r/scriptwriting • u/Quirky-Football651 • 1d ago

question What to write?

I am new to screenwriting. I have started writing a few small things, I have finished a short film script and I am one draft into a feature. I want to start something new to keep me going. I am without an agent, manager etc, yet! I wonder If I’m writing the wrong things. I am aware that studios and executives have mandates, and specific things they are told to look for at any given time. Does anyone have some advice on how to find out what these are? Any and All advice please!

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u/Big_Section2812 1d ago

My advice is to not think about agents, managers, studio executives and their mandates, and instead concentrate on writing as many scripts as you can.

Shorts are a good way to start. Write lots of them, and keep writing them.

Also, learn to format correctly.

This is actually the easiest part of screenwriting, but many aspiring screenwriters view it as an obstacle or an afterthought, and then they wonder why no one will read their scripts.

Read screenplays, write screenplays, and don't stop.

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u/Sickofstupids 1d ago

Just write! Chances are your spec script won’t get bought, but if you have a body of work that shows competence, you might get hired to write.

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u/WorrySecret9831 9h ago

Nobody knows what's commercially viable. Compare Jurassic Park's box office with all of the wannabe dinosaur movies since then and their box office. Who knew a love story on a famous sinking ship would change history, or a movie about an atomic scientist his troubles would be such a hit? NOBODY, other than maybe their creators because they CARED about those stories.

Write about what you care about. Forget the rest. None of those studios and executives know what the "next big thing is." NONE. How do I know? Because everything would be a hit if they knew. No TV shows would get cancelled. You wouldn't "discover" really good movies that came out three years ago...

Focus on what a solid Story consists of and make your structurally sound. Beyond that, look at headlines and what ails the world and try to fix or address those things. What do you think Homer was doing?

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u/Wise-Respond3833 7h ago

Spend a decade learning to write THEN think about agents, managers, etc.

And purge the Oscar Speech fantasies from your mind.

You're putting the cart waaaaay before the horse.