Coe William K. The Screenwriting Bible

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The Screenwriting Bible™

Sir William K. Coe™

Character/action grid example

I created the following as a small example of how to use the Grid. I

created only three characters. I won't take you through the entire

grid with them, nor will I outline the entire story. I just want to

give you a feel for the Grid's use. You will want to list every

important action of your main characters from the beginning to the

end of the story.

CHARACTER/ACTION GRID -Character and Story

Char: Jim Sally Max

Role: Central character/hero Love interest, 2nd opp. Main opposition

Occ: Investigative journalist Animal rights advocate Circus owner

Goal: Exploit Blimpo the Elephant Save Blimpo the Elephant #1 Circus

Act in U.S.

for a story from exploitation

Motiv: Salvage career Blimpo saves her life (later) Prove he's not a

loser Need: Be more caring Trust and love Jim Respect animals

Flaw: Anything for a story Only trusts animals Inhumane

CHARACTER/ACTION GRID -Actions

JIM SALLY MAX

Fired, but then gets last chance

Dumped by Sally Dumps Jim; can't trust him Whips Blimpo

Kidnaps Blimpo; chased Chases Sally

Hides Blimpo in Jim's yard

Next morning: Finds Blimpo

Continue outlining your characters' actions to the end. When the Grid

is completed, you will be able to see your entire story on 1-3 pages.

The structure, pacing, motivation, and plot lines will be easier to

work with.

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The Screenwriting Bible™

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Marketing

Three keys to marketing yourself as a screenwriter

- Try everything

- Don't listen to statistics

- Knowledge is power

Two sources of information regarding who the

people in power are

- Primary research (contacts) – tell anyone who asks what you do for a

living you’re a screenwriter; ask for favors

- Secondary research (the media)

Four categories of people in power

- Agent or attorney

- Independent producers who develop projects

- Elements (major stars or directors)

- Financiers (studios, networks, investors, and grant-funding agencies)

You must approach all four categories of people simultaneously.

What to Do When Completed

Before approaching anyone with your screenplay, be sure it is good

enough to present by getting a positive response to it from at least

two out of five people whose judgment you trust. After your screenplay

is completed, stay away from it for a few weeks to allow yourself to

become objective when you review your screenplay to determine if it

works. When it’s as good as you can make it, make eight copies and

distribute them as follows:

- Put the original someplace safe in case your house burns down.

- Keep the first copy.

- Register the second copy to US Copyright Office.

- Register the third copy with the Writers Guild of America.

- Give the last 5 copies to someone you can trust, major

consideration to an evaluator. If you get even 2 positive

responses, go ahead and send it to an agent.

- Copyright and register the new one.

- Record every contact you come into. Make sure each screenplay is

complete before sending it to each contact, else you can lessen

your chance if you send your screenplay to the same person again.

Finding an Agent

Research agents using contacts, the media, the Writers Guild of America

list of agencies, other published lists of agents, and the Guild's

agency department.

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Agents look for three things in a potential client:

- A writer who will make money

- Someone with career potential

- Someone who won't add to their problems

You will want three things in a potential agent:

- Someone to guide your career

- Someone with power in the film business

- Someone who can negotiate

Approach agents with:

- A recommendation or referral

- A letter of approach – 1 pg, polite, direct, to the point. Parts:

The purpose – tell what medium it is for, you’re looking for

representation, if second or third, say so; A personalized

comment – if you came to them because of a friend or client they

represent, say so; Description of the screenplay – extent up to

you, mention genre. If an unpopular genre, mention what grabbed

you or don’t mention it at all.; Reference to the script as a

writing sample, an excellent one, to show that you want work not

just selling this screenplay; Offer to sign release forms – these

protect them in case they make a movie similar to your idea; Your

Background – screenwriter-specific, brief, any publications,

awards, honors in film and writing, subject of screenplay; Your

location – say you can return to LA whenever necessary; Future

contact – say you will be contacting them in the next few days to

discuss the situation further. More on query letters later.

 Follow-up call: Wait a few days for them to get it and call

in middle of the week. Be nice to secretaries as they are

your link to the agent and could become your agent someday.

If told they are not reading unsolicited screenplays, ask

for other agents or if he will read the screenplay

- A cold phone call

- Dropping in to the office

- DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR SCREENPLAY UNTIL TOLD SO!

The object of approaching an agent is to get someone at the agency to

read your screenplay. If one agrees to read your screenplay send a

thank you letter reminding them of your conversation, and always check

up your status once a month until you get a response.

If an agent is interested in you as a writer, meet with the agent, and

at least ask the following two questions:

- What did you think of my script?

- Who else do you represent?

Don’t be afraid to mention your career goals and objectives.

If you sign with an agent, he receives 10 percent of all your

earnings as a screenwriter.

An attorney can be hired to represent you instead of an agent, usually

for a fee rather than a percentage.

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Approach Production Companies and other Ways of Finance

Use the same process for concurrently approaching producers, elements,

and financiers.

Research producers through articles, interviews, published directories,

film credits, and contacts. Then approach them through their heads of

development. Do the same with 3 screenwriters from movie credits and

ask the WGA who represents them.

Most elements have their own production companies, are approached in

the same way as other independent producers. Otherwise go through their

representatives or obtain personal productions.

Do not approach studios or networks at lower than level of story

editor.

Approach other financiers with your screenplay, a bud breakdown, and a

prospectus or grant application.

Never let your business activities interfere with your writing.

Reject all rejections and keep writing!

The Screenwriter’s Deal

Three ways for a screenwriter to earn money

- Sale of the screenplay

- A development deal

- A salaried staff writer position

Sale of the screenplay is based on an option/purchase deal.

An option is the exclusive right to purchase property for a

predetermined amount of money over a finite period of time.

The negotiable elements of an option/purchase deal include:

- Option price

- Purchase price

- Option period

- Renewal clause

- Exclusivity

- Guaranteed rewrites

- Bonuses

- Percentage of net profits

- Participation in sequels, spin-offs, and remakes

- Ancillary rights (merchandising)

- Turnaround clause

In a development deal, the screenwriter is hired by a producer or

financier to write a screenplay based on the idea, or on a story

concept controlled by the producer.

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A pitch is a verbal presentation of a film story. More about pitches

and premises later.

A step deal is a development deal outlining each stage in the process-

treatment, screenplay, rewrites- plus the fee paid at each stage and

the amount you are guaranteed before the project can be discontinued or

another writer hired.

Staff writers, story editors, and producers for episodic television

series can receive both guaranteed salaries and negotiated fees for the

episodes they write, plus royalties for rebroadcasts.

Your Strategic Marketing Plan

Principles

Segmentation: identifying the market segments that seem best for your

script.

Differentiation: How you market yourself from other writers competing

for that same market segment. (What gives you that competitive edge?)

Three steps to planning: purpose, audience, and strategy.

Purpose

What you want to accomplish from the point of view of your audience.

Audience

Identify the individual you wish to sell your script to. Understand his

or her company. What are they looking for now or bought in the past?

Query letters vs. phone calls? What’s their market?

Strategy

Derives from their needs, their ideas into your scripts. What do you

need to put in a query to hook them, how will your work benefit them?

There are features and benefits.

Features - The logical argument.

Benefits – The emotional argument.

What benefits them and will get their emotions?

High Concept

Find those few words that will hook the agent or producer, or tell your

story, in 25 words or less.

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Use local resources, even newspaper, television networks, etc. as

backdoors to Hollywood.

Tools for Selling

Before you can sell your screenplay, or even send it to agents, you

need to develop some marketing tools using what you already know. It’s

time to rewrite your logline, pitch, premise, synopsis, and treatment.

Logline

Logline techniques vary among screenwriters but most will agree with

this warning from the American Association of Screenwriters, "If you

can't say it in three sentences, you don't know what your script is

about."

Don't limit yourself to the set-up or the plot, emphasize the unique

elements of your script that enable audiences to connect with the

situation and identify with the hero. Think of the logline as a

commercial for your movie.

LOGLINE FOR A CHARACTER-DRIVEN DRAMA: RAIN MAN

The set-up: A young, self-centered hotshot goes home for his father's

funeral and learns he's been cut out of the will. The family wealth

goes to an older sibling - an autistic brother he never knew he had.

Imagine we were making a commercial for RAIN MAN. What clips would we

use?

To create IDENTIFICATION with the star we'd show moments emphasizing

the contrast between the brothers and dramatize the star's frustration

with this unexpected obstacle to his ambitions.

To create CONNECTION with the star's situation we'd show the ACTION he

takes to get what he wants -- the family money. How does he try to get

control of the inheritance? He kidnaps the autistic brother. Since the

brother is afraid to fly, they drive cross-country. They visit places

(Las Vegas, fancy shopping malls) where the hotshot feels at home but

which the autistic brother finds challenging - comically and touchingly.

To highlight the POTENTIAL CRISIS the hero faces, we'd focus on moments

that dramatize the unexpected relationship developing between the

brothers as the hotshot realizes how unusual his 'savant' brother is.

To emphasize what's at RISK for the hotshot, we'd hint at the secret

that binds them and threatens the grandiose plans he has made.

LOGLINE FOR RAIN MAN:

A self-centered hotshot returns home for his father's funeral and

learns the family inheritance goes to an autistic brother he never knew

he had. The hotshot kidnaps this older brother and drives him cross-

country hoping to gain his confidence and get control of the family

money. The journey reveals an unusual dimension to the brother's autism

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that sparks their relationship and unlocks a dramatic childhood secret

that changes everything.

LOGLINE FOR A PLOT-DRIVEN COMEDY: SOME LIKE IT HOT

The set-up: Two male musicians witness the St. Valentine's Day

massacre. When the mobsters pursue them, they try to elude them by

joining an all-girl band headed for a gig in Miami.

What film clips would we use to create a commercial for this classic

comedy?

We'd emphasize the accelerating COMIC COMPLICATIONS that result from

the cross-dressing:

The sax player falls so hard for a sexy girl in the band that he

creates a new male identity so he can pursue her.

The bass fiddle player struggles to keep from blowing their cover as he

dodges the comical romantic advances of an aging, nearsighted playboy.

We'd want to reveal the DANGEROUS COMPLICATIONS that the mob massacre

promised upfront. We must reveal that the mobsters show up at the Miami

resort where the 'girls' have a gig because their arrival complicates

the love stories and pressures the heroes.

LOGLINE FOR SOME LIKE IT HOT:

Two male musicians accidentally witness the St. Valentines' Day

massacre; and to elude the mobsters who pursue them, they dress in drag

and join an all-girl band headed for Miami. One of them falls for a

sexy singer and poses as a Miami playboy so he can woo her; he

convinces his pal to dodge the amorous advances of the rather

nearsighted Miami playboy he impersonates. Love conquers all -- till

the mobsters show up at the same Miami resort for a convention.

CHECKLIST FOR YOUR LOGLINE

Reveal the star's SITUATION

Reveal the important COMPLICATIONS

Describe the ACTION the star takes

Describe the star's CRISIS decision

Hint at the CLIMAX - the danger, the 'showdown'

Hint at the star's potential TRANSFORMATION

Identify SIZZLE: sex, greed, humor, danger, thrills, satisfaction

Identify GENRE

Keep it to three sentences

Use present tense

The Pitch

Many writers fear pitching their stories, if they wanted to perform for

an audience, they would not have chosen a solitary profession like

writing. Script writing may be a solitary pursuit when you face the

blank page; but once you put something magic on that blank page,

everybody wants to get into the act.

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Working writers often pitch their stories while they're in the midst of

writing their screenplays. Even after they sell the script, they have

to pitch it to the director and the actors. All successful

screenwriters learn how to pitch effectively, it's part of the job

description.

PRACTICE YOUR PITCH

This seems rudimentary, but some writers get caught up in the

omnipotent throes of the creative process and believe they can wing it.

Spare yourself and your audience some agony -- DON'T wing it.

INSIDER TIP: Practice pitching to a pal or writing partner. Pitch a

screenplay you've already written or a movie you've seen before you

practice pitching your new story. Leave the audience with the

impression that they've seen your movie or at least a tantalizing

trailer of your movie.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PITCH

The pitch should be about 10 minutes max. This leaves time for

feedback. The initial pitch must answer these questions:

1) Who is the movie about?

Give the impression the movie centers on ONE character, the most

interesting character -- the STAR. Movies are star-driven. Even low-

budget independent producers hope the unknown actor they cast in the

lead will become a star or at least look like a star in this movie.

2) What happens to the star?

• Include the arena of the story and the basic situation of the

star.

• Tell where the star is (emotionally, physically, mentally) at the

beginning.

• Tell where he/she goes (emotionally, physically, mentally) during

the movie.

• Explain where the star ends up (emotionally, physically,

mentally) by the climax.

• Describe how the star's crisis changes him or her in some

fundamental way.

• Emphasize the conflicts (internal and external) the star faces.

3) What gets in the way?

~ Highlight major OBSTACLES (inanimate or physical situations).

~ Describe important ADVERSARIES (characters) that try to prevent the

star getting what they want. These blockers should be worthy opponents,

otherwise overcoming them won't be satisfying.

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4) What's at stake?

Describe a few dramatic moments in detail. Choose moments involving the

star where the conflicts escalate or the crisis becomes more

complicated. Make it clear the star resolves the climactic crisis or is

actively involved in resolving it.

USE YOUR GENRE TO SELL YOUR PITCH

Know the genre of your movie -- movies are sold to audiences by genre.

Your pitch audience is interested in how they will market the movie as

well as how they will make it. Don't tell them how to market it, just

make it clear that it is MARKETABLE.

EMPHASIZE STAR QUALITIES

Present your story to emphasize the qualities that will attract the

star. Here are some general guidelines:

1) Stars usually respond to an interesting, well-developed character

caught up in a compelling situation with potential for exciting

conflict.

2) Stars instinctively want to play a character who takes action

within the story that leads to the resolution of the climactic

conflict. Duh.

EMPHASIZE QUALITIES THAT MIGHT ATTRACT A SUCCESSFUL DIRECTOR.

To attract a director you must lay out a compelling story that can be

told visually. By this I don't mean special effects and stunning

scenery. The story must unfold visually; the emotion conveyed visually,

the danger represented visually and so on. Your pitch

demonstrates this by the action you choose to describe and the way

you've dramatized and resolved the conflicts

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS

How detailed should you be? Don't become mired in miniscule movements

of plot. Give them a movie trailer not a summary of the movie.

Query Letter

Some writers mistakenly believe a query letter should ask permission to

send their script. That sets you up for a lot of rejection. Your query

letter has a much more subtle purpose – to identify those who will

respond to your movie.

HOW TO BEGIN

Format: Query letters run one page or less, single-spaced in a readable

font on business-like stationery.

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Salutation: Write to a targeted individual, not a company. This target

should be someone appropriate for your story.

ANTICIPATE THEIR QUESTIONS:

Often, you don’t personally know the target of your query. And they

certainly don’t know you. Put them at ease by answering the first

question on their mind –

WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING ME?

Your opening paragraph should clarify why you have chosen to query this

particular person. Define how the script might meet their needs. If an

established film professional referred you to this person, tell them

this upfront.

OKAY… SO WHAT IS YOUR MOVIE ABOUT?

I know this part of the letter sets stomachs churning. Writers believe

the entire future of their script rests on what they put into these few

descriptive sentences.

Relax! No one sells a movie script off a query letter. All this letter

has to do is entice them to take a look at the script. This first

contact begins a conversation that hopefully develops into a working

relationship.

Organize your pitch into two paragraphs:

The Movie Trailer

The first pitch paragraph acts as a trailer for your movie. Tease the

reader into wanting to see your movie script, just like movie trailers

entice the audience to come back to see the next attraction. Introduce

your genre, the main characters, the lead character’s situation, the

main obstacles and major adversary and how the lead plans to overcome

them. Hint at the ending without giving it away.

The Movie Poster

The second pitch paragraph promotes your script by highlighting vital

elements that reveal unique marketing angles which make your movie

special. Think of it as the poster for your movie. Here are some brief

examples of story elements worth emphasizing:

POTENT THEMES: The movie WITNESS had a provocative theme – Do you

resort to violence in order to keep the peace?

UNEXPECTED TWISTS: The alien in E.T. is not a conventional extra-

terrestrial intent on conquering earth; he’s a frightened, homesick,

loveable creature who was stranded here accidentally. He’s not the

adversary in the movie, the misguided adults are.

GENRE FLIP-FLOP: THE FULL MONTY is an a-typical male bonding movie (no

violence or contact sports) where the men recover their pride by baring

their souls as well as their bodies.

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