So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’ (15 part series)

Scott Myers

31 Mar 2015 • 1 min read

Since the Bitter Script Reader blogged about it today — “We’re SERIOUSLY still fighting about this “Screenwriting Rules” s***?!?!?!” — I figured it would be a good time to re-post the 15 part series I did back in March 2014.

A comprehensive series on the most significant of the supposed screenwriting ‘rules,’ hopefully to put things into proper perspective: Tools, not rules. Focus on your creativity, not picayune format and style issues. Write a great script. That should be your focus.

Part 1: The Organic Nature of the Screenplay

Part 2: The Emergence of the Selling Script

Part 3: The Evolution of Screenplay Format and Style

Part 4: There are no screenwriting ‘rules’

Part 5: There are expectations

Part 6: We See / We Hear

Part 7: Unfilmables

Part 8: Action Paragraphs — 3 Lines Max

Part 9: CUT TO (Transitions)

Part 10: Parentheticals

Part 11: Flashbacks

Part 12: Voice-Over Narration

Part 13: Sympathetic Protagonist

Part 14: Protagonist and Shifting Goals

Part 15: Certain Events by Certain Pages

The entire 15 part series

These issues rear their ugly heads from time to time. Whoever is promulgating this stuff as “you must do this” or “you can’t do that” in terms of — frankly — the mostly piddlyshit aspects of screenwriting format and style, please stop! You deflect attention from where it should be, that is crafting a compelling story and writing a great script. All of these items listed above are secondary… no, let me restate that… tertiary in importance to the success of a script. My series is an attempt to go through every single so-called ‘rule,’ put them into perspective and hopefully get our collective heads straight.

“Please, for the love of a furry God… STOP!!!”

Stop with this nonsense. Focus on story concept! Focus on characters! Focus on plotting! Focus on themes! Focus on dialogue! Focus on entertainment! But do not get hung up in any discussions longer than a nano-second on any sidebar formatting or style issue.

We all have better things to do!

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