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ALL THE THINGS THATARE WRONG WITHYOUR SCREENPLAY INONE HANDY

INFOGRAPHICBYJOE BERKOWITZA professional scriptreader read 300 screenplays for five different studios, all the while tracking

the many recurring problems. The infographic he made with the collected data offers a glimpse

at where screenwriting goes wrong.

Ifselling a screenplaywere easy, all those people crowding coffee shops with their laptops

would be millionaires, or at least optioned. It's not easy, though. So many factors that aretotally out of the writer's control tend to combine and form a phalanx keeping him or her out ofHollywood. One thing that certainly is up to the writer, however, is whether the screenplaysucks. A new infographic offers some hard-earned insider tips about pitfalls the novice scribeshould avoid, in order to refrain from sucking.

An anonymous professional scriptreader read 300 screenplays for five different studios

recently, all the while tracking the many recurring problems found along the way. If it's

frustrating experience to bang out a screenplay without much experience, just imagine

what it's like to read some of these hastily banged-out doozies, one after the other.

Eventually, the person doing so organized all the data into a handyinfographicthat

could be read as a diagnostic on where screenwriters go wrong.

http://www.fastcocreate.com/user/joe-berkowitzhttp://www.fastcocreate.com/user/joe-berkowitzhttp://www.fastcocreate.com/user/joe-berkowitzhttp://www.fastcocreate.com/1681393/6-tips-for-writing-a-money-making-script-from-a-billion-dollar-screenwriting-duohttp://www.fastcocreate.com/1681393/6-tips-for-writing-a-money-making-script-from-a-billion-dollar-screenwriting-duohttp://www.fastcocreate.com/1681393/6-tips-for-writing-a-money-making-script-from-a-billion-dollar-screenwriting-duohttp://imgur.com/T22gGBOhttp://imgur.com/T22gGBOhttp://imgur.com/T22gGBOhttp://imgur.com/T22gGBOhttp://www.fastcocreate.com/1681393/6-tips-for-writing-a-money-making-script-from-a-billion-dollar-screenwriting-duohttp://www.fastcocreate.com/user/joe-berkowitz

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As featured on screenwriting forumThe Blackboard,the infographic presents all

manner of information on the settings, genres, and characters that could use a bit of

finesse. If it has ever even crossed your mind to attempt to write a movie someday,

you should definitely read the following list of frequent script problems, and peruse the

rest of the chart above.

1. The story begins too late in the script2. The scenes are void of meaningful conflict3. The script has a by-the-numbers execution4. The story is too thin5. The villains are cartoonish, evil-for-the-sake-of-evil6. The character logic is muddy7. The female part is underwritten8. The narrative falls into a repetitive pattern9. The conflict is inconsequential, flash-in-the-pan10.The protagonist is a standard issue hero11.The script favors style over substance12.The ending is completely anti-climactic13.The characters are all stereotypes14.The script suffers from arbitrary complexity15.The script goes off the rails in the third act16.The scripts questions are left unanswered17.The story is a string of unrelated vignettes

http://theblackboard.blcklst.com/forums/topic/recurring-problems-in-scripts/http://theblackboard.blcklst.com/forums/topic/recurring-problems-in-scripts/http://theblackboard.blcklst.com/forums/topic/recurring-problems-in-scripts/http://theblackboard.blcklst.com/forums/topic/recurring-problems-in-scripts/

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18.The plot unravels through convenience/contrivance19.The script is tonally confused20.The protagonist is not as strong as need be21.The premise is a transparent excuse for action22.The character backstories are irrelevant/useless23.Supernatural element is too undefined24.The plot is dragged down by disruptive lulls25.The ending is a case of deus ex machina26.The characters are indistinguishable from each other27.The story is one big shrug28.The dialogue is cheesy, pulpy, action movie cliches29.The script is a potboiler30.The drama/conflict is told but not shown31.The great setting isnt utilized32.The emotional element is exaggerated33.The dialogue is stilted and unnecessarily verbose34.The emotional element is neglected35.The script is a writer ego trip36.The script makes a reference, but not a joke37.The message overshadows the story

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