Taylor W

How many screenplays have you read for BlueCat?

I’ve read around 40.

What is your job when providing feedback to a writer?

I strive to give writers objectivity about what they’ve written.  I’m not emotionally invested in their work like they are, so I can read it free of any bias or expectation of how I want the story to work out. 

What is your attitude toward a screenplay before you start reading?

Skeptical with no expectations of what I’m about to read.  I’d much rather be impressed than disappointed when I finish.

How do you stay focused when reading a script you don’t find interesting?

I try to discern why I feel disinterested.  Is it that I don’t like the characters?  Is the plot moving too slowly?  There are several ways a script can be uninteresting, and pinpointing which one it is both helps to “diagnose” my boredom and provide me with several hundred words of constructive criticism for the writer.

What are three common problems that keep coming up when reading for BlueCat?

1.  Really, really long description sequences.  It’s very obvious to me when a writer is a former novelist.  Flowery, poetic language is great – and it certainly takes talent to master – but it does not belong in screenplays.

2.  Beginnings without hooks.  Draw me in: I want to enjoy what I’m reading.  Too often there is too much backstory in the beginning or so much description that I have to read the first page a few times to figure out what story I’m jumping into (see #1).

3.  Stilted/formal/expository dialogue.  Try reading your lines out loud with a friend or family member.  If you don’t sound like real people, neither will your characters.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that real actors will bring dead lines to life.

How do handle being critical without being mean?

I have no reason to be mean.  Even if I read a script that I think is the most terrible piece of writing on the planet, the good news is that it can only be improved.  I’m also of the mindset that everything provides me with a learning experience: I’m a writer as well, and the more I can learn from someone else’s mistakes, the better.  With this mindset, criticisms become suggestions.

How do you avoid unwarranted praise?

Easily.  It’s not my script, I don’t know the writer personally, and I’m not the kind of person who over-praises in general.  If it were my screenplay, I’d appreciate receiving an honest critique over nice words that didn’t help me improve.

Do you have any pet peeves?

Aside from encountering typos and bad writing in general, a big pet peeve of mine is reading medical or psychological fiction that has little or no basis in fact.  If you’re writing an elaborate science fiction or fantasy story, it’s ok to take a few liberties.  However, if you don’t bother fact-checking or looking up terminology (for example, the fact that schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are not the same illness – and the fact that said illness is now called Dissociative Identity Disorder) your work comes off as sloppy, and, if it’s a drama, this can deter the serious nature of your script.

My other pet peeve is corny-sounding titles that are supposed to be deep.  If I see a script entitled “My Day Without Hope”, for example, I can safely predict that it will feature a girl named Hope.  There’s also what I call the “title moment”, in which the characters spell out exactly what the title means to them and (hint hint) why the audience should remember it.  This can be successfully woven in, of course, but most I’ve seen are not.

What is the heart of a successful screenplay?

Aside from believable characters and an interesting concept (both of which should, obviously, be part of any story) something I think is often overlooked is the fact that each character should have a specific reason for every choice he or she makes.  There’s nothing more boring than a character who has little or no driving force for his or her actions; characters who do and say things because that’s what they are “supposed” to do and say.  The screenwriter’s intentions, instead of the characters’, is most prevalent in these scripts.  The middle of the script often drags on as the characters waste time until they get to the really good part: the end.

What do you believe is the hardest part of the job of the screenwriter?

Gaining any sort of objectivity about what you write.  The best way to do this – other than having someone else critique it – is to put away what you’ve written for a while until you’ve almost forgotten about it, and then go back to it.  You’ll notice a lot of mistakes.  Another hard part is that every once in a while, you have to realize that what you’ve written simply needs to be tossed in the trash.  Some stories can’t be saved.

What advice would you like to offer a screenwriter before they enter BlueCat?

Two things.  One: make sure to proofread your work, and, if you have some really nice friends, ask them to proofread it for you as well.  And two: make sure you actually like what you’ve written.  If you don’t, no one else will, either.  Write what you love, not what you think you’re supposed to care about.