Writing for the Green Light

by Scott Kirkpatrick

  Persistence is about big-picture thinking and not sweating the small stuff. It’s about accepting that some days you will attempt to write and feel like every idea is a cliché—it’s okay, that’s part of the process. It’s about being realistic that there has been and never will be a perfect script—all of them have flaws, even the ones from the best screenwriters in the business, so take the pressure off your shoulders. And the beautiful part about persistence is that it’s okay to make mistakes, just as long as the needle is moving in the right direction.

  Taking the initiative to pluck something from your imagination, committing yourself to putting that concept into motion, and seeing the results of those efforts in the form of a completed work is one of the most rewarding experiences you can ever hope to feel. It is that sense of accomplishment (and empowerment) that drives successful individuals forward, toward the next project and the next one after that. And from this persistence derives success. Be passionate about what you write and love what you do—because if you’re not, no one else will be.

  A Little Self-Motivation

  No one on this planet will make you write today (or tomorrow, or even the next day). And it’s not anyone’s job to do so… . It’s your job to move that needle on your own. One of the things that’s universally true about writers is how damn independent they are. They crave that absolute freedom of space and time to explore projects on their own. But what separates the successful writers from the unsuccessful ones is getting the job done.

  The hardest part of accomplishing anything in life is simply starting. Not the physical aspect of starting, but the mental component. Without absolute commitment you will struggle with any objective you set yourself out to achieve. But picture it all just like a movie in your head… . Start with your goal (the resolution) and simply map your way backwards to where you’re sitting right now. Think about all the ups and downs you might pass through along the way. Think about all the crazy Hollywood characters you might meet (and all the amazing ones too). Think about the times you’ll feel ecstatic and on top of the world… . And think about the times you’ll feel beyond beaten and broken down. You will feel all of these emotions when setting out to accomplish any goal in life—at least any that are worth going after. (If the goals were easy, where’s the challenge?) Think about the story of your future and how you (the protagonist of that story) might deal with each of these moments … the good times, the bad, and the completely unexpected. Keep working your way backwards, past the ten page point decision, past the theme on page three, all the way back to exactly where you’re sitting right now.

  Look around you. Consider where you are at this moment, what’s happening in your life, what situations you’re in the middle of (work-wise, relationship-wise, and even financially). The smells, the sounds, everything. This is your page one. Get up and go look in the mirror. That face you’re staring at is your protagonist. How are you going to get them from page one to success at “The End” and “Fade to Black”? Doing the same things you’ve been doing? Or taking a chance and approaching Hollywood in all the ways no one else ever taught you about by building a portfolio of gold-mine genre-type scripts?

  There is only one thing left for you to accomplish your goal … to start it. Get started writing today and don’t stop. And when you’re finished, you might just meet someone like me on the other side (a business guy, looking out for writers to fill only one selfish need, to write the very scripts we need written to keep the Hollywood machine in motion… . Because I can tell you point blank that we sales reps and distributors in Hollywood are absolutely desperate for writers who can deliver gold-mine genre-type scripts—and so few writers actually write them!!

  I’ve said all I can for this lesson, so I hope you’ll go back to that project sitting on your desk (or the one simply bouncing around your head) and now actually apply it. Now, go get to work, cause I have a big slate of movies that need to get made next year and only half of them have finished scripts.

  I wish in film school they actually taught about the kinds of writers we need in the professional working world of Hollywood, because we’re desperate for them! And I hope that you’ll now get to work, with a slightly more authentic breakdown of how you can get that first phase of your career into full swing.

  Appendices

  For me, nothing works better than real-world examples. And, just as important as it is for your writing education to get your hands on actual film and TV scripts in addition to just reading how-to books, the same holds true later in your career when you enter the phase of selling your work and commissioning your talents—seeing samples of what to expect will help immensely.

  What follows are three of the most likely types of forms/documents that will be associated with your work during your professional journey: (1) Script coverage, used by readers to analyze and judge your work, (2) the Non-Union Writer-for-Hire Agreement, used when your writing services are being commissioned by a third party, and (3) the Option/Purchase Agreement, used when your actual script (or other submitted materials) are being licensed or acquired by a third party as is.

  Please note that I am neither a lawyer nor a legal professional; this section is simply meant for educational and informative purposes only.

  For each of the following samples, I have kept only the look and style similar to the real-world examples on which they’re based… . All of the text I personally wrote—in layman’s terms—to explain what each paragraph actually means and how such overly wordy language applies to you. Although the terms, formats and structures of these three documents might differ from one company to the next, the general headers and parameters outlined within each of the following are pretty “cookie-cutter” across the business.

  There is no need to let legal documents or agreements intimidate you; contracts are an integral part of the Hollywood landscape and you will encounter many throughout your career. Even though they might seem intimidating at first, in time you will be able to negotiate many of these agreements on your own (with confidence). But when starting out, always feel free to seek out a lawyer to assist. He or she can help you simply review and understand the basics of the agreement, or you can always hire one to negotiate the deal on your behalf. And never feel embarrassed about asking a knowledgeable friend for advice before signing anything.

  Appendix I

  Script Coverage

  It’s not that decision-makers in Hollywood don’t want to read spec scripts; they just don’t have the time! Their schedules are booked solid, their inboxes receive hundreds of urgent emails each day, and—to be frank—there’s just too many poorly written (non-gold-mine genre-type) scripts clogging up the system.

  Be that as it may, these busy Hollywood professionals absolutely value talented writers (and want to find them), but with all of their attention pre-allocated at the start of each workweek, there’s little time to start hunting. To make their jobs more efficient, they hire readers to handle this chore for them. Readers take all those piles of blindly submitted spec scripts and review them one-by-one. They break down each script, summarizing the overall story while highlighting its pros and cons. They’ll then type up their notes into a generalized summary, which is commonly referred to as “script coverage.”

  Although script coverage is discussed in many screenwriting books, it’s rarely broken down in a way that gives a novice writer true insight into how “the other side” (readers and their executive bosses) receive and evaluate the coverage of a submitted script. And unlike many other documents and forms dealing with the writing side of Hollywood (e.g., letters of intent, option agreements), any coverage drafted in reference to a spec script you’ve written will most likely be off limits to your eyes. However, that’s not to say that you don’t have a strong amount of influence in how the coverage of your script is ultimately drafted.

  We discuss earlier in this book the concept of making the job of the reader easier, specifically because their analysis of your script is crucial in how your
work—and you as a writer—are seen by Hollywood’s decision-makers. Even though you will most likely never meet the individual who will cover your script (nor will you have any control over their level of experience or capability to perform the task at hand), if you’re able to make their job easier they will be better able to relay the positives of your spec script when they draft its coverage—which will give you that much needed boost to get your work noticed.

  What follows is a sample of script coverage, broken down in a way that gives you true insight into how the indie development team on the other side might see your future work—after it’s gone through the filtering hands of a reader first.

  Script Coverage Form

  TITLE: [Spec Script Title] PAGES: [Number of Pages]

  AUTHOR: [Your Name Here] DRAFT DATE: [Date on Script]

  SUBMITTED TO: [Development Exec.] ANALYST: [Name of Reader]

  SUBMITTED BY: [Your Name Here] GENRE: [Gold Mine Genre Type]

  SUBMISSION DATE: [Date Received] SETTING: [Recurring Location]

  IN BRIEF: Here the reader generally invents their own logline for your script. Occasionally they will reference the logline you’ve crafted (from your cover letter or cover email), but only if you’ve phrased it in a way the truly nails the commercial style and feel of the film. More often than not, the reader’s opinion of what your script is about will be completely different than how you’ve been pitching it, but nevertheless it’s their opinion that will be summarized here. This “In Brief” section is generally the first block of text a development executive or producer will read; if they don’t see a fun concept with commercial value expressed clearly within this summary block (high concept with a hook), they won’t continue reading. Although the reader’s interpretation might be far from how you envision your work, it’s preferable to let them pitch it in their own way… . After all, they know what their boss is looking for!

  (Rated on a 1–10 scale)

  SCRIPT: CONSIDER WRITER(S): RECOMMEND

  PREMISE: 7

  PLOT STRUCTURE: 6 CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 4

  PLOT DEVELOPMENT: 3 CHARACTER MOTIVATION: 3

  CHARACTER DESIGN: 7 DIALOGUE: 5

  SYNOPSIS: The synopsis in spec script coverage is boringly detailed. It reads exactly as a treatment would (i.e., in the present tense, limited quotes or dialogue blocks); it’s simply a line-by-line breakdown of what the script is about in a very matter-of-fact tone. Every time a CHARACTER (Age, Description) is introduced in your screenplay, the reader will list them in detail here.

  The synopsis generally contains 250 to 500 words, which means it averages about 2–3 pages in length. But in that we’re not covering an actual script here, we’ll use this area to breakdown the basics of the overall script coverage form.

  First, check out the block of text at the very top of this sample form… . Can you see how meticulously your script is broken down from the get go? Note that it’s not just the title and author details being listed, it’s everything. This is why it’s crucial for your script to have all the right parameters in place before it enters the marketplace. For example, one of the sections asks for the number of pages. If your page count is coming in way too high or low (even with high rankings for plot, character, and genre), a development exec might just place this document in the trash and never give it a second thought. Sound harsh? Think about it from their perspective for a moment; development execs have dozens of coverages to skim through (in addition to yours) that will have the right number of pages, meaning they won’t require additional work to expand or reduce the scripts. Even with high rankings, a script with too many (or too few) pages screams out “too much work” for it to make sense.

  Also take note of the “Draft Date,” where the date stated on the submitted script is listed. Many newbies like to place their dates of completion on the title pages of their spec scripts. I would advise against this. Placing a completion date on your title page can quickly age your script and make it appear old. Decisions in Hollywood are made at a notoriously slow rate of speed… . As your script gets more and more dated, development execs will (rightfully or wrongfully) wonder how good it could possibly be if no one else has picked it up. (I offer producers of finished films the same advice, to not list their titles too early on IMDb or to cover their poster art with too many festival notices; both of these can unintentionally devalue their work and make it appear older than it might actually be.) Leave the date off. In the coverage, if there’s no “Draft Date” listed, the reader will simply leave the section blank or place an “N/A” in its place.

  Moving on to “Genre,” although the reader fated to analyze your script might not list the gold-mine genre type with the same wording used in Chapter Two, they will be indicating what your film is about in this space (which, if you’ve followed Chapter Two’s advice, will clue in your potential development executive that there’s something worth checking out in the synopsis). Add in a witty, “on-the-money” title that represents your script’s hook, and you’ll see results. Remember our example of a family Christmas dog adventure film titled Santa Paws? … Adorable.

  Once you’ve coupled together a gold-mine genre-type script with an “on-the-money” witty title—that also has the right number of pages and lacks an aged draft date—any development executive will most certainly skim down to block #3, which outlines your reader’s ratings of your work.

  Block #3 is truly the selling point because this is where the reader sells you and your abilities. Notice how both the script and the writer are listed, and that each is worthy of its own unique score? It’s completely possible to have a pass associated with the script, but a consider or recommend for the writer. In addition, there are the numbers ranking other aspects of the script following a one through ten format (with ten being the best). Check out the numbers used in the sample above (which are based on an actual, blindly submitted, yet acquired) spec script. Does anything jump out to you? (This wasn’t an anomaly; I based these numbers on a recurring trend I noticed with spec scripts that received high rankings with regards to several readers’ opinions of the writer)… . The scripts that moved forward had high rankings for “Premise” and “Plot Structure.” The other elements (i.e. dialogue, character motivations, and even plot development), could all have medium (or even low) rankings, yet the writer’s talents were still seen as quality. Why is this? Because (again) it’s very rare for readers and development executives to receive scripts that truly nail what it is they need! The premise and plot structure fill this void; great characters (although a must in your scripts) will not sell you or your work by themselves.

  As a writer, it’s of the utmost importance to constantly improve and develop your talents. But there are legitimate aspects of your efforts that can “move the needle” even if other aspects of your work are only seen as “good” (or even “average”). Again, focus on the gold-mine genre-type scripts and really put your emphasis into the concept of your film. Even if your dialogue is a bit too “on the nose” or your characters are a bit too one dimensional, you can still see results that propel you as a writer forward.

  Incidentally, I found numerous examples of legit coverage that had high ranks for original characters and sharp dialogue but that lacked concept or had a genre that was too far off from the sellable zone. Not only did these scripts receive a “pass,” so did their writers …

  Make your reader’s job easier and the rewards will pay off.

  COMMENTS:

  The “Comments” section (or sometimes, the “Notes” section) of the coverage is where the reader essentially makes an argument leaning one way or the other regarding both your spec script and your writing capabilities.

  By this point, the development executive has (more often than not) already made a decision about whether or not they’re going to read your script, but they’ll generally skim this section to get a sense as to why the reader made the comments he or she did (and hone in on a few points such as why they defended your premise yet n
oted your plot development as seemingly weak).

  If you’ve made the reader’s job easier (and you’ve offered an entertaining read in the process), they will generally praise your work here and give you a subtle push into the “consider” or “recommend” direction. This section is not only about your work, it’s also about how your work seems to fit within that particular production company’s overall corporate culture. Are you writing material—or could you if your talents were commissioned—that could mesh with the types of films that particular company produces? That question will be answered here (even if not directly).

  It’s not uncommon for an inexperienced reader, out looking for the next “epic” indie hit, to oversee the value of a gold-mine genre-type script. They might spit out a large essay on how the intellectual concepts of your gold-mine genre-type story are clichéd and dull, or that you’re way too invested in the commercial (rather than the conceptual) aspects of cinema. Let them; if these words were ever used against you, in the eyes of Hollywood’s decision-makers and gate-keepers (the ones responsible for making the decisions based upon a projected return being made for any monies spent), being an overly commercial film is a good thing!

  Although you may never lay eyes on any script coverage drafted regarding one of your scripts, it is a vital document for the life your spec script sees within a production company. You will most likely never meet the reader who drafted coverage of your script (and you will most likely never see the actual coverage with your own eyes), but what type of script you write (and how much effort you put into making the job of the reader and potential line producer easier) has a major influence in how that coverage will be written—and, thusly, how it will be seen by those receiving it further down the decision-making line.