Check Out This Collection of Brian Koppelman's 6-Second Screenwriting Tips
Want some quick writing lessons? Is six seconds short enough?
Gather around the campfire, kids, and I'll tell you about a platform called "Vine" that came and went, where people would upload six-second clips that made you laugh or educated you.
I had Vine for one reason. I wanted to be a screenwriter, and there was a professional who dropped screenwriting knowledge in six-second clips named Brian Koppelman. I went to film school and paid a lot of money for the same lessons Koppelman was dropping for free. They taught me a lot about story and brevity, and were the highlight of my writing education.
Well, Vine tragically left this streaming earth, and it was a real bummer. I wanted to revisit those lessons, and there were times I thought I could have used the wisdom. Well, I was scrolling Reddit this morning and saw that user taylor-hamilton had compiled almost all of Koppelman's six-second advice into a PDF of info.
I am publishing the first 10 here, but there are hundreds more if you check this post.
Check Out This Collection of Brian Koppelman's Six-Second Screenwriting Tips
- All screenwriting books are bullshit. ALL. Watch movies. Read screenplays. Let them be your guide.
- "Write what you know" works, but it’s limiting. Write what fascinates you. Write what you can’t stop thinking about.
- The so-called "screenwriting guru" is really the so-called screenwriting conman. Don’t listen to them if you don’t know their movies.
- In what I thought was the beginning of a serious, heartfelt convo, I told my dad I wanted to be a writer. He looked at me and said, “You wanna write? Write.” Still the best advice.
- Calculate less. Don’t try to game the market. Write what you want to write. And drink plenty of coffee.
- Of the many supposed rules of writing, the only one that’s legit is "write every day."
- There’s a whole industry of bunko men who say that writing needs to be learned at some course. Don’t believe it.
- The moment your screenplay leaves your hands it becomes a commodity. So while it’s with you, treat it like a piece of art.
- Instead of reading screenwriting books, read about your subject. The subject that fascinates compels and interests you.
- With writing gurus, it’s all about the HOW. How do I write this? What writers should think about is WHY. Why do I need to write this now?
Check out the whole list here!
What's your favorite bit of advice? Let us know in the comments.