Business of Screenwriting: Do’s and Don’ts

A few folks posted comments the other day, requesting I talk more about the business of being a working screenwriter. A big part of that is, frankly, paying attention to market trends, which is why I post about pitch and spec script deals, spec script deal analysis, shifts in leadership at movie studios, and so on. But what I think I heard was more about the do’s and don’ts of screenwriting as it relates to living and working in Hwood. So without further ado, a Do and a Don’t.

Do: Regularly generate story concepts

I was going to write “Generate a story concept a day,” but I thought that might come off as too daunting. However, you should spend a portion of every working day with story concepts. There are three elements to this process:

• Research: Everything from reading obituaries to odd news items, you never know where a great story concept will come from.
• Brainstorm: Take preexisting movie concepts and genre or gender bend them. Put a job and a location together (“A cop in kindergarten”). And when in doubt, ask yourself, “What if…”, as in “What if the President of the United States had a sudden debilitating medical condition and the Powers That Be substitute a look-alike as the acting President” (the premise to the movie Dave).
• Test: Find a few close associates or friends, people who know something about how Hwood operates, and pitch them your story concepts. If they respond well, put that concept on your Keeper list. If they shrug or…