurish and get it chucked straight into the circular file under the desk.

What we have here is a scoring system – run through the questions below and answer honestly. Better yet, get a friend with fresh eyes to

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run through and answer honestly on your behalf. Tot up your score and find out where you came on our scale of crapiness. 0-7: You’re doing pretty damn well. 7-15: Not too shabby, but a polish should improve your chances. 15-25: Better hope you have a forgiving reader. 25-40: Time to dig out those formatting and screenwriting guides. 40+: Erm, you have a lot of work to do.

The basics

+4 points if the font isn’t Courier 12pt +1 point for capitalizing characters’ names on their 2nd use +3 points for any slugline that refers to anything other than “Day” or “Night” +2 points for any slugline that contains excessive location detail +3 points for any spelling error. +6 points for any Tipp-ex and pen +6 points for any pictures or diagrams +3 points for each camera direction +3 points for each unfilmmable action line (e.g. the room smells of lilacs)

Character introduction

+6 points if it isn’t clear who the protagonist is by p.10 +3 points if the introduction of your protagonist isn’t something slightly special +4 point for introducing your protagonist only by name +2 points for a name and purely physical description +4 points for an over-the-top description, biography or totally garbled untranslatable nonsense +2 points for each named character that doesn’t appear after the first 10 pages +2 points for the 7th speaking character and each one after

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Dialogue

+4 points if there are not any contractions +4 points if not a single character has a distinctive pattern of speech +2 points for every character who speaks in full, grammatically correct sentences +2 points for any parenthetical direction to the actor +4 points for each instance of clunky exposition +3 points for each instance of on-the-nose dialogue

Style issues

+4 points for any paragraph over 5 lines long +3 points for each instance of excessive scene-setting +2 points for utterly gratuitous sex or violence +2 points for each “we see”

Other

+6 points if a non-modern-day set time period isn’t established +3 points if a clear location isn’t established +2 points for the 8th and every extra scene +4 points if there isn’t conflict in the first 2 pages +3 points if by p.10 the genre remains unknown +2 points for each cliché either in dialogue or action

Help is on the way

There are dozens of articles about creative writing on this site. Just click here and start reading!

Want a professional read and critique of your script? Details here.

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5 Reasons Your Script Needs A Paper Edit By Stephanie Joalland

A movie is essentially written three times. Once (many times!) on the screenwriter’s laptop, the second time during production and the third time in the editing room. And quite frankly I’m learning more about screenwriting from editing my first feature film “The Quiet Hour” - a sci-fi thriller taking place in the aftermath of an alien invasion - than from years spent reading and writing scripts, so I can’t recommend enough that budding screenwriters film something, anything, a short film, a scene of their film, a scene of an Oscar winning screenplay, etc. to learn the craft of screenwriting and realize how little text you need to tell a story. Even if you don’t have the directing bug have a friend direct it and sit next to the editor, which will be the best screenwriting course you can ever take. It’s by far the best way to learn about pacing, transitions, and rhythm. You will see how your scenes translate onto the screen and you will become more aware of what works and what doesn’t work.

When I embarked on the journey of directing “The Quiet Hour” after having directed a few shorts I thought my script was as tight as it could possibly be. I had done a stage reading with professional actors, been given plenty of notes, gone through quite a few rewrites, and I thought what I had on the page would be the perfect blueprint for a movie. In many ways it was indeed an effective blueprint as it attracted strong talent to the table and the story is currently shaping up very well as a movie. But little did I know that myself, my talented British editor, Michael Freedman, and my producing partner at Frenzy Films, Sean

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McConville, would have so many story development discussions very much akin to what we do while developing the scripts themselves. And I had no idea that I will emerge from the editing room with a fresh insight into screenwriting that will change forever the way I approach my craft. A stint at the American Film Market in Los Angeles gave me a good excuse to take a break from the London rain and the editing room and I thought I’d use the opportunity to share a few nuggets with you. Here they are:

1. When it comes to dialogue less is more

I’m a visual writer. The whole third act of my movie is pretty much a big visual sequence involving action and gunshots and I don’t write much dialogue but, regardless, once I got to the editing room I realized I still wrote too much dialogue. The trimming started with the actors who intuitively know that “less is more”. And once the rushes land in the editing room the pruning intensifies. Soon enough you realize that one look, one expression can say it all, especially when you are blessed to work with very talented actors as I was (“The Quiet Hour” stars Dakota Blue Richards, who was picked out of 11,000 kids as a lead for “The Golden Compass”, and Karl Davies from “Game of Thrones”).

I did commit a few sins though, hoping to wedge in a tiny bit of expositional dialogue here and there to get across a few basic facts of my science-fiction world. Inevitably, they all had to go and we had to find more creative, and more exciting ways to convey the context of the story. Even a tiny bit of expositional dialogue slows down the film and doesn’t quite work; usually your actors feel it, even if they can’t always articulate it, and somehow struggle with the lines. Just look at “Prometheus” if you aren't convinced and you’ll pick up on a few cringe-worthy moments that stem from explanatory dialogue (especially when they look at the brand new surgery robot).

2. Avoid repetition

William M. Akers who wrote “Your Screenplay Sucks!: 100 Ways to Make It Great” suggests you can only give information once in a script - and that’s very true in most cases. Beware of repetitions. Not only of information, which is an easy one, but also of emotional beats, which might be trickier to spot. It might not jump out at you on the page but it will become painfully obvious on a screen. While editing “The Quiet

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Hour” we realized that the same character walked off three times in an outburst of anger. Needless to say two of their tantrums had to go, no matter how strong the performances were, or how well shot the scenes were. It’s funny, nobody picked up on that at the stage reading because the scenes themselves worked but the hard truth is that three redundant beats created an undesirable impression of déjà vu as the story unfolded. So, the next time around I’ll ask myself whether I am repeating emotional information or not. And if I do the culprits will be nixed before I go to camera. I know that editing is a process and that inevitably scenes will end up in the bin because you can’t predict everything on the page (look at “Notting Hill”, written by Richard Curtis, one of the most brilliant writers of his generation, and how they cut whole scenes at the beginning of the movie because they realized one beat/scene was enough to show the Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant character falling in love, and not the three they shot) but now I have been stung I shall certainly be more vigilant...

3. Don’t assume your scenes are in the right order

It’s extraordinary to realize how much better a scene can become if you alter what precedes it or comes after it. It’s something that really stuck with me when I read “In the blink of an Eye” by Walter Murch (a must read). Basically what he’s saying is that if a scene doesn’t work we tend to remove it or start tinkering with it, while maybe the problem actually lies with the scene that precedes it or comes after it. So the problem could just be that the scene you’re working on should come forward or later in the movie, and not that it should be cut. It might not be obvious when it’s on the page but it’s extraordinary how changing a scene’s location can transform the story once it’s on screen. A scene that drags on might be wonderfully appropriate a bit later. I was lucky, the story takes place over two days so my actors wear the same costumes all the time and I could shuffle up a few scenes for the good of the movie without upsetting the continuity (although as Walter Murch says story and emotion come first and continuity is way down on the pecking order so don’t be too hung up on continuity...). But of course as always it’s better to make the adjustment on the page before you go shoot your movie, and less time consuming and expensive. So from now on I will make sure I shuffle up my scene cards

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for a long time before locking a script as you never know what can happen if you swap something around...

4. Trust your instinct

Funnily enough, all the scenes I feared might be unnecessary ended up in the editor’s bin. You know when you have the nagging feeling you might not need a scene but you don’t cut it because everyone comments on how strong the scene is so you convince yourself you might need that scene. I would suggest you cut them and see if you miss them or not the next time you read your script. You can always add the scenes back in if they are missing. If you don’t miss them, then the odds are it will be the same in the editing room, so it’s best to let go of them before going to the trouble, time, and expenses of shooting them. Next time I’ll listen a bit more to my gut instinct because deep down we often know what’s best for our babies...

5. Put your ego aside with the bigger picture in mind

No matter how tight your script is some scenes will end up in the bin because you’ll realize they slow down the story or are no longer necessary. Editing is a discovery process and your story will take a life of its own and become the beast it was meant to become while the script will gradually recede as a distant shadow of its former self. Don’t be too precious. Don’t cling on to your script when you are editing your movie. As directors, especially writers/directors we are often attached to scenes for the wrong reason. I’m very open to notes on the page and value them but I must confess I have a hard time killing babies that took me a day of my tight 3 week shoot while I had to dash off a scene that was really necessary. So surround yourself with people you trust and listen to your peers. When my producer and my editor both agree that something needs to go they are usually right. The best test being that when I watch the cut a few days later I don’t notice the scenes are gone, proof I didn’t need them in the first place...

That’s it for now! More later after I’ve done a couple of test screenings and discover what I can learn from them.

And if you are editing at the moment watch “Kill your Darlings” by Susan Korda, it will inspire you.

Happy editing!

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Top 3 Mistakes in Writing Virgin Stories

By Kim Hudson

I’m going to tell you something that many in the story-writing world find shocking. Only Hero stories need to begin with a clearly defined goal. Big breath. Virgin stories don’t know where the protagonist will land. It’s about awakening to her inner voice and trusting it. She changes course as she learns more about herself. The Virgin is learning to connect to her authentic voice, her true talent and to make that learning part of her physical world, no matter what other people think or want from her.

1. A story needs a good external driver

A goal is an external driver. Virgins are about their inner driver. Virgin stories need to begin with an understanding of what is holding her back from living her best life, and the cost of doing that. As she awakens to her potential, the world responds in interesting ways, opening doors, revealing new possibilities. The fun part is seeing where this takes her over the course of the movie. It’s a surprise. The key is that she learns to trust her inner wisdom. The ability to stay connected to this inner guide is what counts. Heroes stick to the goal no matter what. From beginning to end the Virgin does not know where she will finish. She knows when she has arrived by how it feels.

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In The King’s Speech, Edward needs to break free of his self-doubt brought on by his childhood programming that he is the inferior son. No one knew his country would need a great leader because a second world war was coming. The key to his transformation was to release him from the painful messages of his worth given to him in his childhood and to hear his own voice in his head. When he awakened to his innate leadership ability he was able to fulfill his destiny and influence the course of history.

In Pretty Woman, Vivian didn’t set out to go to business school or marry rich. She started out believing she was only worthy of bums and made her living proving it was true. The movie is about her transformation to see she has value for being herself and that she can expect other people to treat her with respect as well that important to me what she became or if they got married. I believe she learned she is of value and no matter what she does that growth will guide her. Not clearly defined goal but an awakening to her true worth drives the story. After this shift in self-knowledge a bunch of other things started to fall into place.

2. Story needs mounting obstacles

Crisis, crisis, crisis. Don’t you get tired of people running from explosions and beating the clock? Fear and crisis cause the protagonist to push back against what he doesn’t want to happen. Scarcity of resources, impending threat to the village, an uncorrected injustice that opens the door to anarchy are all Hero’s journeys. In stark contrast, love and joy inspire the Virgin to explore creativity, sensuality and spirituality on her unique journey to understanding that she is worthy of love, that what brings her joy is important, and that she has the right to take up some space in her life and share what she really feels and wants.

There is another world and it is driven by love. Rather than pushing back against what the Hero doesn’t want to happen, the Virgin is pulling good things into her life. A Virgin story progresses through a greater and deeper connection to what she loves and who she authentically is. At the climax there is so much joy that it outweighs the inconvenience it may bring to people, or any self-doubt that she had. Empowerment comes from recognizing her right to be happy and seeing her dreams and talents come to life. It is a recognition of an internal growth that is joyful. It brings the audience to their feet, or moves them to tears.

In About a Boy it is the moment that Will decides he is not an island, he doesn’t want to be an island, and who he wants in his world is

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Marcus. When he walks on stage, the mockery of people cannot hurt him because he knows he is connected to what is important to him. It is what he cares about that matters – not what others think. He even allows the world to see that he cares about music, as he closes his eyes and sings.

In Precious, we see Precious gradually see she is worthy of love. It is this personal growth that drives the story. The story tension is the risk of self-sabotage due to a limiting belief. Nothing will change until the protagonist starts accepting good things into her life and experiencing what it feels like to follow what brings her joy. This experience brings a connection to soul and joy. The tension comes from the temptation to accept a low opinion of self or to let someone enter her world before she have firmly attached to what brings her joy and her right to have it in her life.

Rocky, Fight Club, Little Voice, Nobody Loves Me, Kinky Boots, Her, Brave, and Frozen all pull the story forward by the protagonist developing a connection to who they are. Belonging in their skin.

The driver of the Virgin story is an ever-growing connection to the joy of being yourself. That Marianne Williamson poem that Nelson Mandela made famous captures the essence beautifully.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?”

Joy, authenticity and happiness drive a Virgin story. Not as a reward at the end for hard work and self-sacrifice but an awakening to her worthiness of having what she loves in her life just for being herself. Happiness does not come from an absence of danger and earned reward. It comes from a life filled with gratitude and self-care and the ability to exist in the moment. It requires an internal gaze as opposed to a heads up attitude for incoming hazards. Virgin stories explore the unfolding of this ability to enter the world of love and learn its operating system. My favorite movie is Enchanted April, which does a brilliant job of showing how to move from fear to love as a driver.

3. The antagonist never changes his stripes, evil must be eliminated

The antagonist in a Virgin story will often grow, inspired by his love for the Virgin. In the beginning, the antagonist may feel he is limiting her life for her own good. Or, it doesn’t occur to him that she may have

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different values or needs other than being a pawn in his power games. Once the Virgin is able to make her authentic nature visible and show her shining self, the antagonist sees the value in her dream and gets behind it.

In a Hero story evil is outside of what the Hero values and must be eliminated. The village must be protected from an external threat in order to be preserved. In a Virgin story her change inspires her community to also change. The kingdom was in need of growth even through it did not know it until the Virgin made it obvious through her personal growth.

In Bend It Like Beckham the father is trying to protect Jas from the pain he experienced as an Indian athlete in England. He is not thinking about the joy his daughter feels when she is bringing her talent to life. Once he sees the joy drained from her life because of her compliance to his wishes, he recognizes that her joy is more important than her compliance.

In Enchanted April once the women connect to their way of being, their talent for making connections takes form. They do this by allowing the beauty of nature to replenish them and connect them to their souls and from this empowered place they generate more love. They trust their feelings of joy and this generates joy around them. When the husbands join them they are able to inspire connections in the men to their goodness, and the balance of masculine and feminine power is created.

I hope I haven’t freaked you out too much.

There is another world and it is Virginal.

Kim Hudson’s excellent book

A feminine view of the Hero's Journey told from the other side and the Matriarchal answer to self-discovery and evolving as a Woman in today's world. A deep and powerful tool for self-inspection, this book is sure to help young adults blossom and take their final steps into womanhood and unlocking the secrets of the Divine Feminine.

The Virgin's Promise: Writing Stories of Feminine Creative, Spiritual, and Sexual Awakening

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10 Tips for Writing Loglines By James Burbidge

Loglines are tricky things – distilling 120 pages of script into one sentence and imbuing it with the power to summarise, titillate and intrigue is a surprisingly difficult task. As a writer it can be hard to develop a good logline because you are invested equally in each part of your work – identifying the crucial story elements and leaving everything else out feels like you aren’t doing your script justice. But remember, a good logline is crucial to selling your script; in a covering letter, in a pitch, in the 30 second window you have with an executive when you accidentally meet on the Great Wall of China. That being the case it is vital that you develop a good logline for your magnum opus, something with sizzle and pop, but also, crucially, something that tells the audience what the script is about.

The difference between a logline and a tagline

A logline is a one (or occasionally two) sentence description that boils the script down to its essential dramatic narrative in as succinct a manner as possible.

A tagline is a piece of marketing copy designed to go on posters to sell the film

IE: In space no one can hear you scream (Alien)

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Crucially, a logline contains all the elements necessary for the telling of a good story. It is written for industry professionals to show them that you can create a viable story for the script - a marketing hook alone won't cut it.

One further note that you won't like: A logline is the DNA of your script. If you can't make the logline work, it's probably because the story in your script doesn't work. This is why some people suggest writing a logline for your idea before embarking on the script.

Not sure where to begin? These tips are going to help:

1. A logline must have the following - the protagonist - their goal - the antagonist/antagonistic force

2. Don’t use a character name It has no intrinsic information and so is a useless word. Instead, tell us something about the character.

- A sous-chef - An ex-superhero

3. Use an adjective to give a little depth to that character This is your chance to show some character. Beware of cliché, and also of the power of irony. It's helpful if the characteristic you describe will have something to do with the plot.

- A mute sous-chef - An alcoholic ex-superhero

4. Clearly and quickly present the protagonist’s main goal This is what drives your story and it will drive your logline too. Make sure that the goal is present early in the script - if you don’t make good on your logline’s promise early enough the rest of the script won’t get read.

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- A mute sous-chef wants to win the position of Head Chef at her boss' new restaurant - An alcoholic ex-superhero searches for his daughter

5. Describe the Antagonist The antagonist should be described in a similar, but preferably shorter, manner than the hero. If the hero faces a more general antagonistic force then make it clear that they are battling something, not just life’s bumps and buffets.

- A mute sous-chef wants must fight off an ambitious rival to win the position of Head Chef at her boss's new restaurant.

- An alcoholic ex-superhero searches for his daughter after she is kidnapped by his dementing, jealous former sidekick.

6. Make sure your protagonist is pro-active He or she should drive the story and do so vigorously. A good logline will show the action of the story, the narrative momentum that carries you through the script. In some cases the protagonist will be reactive, but note, this is not the same as passive.

7. If you can, include stakes and/or a ticking time bomb These are very useful narrative devices that add urgency to your script. If they fit in easily, include them in your logline.

- To save his reputation a secretly gay frat-boy must sleep with 15 women by the end-of-semester party.

8. Setup Some scripts operate in a world with different rules to our own and require a brief setup to explain them, e.g. most science-fiction stories. Others have a protagonist whose personal or psychological history is crucial to the story and needs to be explained. Again, be brief.

- In a world where all children are grown in vats...

- Driven to a mental breakdown by an accident at work, an aquarium manager...

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9. About the ending Do not reveal the script’s supercool twist ending, even if it is the next The Usual Suspects. The story, and thus the logline, should be good enough to hold up by itself; a surprise ending should be a lovely bonus found when reading the script. N.B. This all changes when you get to write your treatment.

10. Don’t tell the story, sell the story Create a desire to see the script as well as telling them what’s in it. Loglines are like poetry, every word counts. Tinker, test, and tinker some more.

Bonus If you can't write a decent logline of your idea before embarking on the script, then maybe reconsider writing that thing. If it's unfocused and muddled at the logline stage, it's not going to get any better as you write.

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10 Things Filmmakers Should Know About Screenwriting by Elliot Grove Most people know what a filmmaker does - they make movies, right? And a film producer has the most thankless job of all: he or she builds the movies from the ground up. The film producer's job goes like this: - get a screenplay - get a director and cast - get the money - make the movie - market and sell it - move on to the next project If the process is clear, and the workflow so obvious, why is it that 90% of filmmakers and film producers go so terribly wrong at the very first step: getting a screenplay? I could introduce you to dozens of film producers who would each proclaim what a wonderful eye for material they have. When cornered and asked what they base this on, usually they get lame and respond with something like: "I just 'know' when it's good"' or "kids in America are eating this stuff up right now." The whole secret to a great screenplay is to have a successful story. Most filmmakers and film producers have practically no training in what makes a good story, and fewer yet understand the importance and fragile quality of the relationship between writer and producer. Even more basic is the plain and simple fact that most filmmakers and producers have not a single clue as to how to work with a screenwriter

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to develop the story or screenplay they have just purchased. I could fill this with story after story of my own experiences in 'development hell' listening to the critiques and story advice from under-qualified story analysts and development executives who pass off superficial advice as if it were gospel, and then demand a co-writing credit. I once looked across the desk of a senior British script development executive and saw a 42 page critique on a project I was producing that started off with the words: "Reading this screenplay was most instructive." Imagine the pearls that followed that line! Here's a dirty little secret: writers love feedback - if it is useful. Writers need constructive feedback. If you tell a writer that their "second act story curtain is a little weak" they will have no idea what you mean, or have a clue how to fix or alter their story. Try and be specific with your criticisms. Another common and lame response from a producer will be along the lines of this flaky cop-out: "I don't want to tell you what to write since you are the writer, but..." Successful producers know and understand story and the principles of genre. Most other producers don't. Successful filmmakers make the study and understanding of story and screenplay their primary focus. Most wannabe filmmakers won't at their peril.

10 Things Producers Must Know About Story

1. Verbal Pitches The art of pitching is essentially a producer skill that should be honed and sharpened. Verbal pitches are a great way to browse ideas. Learn to identify potential story problems at pitch stage and see whether or not they can be solved. Often story problems can be resolved simply by re-pitching the story using the 'what if?' approach.

2. Predictable and generic story ideas According to western thought, there are only 7 basic storylines: [wo]man vs. nature [wo]man vs. [wo]man [wo]man vs. the environment [wo]man vs. machines/technology [wo]man vs. the supernatural [wo]man vs. self [wo]man vs. god/religion

All stories have elements of predictable and generic ideas. Your job as a producer is to identify these elements, and then be able to

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demonstrate or inspire your screenwriter to surmount these ideas and take these generic ideas to a place that hasn't been seen before.

3. High concept vs. low concept Low concept films deal primarily with relationships. High concept films do as well, except most film producers get so swept off their feet by the logline of the high concept that they forget that the high concept can deliver just a handful of scenes. It is the producer's job to work with the writer and extend the story beyond the promise delivered by the high concept, and turn it from a set-piece into a story. A good tool to use for this is to focus on the main opponent and the moral tale within the story.

4. Understanding the rewriting process It is completely understandable that the second draft of a script is worse than the first for the simple reason that the writer's awareness of the story are ahead of the actual words he or she is able to put onto paper. A skilful producer will learn to nurture a writer through this painful step and also be able to offer sound advice.

5. Being seduced by dialogue No one can fix a script by rewriting dialogue. Dialogue is the glitter on the surface of a story. Delve deep into the story and assess the storyline weaknesses and focus on reforming these essential elements before moving on to a dialogue rewrite.

6. Understanding character The common flaw of unsuccessful scripts is that the main character does not have a clearly defined goal - a goal that can be measured. There must be a point in time when we, the audience, can see if the main character has achieved or failed to achieve their goal. Well-drawn characters also need to have morals - and these need not be the morals accepted by western civilisation.

7. Understanding genre Most, if not all, films sold in America and Britain are combinations of two or more of the basic genres. Romantic/comedy and action/adventure

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are two of the most popular genre blends. Edgar Wright, my first intern, made Shaun of the Dead work by combining Horror and Comedy with a sprinkling of Love. Writers have it easy - they need to specialise in two or three genres. But producers need to specialise in all eleven of the basic genre forms because their next project could come in any of the genre combinations.

8. Understanding universal appeal

A comedy with local humour will never travel. But a comedy based on institutions or cultural systems can become huge international hits.

9. Surmounting genre and genre blends Learning the different genres and genre blends doesn't make you a good film producer (or a good screenwriter). It simply means that you have joined a cast of hundreds of thousands of sophisticated storytellers with clichéd patterns. The writer's and producer's job is to take these generic story forms and twist and bend them into a shape that no one has seen before.

10. Understanding story structure Story structure is the most unhelpful phrase created in the lingo of screenwriters and film producers. It implies some sort of measure or slide rule that will make your story work. I prefer to talk about the patterns of your story. Producers and filmmakers should study the story patterns readily seen in commercially successful films and learn how these patterns can be replicated. A producer and writer working together on this can be an awesome and inspiring team to see. Remember that a producer doesn't write. Writing is the writer's job. But seeing the bigger picture, and understanding how genre 'rules' can be broken is the producer's job.

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Fade out There is no denying that mastering these ten steps is a demanding process that requires intense concentration and hard work. There are no short cuts either: you either master these points or you don't. The upside is that, if you do master these ten points you will be an unstoppable force in the film industry at a time when everyone is crying how difficult it is.

Elliot Grove’s Book: Raindance Writer’s Lab: Write and Sell the Hot Script

The market for screenwriting books is saturated. Dozens of so-called 'gurus' publish books on story structure, character development and scene analysis every year, and most of them are either useless or say nothing that you couldn't learn by re-reading Syd Field.

This book is different. It includes not only the usual information on the 3 Act paradigm, but alternative story structures. It also includes chapters on pitching ideas and screenplays, writing for short films (VERY useful, since most beginner screenwriters should write a couple shorts in my opinion) and how to get your film actually MADE... basically, it's more about how to BE a screenwriter than how to write a screenplay. And I love that focus, since I aspire to someday make a living out of writing for the screen.

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What an Ampersand Means in Screenwriting Credits By Tekle Baroti I bet not many of you have noticed this little typographical detail in the film credits (I‘m not even questioning if you actually stay for the credits). I am talking about the writing credits and the fact that some of the names are separated with the word “and” or an ampersand (“&”). What’s the difference? Put it simply the word “and” means that writers wrote separately and an ampersand (“&”) designates a writing team.

If only it was that easy. Firstly, a producer presents the final screenwriting credits to the guild and the writers. If any of them oppose the proposed credits, the arbitration begins. An automatic arbitration takes place if production executives (director or producer) are being suggested for the screenwriting credit. If they want a writing credit, they need to reach far greater requirements than others to be approved. For instance, in order to receive credit an original writer must contribute at least one-third of the final screenplay and any successive script consultants - more than half. According to WGA Screen Credits Manual, directors or producers who work on a script must contribute no less than half of the final screenplay to receive credit.

If we dig deeper, credit can be granted for screenplay and a story which is a short treatment of the plot and characters (just like a story). That happens when all writers employed on the script are not equally involved in both. An illustration of that would be credits of a film “From Paris with Love” which say “Story by Luc Besson. Screenplay by Adi Hasak”. If, for instance, an original screenplay is written, abandoned

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and new one is developed, the author of the former one can usually at least share a “story by” credit.

The fun starts when teams of writers join forces to write a screenplay. As mentioned before, when they all work together their names are joined by an ampersand (“&”). When there are two teams, it goes by the formula: A & B... and C & D.... For example, the writing credits of “The Lone Ranger” are “Justin Haythe and Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio”. This also indicates that they worked on the script one after the other. It is important to mention that only three writers can be credited for the screenplay if they all worked on it together and a maximum of three teams of up to three writers can get the credit regardless of how many of them there actually were. Nonetheless, the restriction does not include those credited for characters or story.

Regarding films based on previous ones but not remakes a “characters by” or “based on characters created by” credit is granted.

Finally, considering the use of a pseudonym. If a writer requests one well in advance, there is no problem. However, the Guilds may refuse a pseudonym if it diminishes the value of the film or if it is used to make a statement. An example of that could be screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski who wanted to change his name in the “Crusade” series (“Babylon 5” spin-off) credits into “Eiben Scrood” (“I been screwed”).

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Useful links

Script Format Guide Screenwriting courses at Raindance London

Free Screenplay formatting Software

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