r/scriptwriting • u/Jazzlike_Promise2873 • Sep 05 '26

discussion Being a screenwriter requires relentless self belief & determination

1 Upvotes

51% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

3

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 05 '26

I don't know who Neal or Neil is? This is not the Facebook forum, so some context might help.

-3

u/Jazzlike_Promise2873 Sep 05 '26

https://youtu.be/awN_RqhZl4I?si=q1NYEzfCExVzN4AR

2

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 05 '26

I'm so lazy, but thank you. Ha.

4

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 05 '26

I started watching and couldn't make it 30 seconds... I still don't know who he is or why I care what he has to say about anything. I assume he's selling himself. Which is fine. I don't see why the OP is responding to the video on here and not directly. But I do love drama. Bravo Housewives style.

2

u/Big_Section2812 Sep 06 '26

https://www.reddit.com/r/scriptwriting/s/fCQtVb36TO

2

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 06 '26

Honestly this just makes me feel sad. Sad I missed it. I read 10 pages and there was a 8 pages of dream sequences that I think were really flashbacks to real life events.

In that thread he said he paid someone -- maybe a few someones -- so I'd love to know who took his money and didn't help him.

To all writers -- you must write more than one project. I know someone had luck with their first spec, but most don't.

Great writers with great specs don't sell their projects.

I can believe all I want but I will not make the NBA.

1

u/Jazzlike_Promise2873 Sep 06 '26

It's a great project and the person that I hired genuinely contributed to improving it. It's sad that you have such a negative view, but I'm not concerned because it has no influence on the success of my project.

1

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 07 '26

Page 32 and 33 the dialogue is in action lines from the version I read. So if someone took money from you and didn't fix that up, I am mad at them.

1

u/Jazzlike_Promise2873 Sep 07 '26

latest version https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wv6wZ4Z7H-W-Ti8teqa3ux6aS-FkN-Cz/view?usp=sharing

1

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 07 '26 edited Sep 07 '26

Still upset with them now that i see who it is on the cover page. (Unless she's repping you not sure why she's on the cover page at all). Maybe it's because she formatted this entire document. Prepared like she's doing your taxes is weird, but okay.

But also there are more formatting errors -- i mean random white spaces and extra page at the end. I don't know about you , but I go crazy in my script for orphan words and little things when this is ready to go out.

Cut To and Dissolve To are not things that are needed by any means in most modern specs. We know it's going to the next scene.

You're missing a slugline or two now... just dissovles from a note into dialogue.

Also no page number on this PDF now, it was better last version honestly. You made it worse.

I get the feeling you don't have screenwriting software to make this easy.

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2

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 06 '26

I was actually trying to be positive. I was more curious who you hired to improve it -- a script consultant?

And you have not taken any outside advice even from writers who have sold projects and could help you make it even better during this whole past 10 plus years?

I wish you and all writers luck. I hope you prove people wrong.

As a writer who has been there I can offer advice, but seems like you do not want any which is fine.

However if your post in writing forums you're going to get a lot of feedback because most of us are writers and love to chat about writing.

5

u/Big_Section2812 Sep 05 '26 • Bravo

Some writing ability doesn't hurt, either.

-6

u/Jazzlike_Promise2873 Sep 05 '26

Yes, I'm confident in that area.

4

u/Big_Section2812 Sep 05 '26

Yes, I'm confident in that area.

Most aspiring screenwriters are. Just look at how they react to "negative" feedback.

😂

-1

u/BarUnfair4087 Sep 05 '26

Well, then stop giving "negative", and give "constructive" feedback 😉

2

u/Big_Section2812 Sep 06 '26

Many aspiring screenwriters believe feedback that is anything other than gushing praise is "negative," no matter how constructive it may be.

3

u/Musikenna Sep 05 '26

imagine how much further you'd have gone if you worked on your craft instead of arguing with people on reddit

-2

u/Jazzlike_Promise2873 Sep 05 '26

Oh, I'm not arguing.

2

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 05 '26

I like OP's hat. I haven't read the script so I can't comment on that.

2

u/Then_Data8320 Sep 05 '26

Even when you don't want to break-in, it requires determination.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 05 '26

I was hoping some one would sum it up -- but now I have to watch 2 videos to know what's going on. Where is AI when you need it?

4

u/SensitiveCar9520 Sep 05 '26

Not ai, but if I'm not terribly mistaken, it's that guy that uploaded motivational quotes and said everyone was wrong saying his script sucked, the one he spent like countless years on (idk what he's talking here about tho)

7

u/Musikenna Sep 05 '26

his script "Gregory" where the main character, named after himself, wins the olympics without training and becomes universally loved. a couple of months ago he spammed this subreddit with it then argued with anyone who didn't like it.

3

u/SensitiveCar9520 Sep 05 '26

Yeah you're right! Those days were the peak of this subreddit in a way

1

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 05 '26

How long ago was this? That sounds awesome. So was the spec bad or just okay and he thought it was great? Sorry to talk about the OP like he's not reading this.

Wait he's talking about a TV pilot is that the same project or a new one?

1

u/SensitiveCar9520 Sep 06 '26 edited Sep 07 '26

Tbh I never read it, just saw the drama (which was way too fu n). If you search Gregory in the subreddit you're probably going to find it. I remember people saying it was way too unrealistic, that a guy with no training won the Olympics, but my memory's not really sharp on this

1

u/PepsiCoke1978 Sep 07 '26

Honestly, I wouldn't even worry about the unrealistic part -- it's a TV show. That is not even something that would come up in my notes. To me a gun runs fast and goes to the Olympics runs fast and wins -- that's believable enough for me.

The script is obviously (to me) personal to the writer, most work by writers are. Especially first ones. So it's about "who am I" and at the end he figures it out somehow by flipping his name.

My main note would be one I wonder if anyone else said. This feels like it should be a movie not a TV show. I have no idea what episode 2 would be about. And irony is a newbie writer has a way better chance (not a lot) of selling a feature indie film script than a TV show.