Judy Kellem's Expert Advice Column from "New York Screenwriter Magazine"

Q: I personally think I've got a few great scripts and I think the rest are very good too. But, how good are they really ? How can you judge a script on its merits ? What do you look for ? Is there a feeling you know it's right ? Bottom line: When you read it, can you actually watch your film in your head, and at the end of it and not want to change anything ? --Duane K. A: I don't judge material as much as try to see what does and doesn't work.. A script can be beautifully structured, the characters well fleshed out and story developed but if the mood for example, is off, the whole thing can fall apart. If it is a client screenplay and I am providing a detailed consultation, I discuss with the writer this discrepancy, earmark examples of what needs reworking and try to help the writer feel in control of the material so that in revising, s/he can maintain the "merits" of the script, while adjusting the elements that are weakening it as a whole. When I do studio coverage and am asked to rate and comment on a script for market value, I note both the "merits" (what works) and the "weak areas" (what doesn't work) and conclude how close to "ready" the script is, overall, at that point. What do you look for ? In doing coverage, which demands that I look for high quality work on my employers behalf, I look for tight, honest, urgent material---screenplays that are driven by a clear sense of conviction and purpose (i.e. the writer knows exactly what s/he is writing about and how s/he wants to say it), screenplays that are visual, emotional journeys, screenplays that transport me. Is there a feeling you know it's right ? As a reader, yes and sometimes when one writes, this is true as well (but less often). As a reader, I can sense where the author is hitting a stride, hitting his/her best material. It's a visceral sensation, one in which I stop thinking and am overcome with feeling: grief; humor, horror. Whatever it is, that artist has transmitted something brutally honest through his/ her craft. One can sense when a writer has had the most fun while writing, where their passions have flared the most as they wrote, where their heart of hearts has produced the words. It's like a scent that fumes from the page, chemistry between writer, reader and material. A sum beyond the means. When writing myself, it is harder to judge. You think something's terrible, but people love it. You think it's your best yet, they think it's trash. That's why rewriting is so crucial. It buys you time to be both writer and reader, so you can tell if that roll you were on Tuesday, was just a journal type catharsis or a real stroke of your own genius. Bottom line: When you read it, can you actually watch your film in your head, and at the end of it and not want to change anything. This is what all writers strive for: to make the pen and paper simulate a cinematic experience, make those clunky, flat words create the mirage of a wide screen in someone else's head. It's tough, which again is why writing is rewriting: every time you write then put it down and then return, you revisit your material with more of a viewer's distance and can experience the movie you already watched as you wrote with the eye of a first-time audience. But not want to change anything? I don't believe there's an artist out there of any medium, who wouldn't hone and tweak forever if they could. It's the wonderful and hairsplitting nature of the creative process as far as I'm concerned. Copyright New York Screenwriter Magazine 2002. All Rights Reserved. Judy's advice from another issue Q. I am suffering from the worst case of writer's block I've ever had in the three years I've been writing screenplays. This is my fourth script so it's not like I have a problem finishing them, it's just that this one has me stuck. I've tried to force myself to write something, anything but I end up just staring at the blinking cursor until it's time to go to bed. What do other writers do to get through this sort of thing or do they just take this as a sign to give up on the script? ---Larry G., New Jersey A. I know how tormenting writer's block can be and my heart is with you. But first and foremost I encourage you NOT to despair and take this as some doomsday sign. Take THAT NOTION and put IT in the trash. Writers block is an irritant, not a sentencing. It may be a gift, believe it or not. Blocks are often a sign from the self to the self that one has reached some sort of turning point. This impasse in writing tells the writer s/he has begun to touch new or unexamined territory, emotionally and story wise, which s/he is not ready to deal with for some reason. It is a flag that a defining place has been reached in the material (and inside her/himself) and this needs to be addressed. The mind will not allow the fingers to move forward until the creator has stopped and really confronted what truly lies at the heart of the block. An old novelist teacher of mine once warned, "The novel always falls apart. ALWAYS. The trick is not to panic and stop. The real writer writes through it." With this in mind, I advise the following exercise to make that plow through: Do a personal inventory, a survey of your life. Ask such hard questions as: A) What is going on IN GENERAL that may be affecting you? How is your home situation? Your love life? Your job? Are you worried about something in particular? What is the main source of the moodiness you may feel? B) What is happening INSIDE you? Are you worrying? Are you having strong dreams? What are they about? Are you feeling insecure about certain things, excited about other things? Get very honest and clear with yourself on what your emotional and mental universe looks like at the moment. C) Now look at what's going on CREATIVELY, with your screenplay. First recall why you even started this particular story. What inspired it? Have you drifted from this impassioned place? Why? What changed? Have the pages you've written gone as you'd expected? Are you writing about what you had intended or are the characters taking you on a journey you hadn't even imagined? What is that journey and is it scary? Is it wonderful? Be very clear. D) How is the screenplay CONNECTED to your "real" life? Are you writing about subject matter very close to your experience? Are you spending hours developing characters from your life? How do you feel about these people? Are you, through the writing process, realizing some things you never thought about? How is it making you feel? This kind of self-questioning will force you to examine what is happening on a subconscious level. It will help you draw connections between the writing and your life, with all the feelings, thoughts, fears and desires that arise in both. Honing in on all the emotional material you've been dealing with and then being excruciatingly honest with yourself about what kinds of feelings have been stirred up by your screenplay may lead you to the source of the block. You are being a detective with yourself and mapping out why you have stopped where you have. Once you can look at all THIS sub textual stuff, you will have insight and inspiration as to where to go next. It may lead to the killing off of a character who reminds you of an old friend you'd rather not hang out with at the computer. It may inspire you to join two characters you were embarrassed to match as lovers. Whatever you realize about yourself will be your creative compass. You will find that the best writing comes out of this, for it will be the most honest and communicate the most conviction. You will be writing from a powerful gut. Got a question? Get an answer from an expert. Write New York Screenwriter Magazine, 655 Fultom St #276, Brooklyn, NY 11217 or email: ask experts@nyscreenwriter.com.." For other articles by Judy (and Craig), click here. Return to Hollywood Script.Com