How To Write A Great Script

Everybody always says it. The one surefire way to
break into the industry is to write a great script. “All
you have to do is write a great script,” they say.
“Ohhhh,” you reply, “That’s it? “That’s all I had to do
all this time?? Was write a great script? Well why
didn’t you say so? And here I was working on my 20th
really bad script!” Bitter reactions aside, it’s true.
Write a great script and you’re in.
What hasn’t been clarified is what “great” means.
Well I got to thinking (yes, it does happen). Why don’t
I post exactly what a “great script" is so there’s no
more confusion? Now when we say, “Just write a
great script,” people will actually have something to
reference. This idea sounded brilliant when I first
came up with it, but the more it marinated, the
more I realized that if writing a great script could be
explained in a 2500 word blog post, we'd probably all
be millionaires.
However, that doesn’t mean I can’t offer a list of 13
things I consistently see in great scripts. It may not
be a step by step guide but at least it’s something.
Yeah, I thought. That might work.
Now while I was hoping to provide an all-inclusive list
of tips to best help you write a great script, the
reality is I’ve probably forgotten a couple of things.
So this is what I’m going to do. In the comments
section, I want you to include what YOU think makes
a great script. Over the course of today and
tomorrow, I’ll update this post to include the best
suggestions from you guys. Together, we’ll create
*the* perfect go-to list when it comes to writing a
great script. Isn’t this wonderful? Team Scriptshadow!
So here they are, in no particular order…
1) AN ORIGINAL AND EXCITING CONCEPT
This is the single most important choice you will
make in writing your script because it will determine
whether people actually read it or not. I used to hear
agents say, “90% of the scripts out there fail before
I’ve even opened them.” And it’s true. If you don’t
have a compelling concept, nothing else matters.
This slightly circumvents the “great” argument
because nobody’s saying you can’t write a “great”
script about a boy who goes home to take care of his
ailing mother. But the reality is, nobody’s going to
get excited about reading that script. Even the kind
of people who WOULD want to read that script
probably won’t because they know it’s a financial
pitfall. It’ll take 5 years off their life and, in the end,
play in 10 theaters and make 14,286 dollars. Now
obviously an “exciting” idea is objective. But it’s fairly
easy to figure out if you have something special.
Pitch your idea to your 10 best friends. Regardless of
what they *tell* you, read their reactions. Do their
eyes and voices tell you they’re into it? If you get 10
polite smiles accompanied with a “Yeah, I like it,” it’s
time to move on to the next idea. So give me your
Hangovers. Give me your Sixth Senses. Shit, give me
your Beavers. But don’t give me three people in a
room discussing how their lives suck for 2 hours. And
if you do, make it French. –
2) A MAIN CHARACTER WHO WANTS SOMETHING
(AKA A “GOAL”)
Some people call it an “active protagonist.” I just call
it a character who wants something. Ripley and the
marines want to go in and wipe out the aliens in
“Aliens.” Liam Neeson wants to find his daughter in
“Taken.” The girl in “Paranormal Activity” wants to
find out what’s haunting her house. The stronger
your character wants to achieve his/her goal, the
more compelling they’re going to be. Now I’ll be the
first to admit that passive characters sometimes
work. Neo is somewhat passive in The Matrix until
the end. And, of course, Dustin Hoffman is the most
famous passive character of all time in The Graduate.
But these characters are tricky to write and require a
skill set that takes years to master. In the end,
they're too dangerous to mess around with. Stick
with a character who wants something.
3) A MAIN CHARACTER WE WANT TO ROOT FOR
This is one of the more hotly debated topics in
screenwriting because a character we “root for” is
usually defined as being “likable,” and there are a
whole lot of screenwriters out there who would
rather bake their craniums in a pizza oven than, gasp,
make their protagonist “likable.” I got good news.
Your hero doesn’t have to be “likeable” for your
script to work. But you DO have to give us a
character we want to root for, someone we’re eager
to see succeed. He *can* be likable, such as Steve
Carrel’s character in “40 Year Old Virgin.” He can be
defiant, like Paul Newman in “Cool Hand Luke.” But
he has to have some quality in him that makes us
want to root for him. If your character is mopey,
whiney, and an asshole, chances are we’re not going
to want to root for that guy.
4) GET TO YOUR STORY QUICKLY!
Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. As far as amateur
screenplay mistakes go, this is easily one of the Top
3. Even after I explain, in detail, what the mistake is,
writers continue to do it. So I’m going to try and
make this clear. Are you ready? “Your story is moving
a lot slower than you, the writer, believe it is.” For
that reason, speed it the fuck up! In other words,
that ten page sequence which contains 3 separate
scenes, each pointing out in its own unique way that
your hero is irresponsible? Well we figured it out
after the first scene. You don’t need to waste 7 more
pages telling us again…and again. Remember,
readers use the first 30 pages to gauge how capable
a writer is. And the main thing they’re judging is how
quickly and efficiently you set up your story. In The
Hangover, I think they wake up from their crazy
night somewhere around page 20. You don’t want it
to be any later than page 25 before we know what it
is your character is after (see #2).
5) STAY UNDER 110 PAGES
This is a close cousin to number 2 and a huge point
of contention between writers as well. But let’s move
beyond my usual argument, which is that a 120 page
script is going to inspire rage from a tired reader,
and discuss the actual effects of a 110 page
screenplay on your story. Keeping your script under
110 pages FORCES YOU TO CUT OUT ALL THE SHIT.
That funny scene you like that has nothing to do with
the story? You don’t need it. The fifth chase scene at
the end of the second act? You don’t need it. Those 2
extra scenes I just mentioned above that tell us the
exact same information we already know about your
main character? You don’t need them. I know this
may be hard to believe. But not everything you write
is brilliant, or even necessary for that matter. Cutting
your script down to 110 pages forces you to make
tough decisions about what really matters. By making
those cuts, you eliminate all the fat, and your script
reads more like a “best of” than an “all of.” As for
some of those famous names who like to pack on the
extra pages, I’ll tell you what. For every script you
sell or movie you make, you’re allowed 5 extra pages
to play with, as your success indicates you now know
what to do with those pages. Until then, keep it
under 110. And bonus points if you keep it under
100.
6) CONFLICT
Does everyone in your script get along? Is the
outside world kind to your characters? Do your
characters skip through your story with nary a worry?
Yeah, then your script has no conflict. I could write a
whole book on conflict but here’s one of the easiest
ways to create it. Have one character want something
and another character want something else. Put
them in a room together and, voila, you have
conflict. If your characters DO happen to be good
friends, or lovers, or married, or infatuated with
each other, that’s fine, but then there better be
some outside conflict weighing on them (Romeo and
Juliet anyone?). Let me give you the best example of
the difference between how conflict and no conflict
affect a movie. Remember The Matrix? How Trinity
wanted Neo but she couldn’t have him yet?
Remember the tension between the two? How we
wanted them to be together? How we could actually
feel their desire behind every conversation? The
conflict there was that the two couldn’t be together.
Now look at The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix
Revolutions. Trinity and Neo are together. They’re
always happy. And they’re always F’ING BORING AS
HELL! The conflict is gone and therefore so is our
interest. If your story isn’t packed with conflict, you
don’t have a story.
7) OBSTACLES
Your script should have plenty of obstacles your main
character encounters in pursuit of his goal. A big
issue I see in a lot of bad scripts is that the main
character’s road is too easy. The more obstacles you
throw at your hero, the more interesting a script
tends to be, because that’s why we come to the
movies in the first place, to see how our hero
heroically overcomes the problems he’s presented.
He can’t be heroic if he doesn’t run into anything that
tests his heroism. Go watch any of the Bourne
movies to see how obstacles are consistently thrown
at a character. And a nice side effect? Each obstacle
creates conflict!
8) SURPRISE
A great script continually surprises you. Even if the
story seems familiar, the characters’ actions and the
twists and turns are consistently different from what
we expected. The most boring scripts I read are ones
where I have a good sense of what’s going to happen
for the next 5 or 6 scenes. Remember, readers have
read everrryyyyyything. So you really have to be
proactive and outthink them to keep them on their
toes. The Matrix is a great example of a script that
continually surprises you. The first time you watched
that movie (or read that script) you rarely had any
idea where the story was going.
9) A TICKING TIME BOMB
Ticking time bombs can get a bad rap because they
have such an artificial quality to them, but oh how
important they are. What’s so great about them?
They add * immediacy* to your story. If a character
doesn’t have to achieve his goals right now, if he can
achieve them next week or next year, then the goal
really isn’t that important, is it? We want to watch a
character that has to achieve his goal RIGHT NOW or
else he loses everything. Sometimes ticking time
bombs are clear as day (Hangover: They need to find
Doug by noon on Saturday to get him back in time
for his wedding), sometimes they’re more nuanced
(Star Wars Luke needs to get the details of that battle
station to the Rebel Alliance before they find and
destroy the planet), but they’re there. If you don’t
have a ticking time bomb in your script, you better
have a damn good reason why.
10) STAKES
If your character achieves his ultimate goal, there
needs to be a great reward. If your character fails to
achieve his ultimate goal, there needs to be huge
consequences. The best use of stakes is usually when
a character’s situation is all or nothing. Rocky’s never
going to get another shot at fighting the heavyweight
champion of the world. This is it. Those stakes are
damn high. If Wikus doesn’t get Christopher up to the
mothership in District 9, he’s going to turn into a
fucking alien. Those stakes are damn high. If all a
character loses by not achieving his goal is a couple
of days out of his life, that’s not very exciting, is it?
And that’s because the stakes are too low.
11) HEART
We need to emotionally connect with your characters
on some level for us to want to follow them for 110
minutes (NOT 120!). The best way to do this is to give
your character a flaw, introduce a journey that tests
that flaw, and then have him transform into a better
person over the course of that journey. This is also
known as having your character “arc.” When
characters learn to become better people, it
connects with an audience because it makes them
believe that they can also change their flaws and
become better people. In Knocked Up, Seth Rogan is
a grade-A fuck-up, the most irresponsible person on
the planet. So the journey forces him to face that
head on, and learn to become responsible (so he can
be a parent). You always want a little bit of heart in
your script, whether it’s a drama, a comedy, or even
horror.
12) A GREAT ENDING
Remember, your ending is what the reader leaves
with. It is the last image they remember when they
close your script. So it better leave a lasting
impression. This is why specs like The Sixth Sense
sell for 2 million bucks. If you go back into that
script, there are actually quite a few slow areas. But
you don’t remember them because the ending
rocked. And I’m not saying you have to add a twist to
every script you write. But make sure the ending
satisfies us in some way, because if you leave us with
a flat generic finale, we ain’t going to be texting our
buddies saying, “Holy shit! You have to read this
script right now!”
13) THE X-FACTOR
This last tip is the scariest of them all because it’s the
one you have the least control over. It’s called the X-
Factor. It is the unexplainable edge that great scripts
have. Maybe it’s talent. Maybe the variables of your
story came together in just the right way. Maybe you
tap into the collective unconscious. A great script
unfortunately has something unexplainable about it,
and unfortunately, some of that comes down to luck.
You could nail every single tip I’ve listed above and
still have a script that’s missing something. The only
advice I can give you to swing the dreaded X Factor in
your favor is to write something you’re passionate
about. Even if you’re writing Armageddon 2, create a
character who’s going through the same trials and
tribulations you are in life. You’ll then be able to
connect with the character and, in turn, infuse your
script with passion. Probably the best example of the
X-factor’s influence on a script is American Beauty. A
lot of people didn’t understand why they liked
American Beauty. They just did. The Brigands of
Rattleborge is another example. It just seeps into
you for reasons unknown. I sometimes spend hours
thinking about the X-Factor. How to quantify it. It’s
the Holy Grail of screenwriting. Figure it out and you
hold the key to writing great scripts for the rest of
your life.
So there you have it. I’ve just given you the 13 keys
to writing a great script. Now some of you have
probably already come up with examples of great
scripts that don’t contain these “rules.” And it’s true.
Different stories have different requirements. So
not every great script is going to contain all 13 of
these elements. But you’ll be hard pressed to find a
great script that doesn’t nail at least 10 of them. So
now I’ll leave it up to you. What attributes do you
consistently see in great scripts?