The Writer’s Journey… And The Script Doctoring Road

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(Above Photo by Jayden Yoon ZK; www.jaydenyoon.com)

The Writer’s Journey

…And The Script Doctoring Road

Written By Dr. Alan C. Hueth

Writing is all about the journey, and there are journeys that writers must consider. The most important one is The Viewers’ Journey. All professional scriptwriters want their viewers to be riveted to the screen. That requires that their viewers vicariously experience what the story characters are experiencing. This doesn’t happen until the writer goes through The Writer’s Journey, and there are roads that must be taken.

Some Critical Concepts of The Writer’s Journey

We’ll call the first one, Get an Idea. Consider this. When you write a letter or an essay, you don’t just sit down and start typing without any thoughts in mind. In the same way, professional script writers don’t just start writing the script without any ideas about the characters and the story. They go through a process of considering (in some scope and depth) the characters and the basic story.

Who are the characters — including their appearances, traits, personalities, fears, conflicts, goals, and who do they like/love/hate in the story? Will the climax and resolution of the story be clear, believable, and satisfying to the viewer?

Clear answers for these questions can help make the actual script writing goals happen. And every scene must accomplish this through the revelations of the characters, their conflicts and character beats, and plot points before script writing begins.

So, The Writer’s Journey is almost done. All you must do now is write a correctly formatted and professional-looking screenplay draft. You’re done! Someone buys it! They produce the film! Your name is on the credit roll’s Written by, and you’re famous!… NOT. Unfortunately, that’s not the norm.

The Script Doctoring Road

Most screenplays require editing. I’ve seen the words anywhere from DRAFT 2 to DRAFT 12 on the front pages of professional screenplays. Why? Because the organization leader or executive producer and/or producer and/or director – we’ll just call him or her the script owner – oftentimes finds problems with the characters or the story. The script owner thinks it’s not perfect enough for production – it’s “ill”– as in “poor in quality,” and not ready for production.

So, the script owner has options. They can ask you or someone else to rewrite it, or they can hire what’s called a script doctor.

A script doctor is… “a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other elements.” (Wikipedia)

I’ve doctored over 2,000 scripts for my projects, my students’ scripts, and professional writers. Why? Because the babies (the words in the script) were sick. It’s very easy for a script writer to fall in love with the words in their script.

And when that happens, editing can be very difficult. Why? Because the writer thinks the script is perfect already, and “You better not touch it!” Why does that happen? The problem is pridefulness… another story for another day.

So, how can this be done better and more efficiently? The best way is to do the doctoring before you write the first draft of the script or screenplay.

The Pre-Script Doctoring Documents

The best approach to doctoring is writing some pre-script or screenplay documents. That includes some additional journeys that all writers should consider. They save lots of time in script and screenplay editing. They also make your first script or screenplay drafts better. And this pre-script doctoring is relevant to the professional world.

Producers and executives don’t have the time to read scripts unless the script comes to them through an agent. However, a producer or executive will more likely be open to reading one of these documents than a script or screenplay. So, these pre-script documents can be used for pitching but also as story and script or screenplay development.

Below you’ll see a logline and a synopsis. These two examples below are the most important, and they will give you an idea of what’s included and what they look like. There are two other pre-script or screenplay development documents: a treatment and a step outline.

WARNING: This homework does have a cost – especially to instructors. Instructors, if you assign this, you must read, provide feedback, and grade those other pre-development documents.

Pre-Script Document 1

Write a logline! Here’s the logline that we have written (and was written) for The Hunger Games (2012).

“In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skill are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.” 

The logline includes the setting, the main character, the conflict, and the goal.

Pre-Script Document 2

Ideally, write a character sketch for each main character(s).

Pre-Script Document 3

Now, you’ve nailed the basic story and basic aspects of the characters. Write a synopsis and/or a treatment and/or a step-outline.

Here’s an example of part of a synopsis.

A Synopsis: 

The Hunger Games

THE BEGINNING (Act I)13

SENECA CRANE and CAESAR FLICKERMAN discuss the background-history of The Hunger Games event before a television audience. KATNISS EVERDEEN wakes up to comfort her young sister, PRIMROSE, who is worried about the coming announcement (“reaping”) of who will be the tributes (participants in the Games) from District 12 in The Hunger Games. KATNISS goes out to hunt for dinner and ends up meeting up with and dreaming what it would be like to live a life lived outside of the District 12 fences with her male-friend, GALE HAWTHORNE. KATNISS’ younger sister, PRIMROSE, is chosen as a “tribute,” but KATNISS bravely volunteers to replace her sister and becomes District 12’s female tribute. The male tribute is named PEETA MELLARK. Then KATNISS comforts her mother and encourages her to take care of sister PRIMROSE before she’s taken to Panem.

KATNISS and PEETA are escorted via high-speed train to the capitol by EFFIE. KATNISS and PEETA are shocked and disgusted by rich food and treats. They’re introduced to their mentor (and jaded alcoholic), HAYMITCH ABERNETHY, a former winner of The Hunger Games. KATNISS doesn’t like him, while PEETA is drawn to him. They come together, and HAYMITCH reveals the key to their survival.

 

The synopsis includes main plot points, foreshadowing incidents, and the climax and resolution of the story. You can find details of these documents, along with explanations and examples of treatments and step-outlines in my scriptwriting book.

You be the script doctor! Write these pre-script documents first and get feedback, then write the first draft of your screenplay!

Writing is all about the journey, and there are journeys that writers must consider. The most important one is The Viewers’ Journey. All professional scriptwriters want their viewers to be riveted to the screen. That requires that their viewers vicariously experience what the story characters are experiencing. This doesn’t happen until the writer goes through The Writer’s Journey, and there are roads that must be taken.

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Dr. Alan C. Hueth’s students have been well-prepared… More than 10% of his advanced students have had 26 film and television projects in 53 Film/TV regional, national, and international festivals and won 26 awards. His students have worked at DreamWorks Pictures, Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and television networks, radio stations, and video production companies all over the country. He’s now still helping his past students, doing some script and screenplay doctoring for feature-length films, and writing some media literacy books… in between spoiling his grandkids.

The Writer’s Journey... And The Script Doctoring Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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