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February's Buzz:

HOW TO MAKE A READER LOVE YOU

You've worked hard on your story and characterizations (perhaps with the help of the Script Nannies), but there's still more you can do to win over the producers, agents and story analysts who will be reading your script. The following simple tips will demonstrate that you take your writing seriously, and this will make your reader take you seriously as well.

1) Proofread.

A script filled with typos suggests that the writer did not care enough about his work to check for mistakes. You would not (hopefully) send out a script covered with spaghetti sauce stains, crooked photocopying or missing pages, yet typos give an equally sloppy appearance.

2) Bind your script professionally.

Three-hole punched paper, bound with two brads, is the standard way scripts are presented. A cover is not necessary, but it can protect your script. However, use only lightweight paper covers that bend easily. Don't permanently bind your script, put it in a loose-leaf notebook, hold it together with a binder clip or send it out loose in a manuscript box. Any of these non-standard uses will make you come across as an amateur.

3) Give characters different sounding names.

On the page, names are the key distinguishing characteristic. For example, a script in which all the characters' names begin with M (Margaret, Mark, Mike, Martha, Mary and Matt) is the writing equivalent of casting the movie with a roster of actors who all look alike. It makes it difficult, especially at the beginning of the story, to remember who is who.

4) Don't create cute or difficult to pronounce names or places.

Try not to invent character names that are cutesy such as the name of a famous person or a nonsensical word that even a linguist couldn't pronounce. Even in fantasies and sci-fi thrillers, the characters' names need to be easy to understand and repeat, such as Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca, as well as catchy. The same goes for whatever planets or colonies you create. Remember, a reader not only reads your script at least once, but they usually have to write a synopsis and type your characters' names over and over.

5) Use a standard font.

Courier 12 point is the expected font for a screenplay. Tiny fonts, odd fonts, fancy fonts and illegible fonts call attention to the typing rather than to the story, and prevent the reader from becoming quickly engaged.

6) Don't direct the movie.

Unless you want to give up important space that could be used for developing the story and characters, and don't mind taking the reader out of the magic of your story, don't clutter the script with camera angles, shot descriptions and other directions. Don't number the scenes. Even if your screenwriting program does it automatically, find a way to take it out. The cleaner the page, the more meat it will have and the faster it will read.

7) Don't cast the movie.

Suggested cast lists at the beginning of a script label the writer as an amateur. Similarly, it is unwise to describe a character as being a "Tommy Lee Jones type" for instance. First of all, this would alienate any actor who is not Tommy Lee Jones. It also makes your character come across as generic rather than unique.

8) Don't be vague.

If the story is to be set in a Midwest town, for example, you don't have to wait for the location manager to determine the exact spot. Either choose a real town that you know well enough to describe, or create a fictional one with specific details. Although the setting may change once the film is made, it is important to make the story as real and involving as possible for the reader now.

9) Avoid description chunks.

Long passages of text slow the pace of a script to a crawl. Breaking the action into several paragraphs, with double-spacing in between, creates rhythm and a sense of forward momentum. The easier the description is to read, the less likely that a harried reader will just skip over it.

10) Avoid dialogue chunks.

In general, it is best to keep dialogue as short as possible, in order to avoid coming across as stagy or static. However, there are times when monologues are called for. These are much easier to read and digest if broken into smaller segments. You can do this by inserting the reaction of another character, or by describing an action, activity or gesture by the speaker.

11) Watch the page count.

Unless it's an historical epic, keep the script as close to 120 pages as possible. Scripts have gotten shorter in recent years, with the average length being about 110 pages. There are definitely stories where more pages (or fewer) are called for, but in general, a romantic comedy that is 150 pages long is too long. Readers are notorious for flipping to the back page first, to get the page count, and a long script will result in an immediate sense of dread on the part of the overworked reader.

12) Don't address the reader.

Writers sometimes include little jokes, winks and asides to the reader within the description of the script. This does not endear the writer to the reader; it only breaks the reader's concentration and takes him or her out of the story.

13) Don't write in verse or a strange, made-up language.

Unless you're Shakespeare, avoid using rhyme or verse, even if the characters are in an historical drama or fairy tale. It's okay for when the plot calls for a potion or spell, but it's difficult to be clear or clever all of the time, and the fanciful dialogue will distract a reader from your story. Also, for fantasies and sci-fi thrillers, steer clear of creating a new language. George Lucas was able to pull it off in the STAR WARS movies, but on the page, gobbledygook languages will only confuse readers and give them a headache.