r/Screenwriting

So I just barely finished my first screenplay (Yay)! I'm currently in the process of gathering feedback from my personal friends and acquaintances (local theater directors, my high school drama teacher, my pickiest friend studying writing, my little sister, etc).

After gathering their feedback, I was thinking about submitting the script to the BL websites and festivals to get more "industry" feedback (and also for poops and giggles). I'm testing the waters for studying writing in college, and this seems like a good place to start.

The problem, and my question to you today, is that I wrote the script using the only formatting I'm natively familiar with, which is that of one-act plays. How essential is proper formatting and centered text? I downloaded a font extension and stuff, but it would just take a looooot of editing, and the remastered script would probably be around 160 pages based on what I've seen (it's not necessarily long, just a comedy with lots of back-and-forth).

I'd hate to start submitting it and only get notes on proper formatting and editing, so I'm totally willing to go through and change it! I just want to know the most important rules for screenwriting + formatting. How important is listing specific camera angles? What's the space indentation for the lines of dialogue? (It looks like three-ish clicks of the tab key). Why are certain words randomly all-caps as if the sitting president of the U.S. wrote them? etc.

Saw the feedback from the last time, here's a revised version, again any feedback is appreciated.

Title: Timberline Chapter. I December 19, 2003

Format: Series

Page Length: 60 Pages

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Logline: In the quiet mountain town of Timberline, Wyoming, the disappearance of a local rancher's cow sets off a chain of strange events that slowly unravel the lives of those searching for the truth.

It's an intentionally character-driven, slow-burn mystery, I'm looking for feedback on pacing, dialogue, character introductions, and whether the mystery is compelling enough to make you want to read Chapter. II

LINK: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BmAYkucQdcUfNM7YOyfrxA5OYFJsVzg9/view?usp=sharing

I won't give names, but I was contacted by a famous screenwriter and producer and we talked and moved the conversation on whatsapp.

It went well, until he/she started presenting me a crypto investment site and assured me I will win a lot of money.

He/she kept insisting I should join and won't stop praising it and presented me evidence(screenshots) of his/her huge earnings from that site. I just blocked that screenwriter. Was it a scam?

Hi all,

entering a 1 page horror contest and wanted to share what I have and get feedback on all aspects.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19_on_m8MKkUEr-IZZw0gBIVcu8Q95IIY/view?usp=drive_link

Thanks.

Title: “The Summer I was Not Okay With the Thirteen Strange Things It was doing to my Pretty Little Yellow Jacket”.

Genre: Comedy Spoof mocking numerous Teen Dramas, particularly I’m Not Okay With This, Stranger Things and Euphoria.

Pages: 49

Logline: “Bethany Yesvak is an ordinary cynical teenager whose life is turned upside down when she discovers she has telekinetic powers. As she struggles to keep her abilities a secret, she must also survive the everyday chaos of high school, family, and growing up”.

\-A lot of inspirations from the GOOD spoof movies of the 2000s such as the Scary Movies, Not Another Teen Movie and Superhero Movie.

\-My main concerns is if you think the script is funny and you think the parody works well.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17AjMJq49FW\_9ZhzY2Yvc\_JxThW1s2UrW/view?usp=drivesdk

Hey guys, so I work in the film industry, and eventually I’d love to become a director. I’ve been developing a story for years now, and the story itself isn’t the most original out there, but I’m trying to give it my own touch and voice.

The thing is, the story is based on a very specific lore based on the mythology from a small are in ny country, which hasn’t been used before in any movies. And I just found out a couple days ago that a studio from my country is currently making a movie based on the same lore.

I felt like they punched me in the face when I found out. I’ve been working on this project for years, made it so personal and it was original because the lore around it had never been used before. But I am a no one and don’t have the means to make a movie, whereas they are a studio with decades of experience and they can do whatever they want.

Now I simply want to forget about my projects and never think about it ever again, I honestly feel gutted. Even if I ever had the means to actually make the movie, it would no longer be the first to use this mythology, so I feel like there’s no point in making it anymore and I lost all hope.

Is this something to be expected to happen often when trying to get into directing?

Note: I am in Year 10 (9th Grade for the North Americans) so of course I have a few ideas brewing in my head sometimes, but my Media Studies class is shit and I might not even do that area.

But if I wanted to write a TV show, how would I go about that?

Any examples of (good) genre screenplays written with a particular voice? Not looking for different just for different sake, but would like something that feels unique.

The overwhelming amount of screenplays I’ve read in recent years feel like they’re all written by the same person. Same stylistic choices on the page, similar word choices, punchy and too often what I assume are meant to be clever sentences. Obviously the brevity of the format is a major contributing factor to this as things tend to be boiled down into economical language, but I also feel like some of this is due to writers mirroring each other and stylistic trends and perhaps just not bothering to do much interesting with their words on the page. The lack of variety has actually made reading scripts a bit of a chore at times.

Although it’s much older, UNFORGIVEN by David Webb Peoples is a good example I found where the language and description feels very unique, deliberate, and specific. It’s more prose-like. Sentences tend to run on in a Cormac McCarthian way (perhaps even more than McCarthy’s own scripts) and that gives it a very particular energy, but it also doesn’t feel over-wrought for the medium. I like it a lot.

Any recs?

I'm new to screenwriting so I apologise if this is a silly question!!

What do I do if I need to show a flashback that is just sound in the characters mind? Like an object reminded my character of an event, and the real life sounds of the scene get drowned out by the sounds of a flashback/memory as she stares at the object. How would I write that? I was thinking of something like 'We hear the sounds of.. as she stares..' but I don't think that shows that it's in her mind and not real, and it doesn't explain that it was triggered by a memory. help!!

I was stuck due to the organic/random approaches I have to a few screenplays I have in progress & being so new to this.

One story, is based on a traumatizing/painful true life event. I began writing that from my POV which made it hard to translate into a screenplay. I don't see this film being narrated by the protagonist as that would take the audience of out the experience.

The other two stories were birthed out of dreams. I scribbled them while still half asleep. One is a TV series episode of a drama/thriller show. The other, is a anthology Black Mirror type episode or short story. This one has random, treatment style storytelling that doesn't quite work well in a screenplay (at least not without lots of adjustments).

Because of the messy nature of how these ideas hit paper (while navigating neurological injuries), I got stuck in how to turn these into clean screenplays...how to move forward 🤯 So, I went back to basics & briefly wrote out the 3 acts for each story: beginning, middle, end. Woo! I'm sure this is a pretty obvious/basic approach but what a relief this has brought 😮‍💨 It's weird how you can feel like you know all the beats in your head but it's quite different once you write it out.

Feedback
Wondering, do you all deal w/ this challenge? Messy beginnings that make for difficult formatting, once it's time to turn from story to screenplay? Do you start w/ scenes or treatment? What's your approach? Or is it random based on inspiration?

Coming from a background in songwriting, for now, it feels good to let it flow organically at the beginning but can make for a mess when trying to turn this into something tangible (so far).

Hey there I'm a pretty new writer to the game. I would call myself a visual person like I can kind of see what I want to film and how I want to film it while doing these, and I do like cinematography and a good movie. Some examples of my favourite dialogues are Billy Wilder's The Apartment, David Lynch's Blue Velvet Mulholland Drive and other movies as such, I really liked Obsession recently and Backrooms (I prefered Obsession but Backrooms is more Lynchian and existential but thats not what Im talking about hehe) because I saw young people actually out there doing their own thing.

I'm aiming to become a Director Screenwriter as I would love to give someone the same sensation I got when watching some of my favourite pieces so yeah. I would love, if for these first 12 pages you could all give me some feedback and advice.

I am not gonna lie and say I didnt try me best, because I want to be realisitc and know how good Im doing even if Im giving it my all. These 12 pages were cut short from 16 other ones, the genre is Horror and literally where I left it, is where I introduce the major event that will move the story and characters till the end.

Looking forward to hearing different opinions and see how I can improve.

Polished First Draft

What site or platform is best for hosting writing samples? Whether it be spec scripts, original screenplays, manuscripts or even poems, do you have your own website? Blacklist? I have a variety of writing samples and trying to make a live port folio. Writers, what would you suggest?

Yea or Nay on Mores and Continueds?

anyone else feel like when they have an idea, they need to watch more movies in its vein or do the things that the story’s about before they have any business writing it? i’ve got a series idea that takes place in the 1930s and is sorta indiana jonesy, but instead of writing the pilot my instinct is to be like “i gotta watch 30s adventure serials first!” idea for a zombie movie? i gotta watch all major zombie movies ever put out first.

is this just me? do i need to get my head out of my ass and just write, or should i follow this instinct?

Hi - so the latest draft of this feature I wrote got an overall ‘7’ but in the grand scheme of who TBL recommends for their ‘25’, do you think I have a shot?

We're a small niche r/tvwriting focused subreddit that was mostly grown through the annual tv writing fellowship collection. But I don't have the time to maintain or mod any longer. Mostly our posts now are asking questions about the business and looking for feedback on writing - similar to r/screenwriting.

Needs:

* Modmail / mod queue maintenance and replies.

* Maintaining and fostering an inclusive atmosphere that encourages writers from all backgrounds

* Maintaining and fostering a professional atmosphere

Nices to haves:

* A big plus would be someone who's interested in taking on updating and maintaining the fellowship collection, with minimal input from me. But as that would be a labor of love, I don't expect that of everyone.

* Same deal with maintaining or adding to the wiki / resources. It's a labor of love and a huge plus if you're up to the challenge, but not a must.

Apply:

Please see the link below and submit an application if interested -- it's ok if you don't have mod or tv writing experience, but please mention you're from the screenwriting subreddit and what areas you're interested in helping out with. Thanks!

https://www.reddit.com/r/TVWriting/application/

I'm an aspiring screenwriter, currently trying to read up on as much as I can because whenever I get into something, I want to study it from back to front. One of the main things I got recommended was John Truby's Anatomy of Story. However, when I started reading and occasionally looking up reviews, I saw a lot of people say it has its fair share of problems, sometimes gets overly complex, and you won't even end up using a majority of the stuff inside.

What was your experience reading it, if you have? Did you end up using a lot of the strategies? Was a lot of it useful? Was it just a research endeavor? Is it beginner-friendly? Should I even be reading this as a beginner? Etc.

Edit 1: Thank you guys, so much! I was super nervous and scared making this post, and I didn't expect so many replies; I'll take all of your good-faith advice to heart, from things I should be doing to reading recommendations, all of it. Thanks again!

Hello, fellow writers.

What are some of the best limited cast, ideally just two people reconnecting, films or scripts you've seen or read?

This is a reconnection story of two sisters after many, many years, but there's a lot of guilt and shame. There is an interesting angle that I don't feel comfortable sharing yet, but... Any suggestions?

I'm struggling with the amount of feelings that come up, which they are expecting, and that's why they've agreed to meet, but it can be a lot, so I'm trying to add more humor.

I love the Before trilogy, but that is romance. This is purely dialogue driven, but gets into some unexpected antics/theatrics as it goes on.

I loved Mother Mary, but that had the pop performances sprinkled throughout that helped give some breathing room.

And yes, I know I need to see The Invite!

Thanks for reading!

Good day to you all and Happy 4th of July. I wrote an entire TV show, first as a limited series, then turned it into a 2- season show with the possibility for a third one. It's Yellowstone-ish (with the different premise, but yes, cows and ranches, and imperfections abound). I currently have it as a treatment. I also have each season's bible and episode arc. I started writing the Pilot but stopped myself. I wanted to see if I could pitch it as is. Has anyone here successfully done this? What was the process like? Should I finish the pilot or just try to sell the idea? Also, with the market flooded with Yellowstone offshoots, can another ranch show be picked up without comparing it with the current market?

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from people who know how this industry works.
I’m only just starting to recover from one of the most unbelievable and traumatic experiences of my life involving my own “family.”
The story involves money, corruption, international fraud, identity theft, inheritance disputes, people who are internationally well known, and a complete family breakdown.
I know that probably sounds like every other Reddit post claiming to have a “crazy story,” but in my case, everything is documented. I have extensive evidence, and the entire case has been handled by a team of lawyers who know every detail.
Without revealing too much publicly, several people who know the full story have told me it has the potential to become a documentary, a limited series, or even a feature film.
So my question is: how do you actually get a story like this in front of the right people?
Is it possible to contact Netflix directly, or do they only work through producers?
Do I need to write a book first, or is it possible to pitch the story as a treatment or synopsis?
Should I be looking for a literary agent, a producer, or an entertainment lawyer?
Has anyone here gone through this process or know someone who has?
I’m not trying to sell the story here, and I don’t want to share any identifiable details for obvious legal reasons. I’m simply trying to understand what the right first step would be.
Thanks in advance for any advice.