Reading bad scripts makes me want to cry..

Question

I'm learning how to critique scripts here.

It's awful, because you feel bad for the writer, and also because you're forced to run your brain over that stuff - not just the first ten pages, but the whole thing. The writer is in the room with you, so you have to be stoic about it. oh man.

I want it to sit up and sing to me, every time.

==

You have no idea what pa

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I'm learning how to critique scripts here. It's awful, because you feel bad for the writer... Oh man.[/nq]
Think of yourself as a high school teacher critiquing student essays. Display the problem in a nice way, and suggest options of how to fix it.

Branson Hunter That's your job...

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]It's awful, because you feel bad for the writer, and also because you're forced to run your brain over that ... whole thing. The writer is in the room with you, so you have to be stoic about it. oh man.[/nq]
Ah, that's what you're there for. Break their hearts and feel good* about it! After all, it's a dog eat dog world. A little encouragement and they could be taking *your job!

I do know what you are talking about. Sometimes it's really hard to say what you really think. But you can say things like -- "maybe I'm missing something here, it could be too subtle, but 13 pages of two women talking about their cats flatulence may be a bit too many -- unless I'm missing something.

-- RonB "There's a story there...somewhere"

Usenet · Answer

I'm learning how to critique scripts here.

It's awful, because you feel bad for the writer, and also because you're forced to run your brain over that stuff - not just the first ten pages, but the whole thing. The writer is in the room with you, so you have to be stoic about it. oh man.

I want it to sit up and sing to me, every time.

==

You have no idea what pain is.

At one point in my life I was doing coverage for William Morris, and not only had to cover screenplays which, at worst, was around 120 pages of agony, but also book manuscripts, (often unpublished) which could be any length of ****.

You think it's **** to read ten pages of a screenplay that are utter **** and know that you have to read another hundred or hundred and ten pages?

Try reading five pages of a manuscript and know that it's utter **** -- and know that you've got something on the order of 560 pages left to go.

The funny thing is -- if you ask me now what the **** that 565 page so-called book was about -- I couldn't even begin to tell you. I think it was some science fiction-y thing and it was intended to be the first part of a trilogy (aren't they all?) -- and then memory thankfully fails.

NMS

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]You have no idea what pain is. At one point in my life I was doing coverage for William Morris, ... it was intended to be the first part of a trilogy (aren't they all?) -- and then memory thankfully fails.[/nq]
I can only imagine the pain, because I've found myself with those feelings while doing credit arbitrations on films that actually made it through the production process. I'm pretty picky these days, but I use to let myself get stuck having to read multiple drafts from 6, 8, or more screenwriters, in addition to that 565 page novel that served as source material.

As I said, this is with stuff that got made, so I'd hate to think what it's like with submissions that came in over the transom!

Ken

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I'm learning how to critique scripts here. It's awful, because you feel bad for the writer, and also because you're ... it was intended to be the first part of a trilogy (aren't they all?) -- and then memory thankfully fails.[/nq]
I'm surprised you would finish a manuscript when you can tell right away that it has no chance of being published. What's the point? Out of respect for the writer? I think it's great and would like that kind of treatment for the material that I submit but I have a feeling that most manuscript readers don't read the entire manuscript on a regular basis unless they think what they are reading has the potential to ultimately be published, or, in the case of a screenplay, produced.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I'm surprised you would finish a manuscript when you can tell right away that it has no chance of being ... think what they are reading has the potential to ultimately be published, or, in the case of a screenplay, produced.[/nq]
I'm showing off my ignorance again, but I believe that Neal had to read the whole manuscript because he was being paid to write coverage for it. I'm not even completely sure what "coverage" is -- but I'm guessing that a synopsis of the story is a part of the process.

-- RonB "There's a story there...somewhere"

Reading bad scripts makes me want to cry..

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