Five Things to Avoid When Screenwriting

Hello to all my fellow writers this post is for you. Screenwriting can be an exciting journey, and it's filled with surprises. I'm a screenwriter myself, and I'm working on my second script right now. I've had a chance to read many screenplays, and I started to notice some things you want to avoid. I'm not a professional screenwriter, so please take these suggestions with a grain of salt.

Lifeless Characters

Many screenplays I read they start out with a character doing something. This could be anything from shooting someone or just taking out the trash. The problem is when you have a character the audience needs more back story on him or her. You want to avoid placing a character in a story without much explanation. It's really confusing when the main character is killing people and you don't know why. Try to put a flashback or an explanation in there to make the story seem more believable.

Too Much Explanation

I know I just said in the previous paragraph to explain, but don't go overboard. If you've seen the movie Inception, you'll notice most of the movie is exposition. The characters rarely interact with each other. I thought the premise of the movie was fantastic, but the dialogue could be better. If your story requires the characters to keep explaining things, chances are the idea might be too complex. Tone it down a bit with the high concepts, and focus more on the story. Many writers will have a great concept, but they will overlook the basic mechanics of screenwriting. Less is more.

Script Length

The length of your script is very important. The people in Hollywood are very busy, so you have to make your story short and sweet. The ideal length is between 90-110 pages. No more or no less. If you do go over you can expect to have some pages cut out. If you story goes over the page limit, it means that something is wrong with the script. It could be too much exposition or scenes that go on too long. Which brings me to my next point.

Long Scenes

A scene length is everything in a movie. It sets the overall pacing, and when done correctly it can make a 2 hour movie feel like an hour. A scene should be between 1-3 pages. I've seen some movies go in the 10-15 page range for one scene. This is entirely too long. You are risking boring your audience. Condense what you need to say into 1-3 pages. Not only is it better for your audience, it also makes it easier for people who read your script. You want your script to be a page turner, and not a snooze fest.

Dream Sequences

I'm sure everyone is familiar with this one. The it was all a dream that most screenwriters use as a crutch. If you can try to avoid anything to do with dreams in your script. This technique is overused in the industry, and it makes you look like an amature. Instead of dream sequences just put the the scene in real life. If your character dreams of killing another character, just put it in the movie. I'm sure you can find a clever way to work around it.