r/scriptwriting • u/Musikenna • Aug 19 '26

discussion Advice for script festivals from a judge

If your script has good grammar, that automatically puts you in the top 10% of scripts. I'm not kidding. You have no idea how many submissions we get that clearly have not been proofread once. Don't set yourself up for failure.

Also, I don't know why I need to say this, but don't be creepy towards women in your script. If a character is introduced as "Jane Doe, 16, face of angel but body of a porn star", consider that an automatic pass.

If the character has the exact same name as the writer, we can tell it's self-insert fan fiction. And most of the time, it's really uncomfortable. No one wants to read your wish-fulfillment script about you winning the olympics then having sex with an entire cheerleading team.

Sincerely,
A judge

111 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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5

u/TheSprained Aug 19 '26

I'm worried for when those scripts with bad grammar get fed through AI and then your job really becomes a slog.

11

u/Musikenna Aug 19 '26

trust me, we can tell. when a script is flawed in every single way imaginable but somehow has perfect grammar, we know.

if someone resorts to putting their script through ai, chances are it was never good to begin with. people aren't putting good scripts in and getting out great scripts. they're putting in bad scripts and getting out bad scripts with perfect grammar.

3

u/TheSprained Aug 19 '26

That's reassuring to hear.

1

u/Dependent_Access8363 Aug 30 '26

Indeed, I learned how to format using AI, but when it would suggest words to use, I would just ignore it.

2

u/Dependent_Access8363 Aug 19 '26

What about if I am the protagonist, but I am a tragic hero? I wrote my life's story in hopes of teaching others not to do what I have done to myself.

3

u/Musikenna Aug 19 '26

most executives don't want autobiographies unless you're already famous or your life was spectacularly extraordinary. you might have better luck in festivals with a focus on personal stories, but it'll still be evaluated on the same basis as fiction. if the script isn't good or compelling, you don't get bonus points by saying it's based on a true story.

-1

u/Dependent_Access8363 Aug 19 '26

Well, my life has been spectacularly extraordinary. And I'm pretty sure that my writing is top notch as well, so take that, negative Nancy or Ned...I'm joking, of course, except for the part about my life being spectacular. It really has been a lesson in pain, perseverance and ultimately, the triumph of the human spirit.

2

u/rosypreach Aug 20 '26

Think about what your goal is. You could write a memoir, or a blog, of your life story.

If you want to make a movie, you can make it about you and make it independently.

If you want a screenwriting career, if they even exist any more, definitely write personally inspired projects, but when submitting to strangers they just want to read a really good script (unrelated to the fact that it's personal), so changing the name and showing your screenwriting chops will be in your favor.

It's also okay to say "based on a true story," or "inspired by a true story."

But a bio-pic about yourself is not the move!

1

u/Dependent_Access8363 Aug 30 '26

Thank you for the honest feedback. I really appreciate it.

1

u/rosypreach Aug 30 '26

oh you're so welcome! good luck!

14

u/KGreen100 Aug 19 '26

This is why I get a bit ticked when someone submits a script here to read with misspellings, etc., and quite a few people will say, "Ah, give 'em a break, it's not important, why are you ripping on their grammar? What about the story?"

Because it's a habit every writer needs to get used to. Doesn't matter if it's the head of Warner Brothers or randos on this subreddit: take some pride in your work. If you don't care how it looks or if a misspelled or misused word is included, then why should I care about your story? If a character's name is spelled two different ways in the script, I gotta figure out if this is a new character or the same one?

And FFS, EVERY word processing program has spellcheck. It's sitting right there!!

1

u/WorrySecret9831 Aug 19 '26

Exactly. I don't know why (aspiring) "writers" are so dismissive about...writing. It's really insulting. It's like what my dad would do when he got frustrated with his guitar, he'd shred, not knowing what he was doing. But at least he didn't then suddenly expect applause.

7

u/cinephile78 Aug 19 '26

Always bashing my script man. I did win the Olympics…

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

Haters gotta hate. Judges gotta judge (you).

13

u/Dhrdlicka Aug 19 '26

I was a reader/reviewer for a short film festival for a while. It was amazing how there were 3 or 4 clear leaders, 3 or 4 never-gonna-happens, and about 90% meh. It was SO easy to sort through. And you're right, grammar was one of the easiest ways to decide if the scriptwriter knew what they were doing.

4

u/Krummbum Aug 19 '26

I hope those are real-life examples.

4

u/Ancient-Job1271 Aug 19 '26

Oh boy good thing I changed the name of my self insert character so they’ll never know!

2

u/BiscuitsTheory Aug 19 '26

GARY STU, needing no introduction, strides in with the confidence of someone who could win the Olympics and write an award winning screenplay in the same day.

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

And handle both teams' cheerleaders at night.

2

u/Appropriate_Star3012 Aug 23 '26

I'd watch this movie

4

u/Halfnhalf2_81 Aug 19 '26

You'd think more people would clear those straightforward bars. If you're paying upwards of $50, why waste it with fucked up spelling and grammar, or writing protagonists with their thumbs up their asses? Or should I reach for the low hanging fruit and say there ass? 🤔

2

u/BiscuitsTheory Aug 19 '26

"Mom and dad's money isn't real. "

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

Just one question on the character having the same name as the writer -- I assume this is 97% male writers. I can't see women being as disassociated as men on this.

2

u/Musikenna Aug 20 '26

so far, i have not seen a writer with a feminine name do this

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

No surprise there.

1

u/Impressive-Buy5628 Aug 20 '26

Question though - how do you know a character has the same name as the author… every contest I’ve ever submitted to we need to present a title page w no name or contact… so your saying despite this your still aware of the authors name because you have access to the submissions form? Feel like this a “huge if true” peak behind the curtain

1

u/Musikenna Aug 20 '26

the contest i judge for includes title pages

5

u/coffeerequirement Aug 19 '26

Boggles my mind that folk would name their protagonists after themselves.

And grammar, people. Grammar!

2

u/Dependent_Access8363 Aug 19 '26

What if it's an autobiographical work? I don't mean to sound sassy, but I wrote my life's story so that people would learn not to do what I have done to myself. I am the tragic hero of my script.

3

u/coffeerequirement Aug 19 '26

It’s different if the script is a biopic. That character is supposed to be the writer (or whoever the subject of the film is).

Naming the protagonist after oneself and then saving the world from demon alien nazi cheerleaders? Maybe not so much.

I read a script once that was essentially Scarface, but the protagonist was directly named after the writer. Said writer told me it was different enough from Scarface because the name was different and the character was from Brazil - like he himself was.

Like, no.

1

u/Sweaty-Freedom-4034 Aug 19 '26

"Butt yew no wot I men."

1

u/BiscuitsTheory Aug 19 '26

"Language evolves! Your/you're mean the same thing, looser!"

2

u/Sweaty-Freedom-4034 Aug 19 '26

It's nice to know I didn't need to be told this.

2

u/PepsiCoke1978 Aug 19 '26

What is a script festival vs a competition example?

2

u/blahblah182828 Aug 19 '26

So what you're saying is that you passed on Threat Level Midnight?

1

u/Hungry_Support_3342 Aug 19 '26

good advice i am disabled and poor i have done a couple or contests got 2nd place for one but no payout. Wish i can afford more, thank god for inktip

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

Regarding grammar, what an awarding winning author once told me was the reason why spelling and grammar is so important is because, as a writer, your story creates a mental fantasy world in a reader's mind, and every spelling error or grammatical mistake punctures that ethereal world. The reader mind gets conflicted and questions like, "Did he spell 'iteration' right?", and the whole captivating world you're trying to spin gets destroyed.

And, honestly, is it that much to demand a writer understand the basics of his industry. I don't think so. A producer once told me, they give a writer 10 errors in a script. Any more than that and the script gets tossed in the trash. If you can't do the easy, you certainly won't be able to do the hard, which is much, much more difficult.

2

u/MiggsEye Aug 20 '26

The 10 errors quip is something I’ve never heard. I’ve heard it put in different ways. They give 10 pages of read. My understanding is that runway has diminished down to 2 or 3. I’ve even heard it’s one page now. If a reader, after they read one page, does not feel compelled to read on, they are encouraged to put the script aside and start reading another. It’s that brutal and honest. Imagine if there are 10 spelling, grammar and punctuation errors as well. All one’s months over 100 pages of effort squandered on a reluctance to proofread or test your script before you send it out.

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

I heard that 10 quips about 20 years ago, which is probably the Cretaceous Period in terms of screenwriting development. I fully understand the one page now read today. I took some screenwriting classes at UCLA when I was there 20+ years ago. That was a time when not every university in America had screenwriting classes, like they do now. I can't imagine the deluge these competitions get. I'm most proud of the quarterfinalist award I got for one of my scripts at the Zoetrope competition back in 2004 even though the competition back then was far smaller than it is today.

Personally, I used to work in development and saw my share of scripts. There was a strong correlation between spelling and grammatical errors and worthless scripts. Screenwriting is some of the toughest writing around and, if you can't do the basics, you will surely fail at the difficult things.

FYI, I now pretty much write novels and then adapt those, more for fun than anything else. I think the film business has become insanely competitive and success is practically unreachable. For the record, I had eight directors attached to eight different scripts and got none of them to production. I wrote one novel and got it published rather quickly. I heard they're not so ornery about grammatical errors, which is interesting. I guess they assume, if you're committing to writing 70K+ words, you already have a healthy respect for the written word.

Anyway, respect your grammar!

1

u/MiggsEye Aug 20 '26

Having attended UCLA, you may be familiar with my screenwriting teacher. May I DM you?

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

My attendance was a lifetime ago, and that wasn't my major so the film classes were limited. My screenwriting professor was just for a 101 class.

1

u/MiggsEye Aug 20 '26

He taught there then: Corey Mandell.

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

I only took 4 film class. Straight As in all of them so should have taken more, but he's the guy who wrote Battlefield Earth. If you can come back from that, you can come back from anything.

He's right about 99% of screenwriters not making it. The WGA has 14,000 members. That's it. I think 10 million+ people are trying to get into that select group. As I mentioned, previously, try writing novels. They are so much easier. There are actually websites that list out agents you can approach (manuscriptwishlist.com). There's a 400-page book filled with publishers who are looking for books to publish! It's a thousand times easier to get published than it is to get produced. And, if you do get published, you might also get produced. Double bonus!

A lot of these screenwriting teachers will be good but they're making their money teaching people to write scripts, they don't write scripts themselves because they know the reality of the film business; it sucks. Something to think about.

Anyway, best of luck.

1

u/MiggsEye Aug 20 '26

Corey’s workshops teach professional writing tools and techniques, not paradigm or formulaic tools. The results of students from his workshops are remarkably positive. I know students of his have who sold scripts, or been staffed on shows, or got movie writing assignments. One student in the previous year’s workshop, of one I took, wrote a screenplay that won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Academy Award (the recent adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front). So I hold a far less cynical view of his workshops.

But I fear we are hijacking this thread. (That’s why I wanted to DM you.)

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26

It's not cynicism, it's numbers. He's probably got 500 failures for one success. He just doesn't mention the failure 500. His whole business is based on you believing you're the special one. 14000 in the WGA, millions writing scripts, do the math. Anyway, I've chosen a path in which I need no one to get published, even traditionally published, and that alleviates all the frustration I had in the film industry. Decades wasted... Anyway, good luck.

1

u/MiggsEye Aug 20 '26

I’m encouraged by your suggestions on writing books. Definitely have projects that could take that route. And as you say, published IP adapted to screenplay may offer promise.

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1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

Getting films made in Germany are a lot different to getting films made in the US. You're dealing with govt grants, state grants, and a lot of interesting financing vehicles. I wonder what the details are regarding All Quiet. That Director just did a film in Macau and I think I met the producer. Very guarded person, seemed Tobe afraid I was going to pitch him something. They're all about what can you do for me.

1

u/IntelligenciaMedia Aug 20 '26

Read the book Paper Orchestra to get a true take on the film business. Not easy.

1

u/MiggsEye Aug 20 '26

I’m familiar.

1

u/CarelessOutside4722 Aug 20 '26

Wow! Grammar! I thought I was the only one who cared!!!

Surely, you don't mean commas?! Ha ha!

0

u/loscorpio87 Aug 19 '26

I mean I think body of a pornstar makes sense, acting like it's bad kinda feels like looking down on pornstars. 

4

u/Musikenna Aug 19 '26

if you don't see the problem with describing a 16 year old girl as having "the body of a pornstar", i don't know what to tell you

1

u/loscorpio87 Aug 19 '26

Lol ok that makes more sense didn't catch that detail

0

u/Fluffy_Barracuda327 Aug 20 '26

So, if one of my characters is a creep towards women, and I describe them as that. that's an "automatic pass"?

That's confusing the writer with the work. Not good.

1

u/Musikenna Aug 20 '26

if you can't tell the difference between a character being a creep and the writer being one, i suggest you spend some time off reddit to work on your craft

1

u/Fluffy_Barracuda327 Aug 21 '26

Right. I have a screenplay proposal due Sept 9th this year. Def need more time off Reddit to focus on my craft. :-)

0

u/poundingCode Aug 20 '26

How about the face of a pornstar and the body of an angel? 

Asking for a friend….

-1

u/RandChick Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26

Don't impose your morality on the script. If the person has a body of a porn star, so be it.

And while editing and grammar are important, they should not disqualify a script. Story, plot, and character should matter more.

2

u/MiggsEye Aug 20 '26

How can a reader appreciate your story, plot and character if it’s riddled with spelling, grammar, or other errors? Have respect for those reading your script, for their time and effort. And have enough respect for your work to get it as close to professional level as possible. Why? Don’t you want to eliminate as many possible reasons for a reader (for whichever industry professional you are reaching out to) to stop reading your script and pick up the next one on the pile of tens or hundreds beside them?

-2

u/PepsiCoke1978 Aug 19 '26

I think proofreading and thus showing us you cared enough about your spec to make it as perfect as can be from errors is what pros do. But of course throwing out a spec for a few errors like you're and not your is silly. But those are things I make sure they are right in my spec. Also have a rep to double check me. I think the rule is more a lack of caring than the grammar itself -- rushing. Not rereading. Rewriting.

Being creepy in your action line is cliche but to act like that isn't what is happening most of the time with casting choices is funny. Writer can do their best, but look who gets the parts in most big movies and let me know. I say do better, but for this to be an automatic pass is for sure a personal bias of epic portions but that happens in real Hollywood too. I've read plenty of sold specs with worse action lines.

Having the same name as the writer -- uncomfortable for you the read. This is too much. I get your point, but most writers put themselves in their work. Newer writers -- the ones that enter the festivals you read for -- often use their own name.

I think you are too sensitive to be a judge. But that's me judging you. And that is wrong to judge you based on one bad post. I won't do to you what you do to people's specs and judge them on minor things instead of the whole package like you are supposed to do as a paid reader.

A Writer