Work with a screenwriter/script consultant with over 15 years experience. I have collaborated on multiple projects and served as a story analyst for Act One Program and Keys2ScriptSuccess.
As our best story analyst, he combines razor-sharp insights drawn from a huge well of film knowledge with an ability to understand and come alongside the writer.
Now I am trying to reduce the number of pages I have to write for providing feedback. Try one of the following:
My Script Development Process
I used to write so many 4-page summaries (script coverage) for prodcos and 6-12 page script analysis (feedback) for writers, ticking boxes and ranking unquantifiables from 1-10, but it wasn’t until I mentored beginning screenwriters that I hit my stride with script consulting. I can impact your writing process more effectively from one 1-2 hour conversation and brainstorming session than I ever could trying to infer your intentions and vision from the page.
You see, what you really want to convey might not be on the page!
So, don’t force me to spend hours wordsmithing subtle critiques with encouraging phrases. Let’s focus on elevating your story together.
What to Expect from Our Feedback Session
We begin with you quick pitching your script and what motivated you to tell this particular story. Then we can break the story any way it needs to go.
I might ask, how does:
- the story express the protagonist’s coping mechanism and character arc? And I can explain that too.
- the plot fit into a 12-Sequence structure or 5-Act structure? And if not, why not?
- each story event and character serve the overall vision?
While brainstorming, we will work toward strengthening your character’s journey in the story, and how best to make it resonate with the audience. I will probably pull story development tools that I learned from Robert McKee, John Truby, Jeff Kitchen, Michael Hauge, and many others, to push your plot and character reveals, while suggesting variations on genre and elevating story elements (which I discuss at length in my Pre-Script Pro-Strategy Screenwriting Seminar!)
Questions?
I wanted to drop a note to thank you for your help. I’ve been re-writing the past few days and I’m really liking the way that this script is moving – and getting shorter. I’m finding a new freedom in letting go of some things I thought “must” be in this script, and this definitely for the better. Many, many thanks.
I just wanted to let you know how productive I found my script consultation with Brennan Smith yesterday. He had a perfect grasp of the nature of the project and came up with excellent suggestions as to how best solve its various problems. Not only this, but all Bren's notes were leavened with humor, something that is particularly welcome when one is trying to write comedy! All in all, the call ended with me feeling much happier and more purposeful that before it began.
Your evaluation is excellent!! I think this will be so helpful in shaping this project and what we decide to do with it. As a producer the whole "real life story" element has been a challenge knowing how close to hold and where to change things etc...
