'Don't Show Your Parents' and More Advice About What to Do With Your Screenplay

screenwriting karl iglesias film courage video 3 tips
In this video from Film Courage, writer Karl Iglesias explains the three things that every new screenwriter should do with their finished script.

Congratulations! You've got a finished script. What a huge achievement. Now, don't let it become a paperweight. Karl Iglesias, who's been a screenwriter, script-doctor, consultant, and, recently, author of 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, has a lot to say to you in this video from Film Courage. Although Iglesias argues that "a screenplay is never finished," we've put three of his top tips below for what you should be doing with your newly finished masterpiece. (And here are a few recent posts about screenwriting you might find helpful.) 

1. Make connections

Iglesias advises screenwriters to show your work around (informally, at first) as much as possible, collecting as much feedback as you can. But, once you're "only getting positive feedback," it's time to take that script into the real world. As far as making connections goes, Iglesias advises against query letters, being of the opinion that "word of mouth is far more important." He advises writers to get out and circulate, "because it's all about recommendations. An agent will read your script if it's recommended by someone they trust." And a key part of making connections is getting feedback that these connections bring. But, unfortunately, "a lot of writers are too sensitive to feedback," and this is a sure-fire recipe for failure. 

2. Contests, contests, contests

If you are a more introverted writer, or ones who is just "not the type" to self-promote (what a cruel paradox, that writers are often the least likely to self-promote, when it's arguably the most vital skill set they can possess), Iglesias advises you to enter as many contests as you can. But not just any contests. The competitions that get attention from reputable connections are likely to be the mainstays, i.e. The Academy Nicholl Fellowship and The Sundance Writer's Lab; still, though, if the script isn't any good, it's not going to help. "When I was in development," he says, "we used to read certain winners" from mainstream contests. But the script had to be good, and he is a firm believer that "the cream rises to the top," and a good script will be impossible to ignore. 

"Word of mouth is more important than query letters."

3. Have faith that the cream rises 

For all the rigamarole and advice associated with filmmaking, it seems like William Goldman's dictum still holds true: "Nobody knows anything...Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work. Every time out it's a guess, and, if you're lucky, an educated one." Citing the example of Alan Ball, Iglesias notes that sometimes, near first-drafts (like Ball's breakthrough, American Beauty) can make it onto the screen and into the history books. In the end, the important thing is to try, and fail, and try again. "Put yourself out there. There's reading services. Classes, consultants..."

But, and perhaps his biggest rule: Never show your work to your family. Why? "You will get good feedback," and that's not what you need. "Don't show the script to your mother. Of course she'll tell you it's the greatest thing." Now, these may seem like simple lessons, but often it's the most basic points that writers need to hear, and hearing them from a successful scribe like Iglesias might be the shot in the arm you need to get out there and promote your screenplay in the right way (or even just get out there at all.) Every step counts on the way to the silver screen, so it stands to reason that you want to take as few missteps as possible.      

Your Comment

12 Comments

I don't know.
I think my mother would think my current script is weird, LOL.

April 14, 2017 at 5:31PM

24
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WalterBrokx
Director, DOP, Writer, Editor, Producer
9977

Thanks for sharing this video. It helps me know what should I do in order to finished script.
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April 15, 2017 at 1:13AM

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Hi..Friends
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April 15, 2017 at 3:08AM

6
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Sanjeev Sisodia
Director
79

I don't know much about script writing but I think it might be like writing software. you get your masterpiece app done and you think it's great. You've tested everything you can think of then you give it to a user and they immediately find a bunch of bugs or an important missing feature. Having different eyes on your material is important because you might have developed tunnel vision and be missing obvious flaws.

April 16, 2017 at 5:15PM

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Anton Doiron
Creator/Filmmaker
1052

Wow. cool post. I’d like to write like this too – taking time and real hard work to make a great article… but I put things off too much and never seem to get started. Thanks though. common rail come from sensor

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October 19, 2017 at 3:27AM

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Yeah, I totally agree with what he has said here. You should not hide this screenplay you have completed around the world. If you need to know the right feedback about the screenplay, you have to show it around and ask for their thoughts on the same.
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October 15, 2018 at 8:58AM, Edited October 15, 8:58AM

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July 12, 2020 at 1:00AM, Edited July 12, 1:08AM

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January 21, 2022 at 9:17AM

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