Decisions...Decisions...

[queenoftheskies]

This weekend, I need to get an idea of what screenplays I want to query for my first batch of query letters that have to be sent out within a week.

I get to pitch FIVE ideas to one production company and THREE each to two other production companies in this first batch.

The first company is headquartered at Warner Brothers, the second at Dreamworks, and the third at Sony.

I have a number of screenplays complete already, though I want to make some changes to at least three of them.

Have a couple of new ideas that I've started plotting. I don't have loglines and synopses written for them yet, though they've started to simmer in my brain. If I can get the new screenplays distilled into a form I can start work on, I might query them as well.

Screenplays are generally 20,000-22,000 words (mine, that I've checked word count on), so it wouldn't take long to finish them.

I don't really have that many screenwriting friends any more, though, that I could ask to take a quick read-through for plot integrity and continuity. That makes me a little nervous...sending screenplays out cold...on the off chance one was requested.

I do think one is a potentially good idea, though, and would like the chance to give it a test drive.

I have three screenplays that got a lot of interest, but never sold. One was close and I think I have ideas to make it a stronger, deeper story. The other two went some good places (Paramount, MGM, Disney, The Gersh, ICM), and I got some good feedback on one from MGM.

Now that I've been distanced from them for a couple of years, I have incredible new insights into what I could do with these stories. It's very exciting to see new possibilities and watch the characters and the storyline gel into something stronger.

I think the important thing is to get some rest this weekend and convince all the little brain cells to start working again. It's hard to really concentrate and do my best writing with the commute and the stress involved in the job.

That's become pretty discouraging to me, but I want to fight it and come out of this writing some good material.

That's my hope, at any rate.

Comments

[ryan-howse.livejournal.com]

I'm curious about the 20000-22000 word limit. The general rule of thumb I was told was 'one page should equal one minute of film' providing you don't overburden it with pointless details that are the responsibility of the director.

Any follow-up info on that?

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

There are no word count guidelines for screenplays. I only checked mine to get an idea of how long I thought it would take me to write one now that I've developed the ability to write more per day than I used to be able to do. The fastest I'd written a screenplay before was in one week.

Yes, generally, one page of screenplay = one minute of film. There are page count restrictions depending on the genre you write. Comedies, for example, generally come in around 90-100 pages. Other genres can be longer, though it is quite rare that anyone will agree to read a screenplay over 120 pages unless the screenplay was commissioned or the screenwriter is already established with a good reputation and multiple sales.

Pointless details are discouraged. Many details are left open to be decided by the director at the time the film is made. Detail character descriptions, for example. And, only enough description to set the stage. Set decorators will determine precise location dressings later.

Screenplays move much faster than novels and are often written in incomplete sentences to facilitate flow and set the mood. Short, choppy sentences, for example, can denote urgency or tension.

They're a different breed of writing from novel and short story writing, but enjoyable in their own way. I recommend that everyone give them a try if they have that inclination.