Screenwriter Corey Mandell recently sat down for a conversation at Film Courage, where he talked about the mistakes that he most consistently sees new writers make. It’s a fascinating conversation with a lot of great points.
Let’s talk about a few of them, and also one or two of my own points that I’ll try to articulate as well as him.
Writing Without Individuality
This is a great one, but it’s also a tough pill for writers to swallow depending on when in their journey they first hear it. You can be the most talented writer in the world. A master of structure, character growth, naturalistic dialogue, building of suspense, the whole nine yards. However, what separates the good scripts like these from the great ones is the sense that the writer is writing a story in a way that only they could do. We’ve always heard that writing needs to feel personal to you. That’s absolutely true, and you’d be surprised how much heavy lifting this does when it comes to someone wanting to get to know you and to get familiar with your work.
Writing Only With the Intent to Sell
‘Lady Bird’Credit: A24
This one kind of goes hand in hand with writing with individuality. A lot of really great writers will start to seek out what’s trending, or what’s selling like hot cakes right now as a way to get their foot in the door. It may seem like a smart advance on the “one for them, one for me” sort of mentality that many artists have adopted over their career.
The secret trap that this creates is sometimes the loss of that individuality we already talked about. The relationship that a writer has with reps, or producers, or anyone that can make their career happen in the industry depends so heavily on timing. You could have the most sellable script in the world, but if the timing isn’t right, you’re still going to get passed on. This is why it’s still important to remain true to your own interests while working. Even if it’s the most unsellable script known to man, if it’s something truly substantive that the right people read, the more interested they will be in your future career, and being proactive about following up with you if the time is right for something else.
‘Tools, Not Rules’
This one might be my personal favorite. I’ve been a script reader for a long time, and in my experience, there are two really common types of scripts. There’s the type that relies so aggressively on formula, tried-and-true structures, and general instructions on “how to write the best script” that you find in something like Save the Cat. Then, there’s the type of script that rejects everything I just laid out entirely, and makes a point of not following any sort of through-line, and throws everything at the wall just to see what sticks. Don’t do either of these things.
Instead, understand that a lot of these “rules” that you’ve read about in books, or been taught in film school, are actually “tools”. Use them as building blocks to get your story told, but you can bend, warp, and reconstruct them as you please. Obviously, there’s a psychological element to how you can keep people engaged through structure. No one is denying that. But who says you have to do it a certain way? Have the humility to understand that these “guidelines” are around for a reason, and use them in ways that would best fit your work. But don’t be so married to them that you turn your script into a recipe anyone can re-recreate with step-by-step instructions.
Accept Notes and Suggestions With Your Head Held High
‘Superbad’Credit: Sony Pictures
Asking for feedback can be a bit of an ego trap for some writers. Finishing a readable draft of your script is an insane accomplishment; there is no denying that. But far too many people let that go to their head in a couple of different ways. The first is sending the script off for feedback, but when you actually get feedback, you reject it entirely with the thought, “they just didn’t get it.” The other is sending a script off for feedback and getting far more actionable criticism than you expected, which kills your motivation to fix these things, and then you give up. Once again, don’t do either of these things.
If you’re lucky enough to have a circle of people that you trust that can give you real, tangible notes on your work, utilize them like crazy. You can’t fix a mistake about your writing that you don’t realize that you’re making. Mandell’s sentiment on feedback is quite freeing. He argues that every time you’re told you’re doing something in your writing that may not be up to par, you’re one step closer to perfecting your craft. Treat notes this way, and you’ll never dread getting feedback again.
Relax, You’re Doing Fine
One last thing: to echo Mandell’s sentiment on what makes a great writer, there is no concrete answer. “All you need is to have experienced love, to have experienced loss, and to have at least once in your life been deeply ashamed of something that you did or didn’t do. You crave community, you crave meaning, you have fantasies, you have fears and nightmares, you’re confused, you’re trying to figure it all out. As long as you’ve got that, you have what you need to be a writer. The rest you can get with research.” That’s what this all boils down to. You have a unique lived experience. Share it.
