Thursday, December 3, 2009

TODAY'S NUGGET: I Am Curmudgeonly

Billy Mernit, rom-com script guru & author, has a great hook to get his UCLA Extension Writers' Program students to be prompt to class: He promises them a Million Dollar Screenplay Tip at the beginning of every class. If you're 5 min. late, you'll miss it.

He shares 5 tips this week on his blog: http://livingromcom.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Billy's tips are, as always fantastic, but I especially like this line :

"...readers - the biz's first line of resistance - are often the most curmudgeonly sticklers of all when it comes to format and length."

He is SO right. I have noticed as I cover more & more scripts I have become a virtual Scrooge.

He speaks of what I label the Golden Triad:

1. WHITE FREAKIN' SPACE - Have you read my blog on Vertical Reading? Have you? Read it again.

2. Traditional format - He notes that "continuous" in slug lines is passe. How many of you are still including the "cut to:"?

3. Shorter scripts. 'Nuff said.

WHAT I KNOW: Sing it, Billy. You know me too well.

No comments:

perPage: 10, numPages: 8, var firstText ='First'; var lastText ='Last'; var prevText ='« Previous'; var nextText ='Next »'; } expr:href='data:label.url' expr:href='data:label.url + "?&max-results=7"'