Is Reading For You?
Does being a reader make you a better writer? Short answer – yes. In my case, anyway. Absolutely. I had taken umpteen million writing classes, programs etc. before I began reading, and had written at least seven feature scripts, three TV specs, innumerable essays and short stories. But still, reading pile upon pile of scripts definitely made a huge difference.
As a reader you see very clearly what not to do. And you see it over and over and over. When we read a great script it’s not like the thing that made the script great is really possible to emulate because it’s ephemeral – it’s just good. Great dialogue, characters, overall execution and a fascinating plot – well, sure I could emulate that – conceptually. Not so easy. But what NOT to do, well, you could make a bullet-point list and tape it to your computer.
Often writers counsel other writers to read produced scripts; I counter that actually more can be learned from reading unproduced, novice scripts. I am in no way, shape or form saying don’t read great scripts – it’s a treat and of course it’s a lesson. But the real lesson is in learning from the mistakes of the many while appreciating the talent of the few.
Though I read for some major production companies (less and less as I segue into consulting privately) and have quite a bit of writing experience, I still seek out notes on my own work. Not as much as I used to when I was just starting out – I am very selective about whom I ask to read my stuff. Additionally, the writing program that I attended for two years (The Writer’s Boot Camp in Santa Monica) really did stress becoming “your own authority on your work” and I have to say, the program really did teach me that.
But no matter how experienced you are or what writing program you graduated from, or even how many scripts you read each week, you always need an outside opinion. I make sure I choose someone whom I consider at or above my level of experience as a writer. I make sure to choose someone who has no hidden agenda of ego gratification via criticism of one who is supposed to be “good” at this. I choose someone who won’t pull any punches either. I recently gave a comedy of mine to a wonderful friend (hi Paul, I know you’re reading this) who gave me fantastic, detailed notes that were invaluable to me. Even though it wasn’t exactly his genre and even though I started off as his consultant before we became friends, his notes were detailed and spot on.
If you live in the LA area, doing some reading can actually be a fantastic way to see what’s going on around town – who’s reading what and what kind of scripts are crossing desks. One of the prodcos I read for is Bedford Falls. I love talking to the execs and finding out what’s up on deck with the company. Becoming a reader isn’t rocket science – but it does take a lot of hard work. You get good through repetition and experience. It doesn’t hurt if you are a pretty good writer yourself – I’m sure we’ve all read a poorly written coverage. It makes the bad news sting so much more when the writing is inexpert, doesn’t it?
My friend Pilar Alessandra teaches a great class on becoming a reader. You can check her course listings at http://www.onthepage.tv/. Once you take Pilar’s class – that’s what I did, anyway - you do some cold-calling and find out if there is a competition you can read for, or if you can find a small production company that might give you a few scripts to read for free. Yes – for free. You can’t expect to get paid at first. You have to pay those dues. Let me tell you, the competition can be fierce even for the free reading jobs! Why? INTERNS. Man, I grew to hate them. Bless their pointy little blonde heads. The cold calling absolutely sucks. Oh, I hated it so very much. But if you just set aside feeling stupid, somebody will eventually bite. It’s just a matter of persistence and luck. I called Walden asking if they needed readers and the receptionist said sure, send me your resume. I did. I never heard back. Probably three weeks later I called to follow up. A different receptionist put me on hold. An executive picked up. I asked about my resume. What resume? He’d never gotten it and never heard of me before whatsoever. But if I would fax in a resume, he had a reader who just quit. Wow, what timing. And a beautiful relationship was born. I love working at Walden – great execs and great company.
Being a reader for only a few weeks or months just to get the experience can really fast track your learning curve – I guarantee it. But it is most definitely not for everyone and you can’t just jump right in. In my case, reading opened up a new world for me and one that I couldn’t have predicted. I made some cool reader friends, I have made great connections with executives, and of course, it led to my decision to start the Script Whisperer.
As a reader you see very clearly what not to do. And you see it over and over and over. When we read a great script it’s not like the thing that made the script great is really possible to emulate because it’s ephemeral – it’s just good. Great dialogue, characters, overall execution and a fascinating plot – well, sure I could emulate that – conceptually. Not so easy. But what NOT to do, well, you could make a bullet-point list and tape it to your computer.
Often writers counsel other writers to read produced scripts; I counter that actually more can be learned from reading unproduced, novice scripts. I am in no way, shape or form saying don’t read great scripts – it’s a treat and of course it’s a lesson. But the real lesson is in learning from the mistakes of the many while appreciating the talent of the few.
Though I read for some major production companies (less and less as I segue into consulting privately) and have quite a bit of writing experience, I still seek out notes on my own work. Not as much as I used to when I was just starting out – I am very selective about whom I ask to read my stuff. Additionally, the writing program that I attended for two years (The Writer’s Boot Camp in Santa Monica) really did stress becoming “your own authority on your work” and I have to say, the program really did teach me that.
But no matter how experienced you are or what writing program you graduated from, or even how many scripts you read each week, you always need an outside opinion. I make sure I choose someone whom I consider at or above my level of experience as a writer. I make sure to choose someone who has no hidden agenda of ego gratification via criticism of one who is supposed to be “good” at this. I choose someone who won’t pull any punches either. I recently gave a comedy of mine to a wonderful friend (hi Paul, I know you’re reading this) who gave me fantastic, detailed notes that were invaluable to me. Even though it wasn’t exactly his genre and even though I started off as his consultant before we became friends, his notes were detailed and spot on.
If you live in the LA area, doing some reading can actually be a fantastic way to see what’s going on around town – who’s reading what and what kind of scripts are crossing desks. One of the prodcos I read for is Bedford Falls. I love talking to the execs and finding out what’s up on deck with the company. Becoming a reader isn’t rocket science – but it does take a lot of hard work. You get good through repetition and experience. It doesn’t hurt if you are a pretty good writer yourself – I’m sure we’ve all read a poorly written coverage. It makes the bad news sting so much more when the writing is inexpert, doesn’t it?
My friend Pilar Alessandra teaches a great class on becoming a reader. You can check her course listings at http://www.onthepage.tv/. Once you take Pilar’s class – that’s what I did, anyway - you do some cold-calling and find out if there is a competition you can read for, or if you can find a small production company that might give you a few scripts to read for free. Yes – for free. You can’t expect to get paid at first. You have to pay those dues. Let me tell you, the competition can be fierce even for the free reading jobs! Why? INTERNS. Man, I grew to hate them. Bless their pointy little blonde heads. The cold calling absolutely sucks. Oh, I hated it so very much. But if you just set aside feeling stupid, somebody will eventually bite. It’s just a matter of persistence and luck. I called Walden asking if they needed readers and the receptionist said sure, send me your resume. I did. I never heard back. Probably three weeks later I called to follow up. A different receptionist put me on hold. An executive picked up. I asked about my resume. What resume? He’d never gotten it and never heard of me before whatsoever. But if I would fax in a resume, he had a reader who just quit. Wow, what timing. And a beautiful relationship was born. I love working at Walden – great execs and great company.
Being a reader for only a few weeks or months just to get the experience can really fast track your learning curve – I guarantee it. But it is most definitely not for everyone and you can’t just jump right in. In my case, reading opened up a new world for me and one that I couldn’t have predicted. I made some cool reader friends, I have made great connections with executives, and of course, it led to my decision to start the Script Whisperer.
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