Fictional Skies

Vince Gilligan (via  David D. Burstein ) has three excellent  storytelling tips  for those not wanting to ruin their work by rigid long term planning. Script Quack  offers two words and great  craft insight  for those struggling to get to grips with structure. Danny Stack  touches on the  realities  involved in becoming a professional screenwriter for those looking to create a ten-year plan. Jeffry Hirschberg  shares his  11 Laws of Great Storytelling  for those wanting increase the odds of their screenplay achieving greatness. Screenwriter's Digest

I look at my read/write/watch routine on a weekly basis and often identify a common thread: I write more than I watch and watch more than I read.  Writing overshadows them both by some way which I think it should. But have felt that reading less than watching could be a weakness and imbalance in my routine. Should we be reading more than we watch?  Balanced Reading  I often read a script on my day off which is two days a week, but note, I do say 'often' because other things can get in the way and sometimes I miss the chance to get one script in a week. My desk and writing environment with two whiteboards chock-full with notes screams " Writing! Writing! Writing! " whenever I am there or nearby. But not so much " Reading! Reading! Reading! " Of course, if we are to write well - we must read. However, not to the extent that if you wanted to impress a producer - instead of doing so with your excellent script you reveal that you've read 2...

For those who don't have the money to spare for a professional script reading service. Here's a way to raise the funds for one, which I'm sure for most people would be needed sometime in the near future and not today or tomorrow. If you put 50p (a dollar or euro, etc.) into a pot for every session you attend on a TV script or screenplay each week or month. By the time you complete a first draft or rewrite or two you should have saved up enough money to pay for a professional script reading service. (To use on a later, more refined and polished draft, of course.) In that respects, it's not much at all and wouldn't take much effort to raise the desired amount with at least a couple of pounds (dollars or euros, etc.) going in each week. Or it could be a continuous fund added to every time you work on a script and would result in a large amount that could see many scripts receiving the professional treatment when the time is right. If Only ... professional scr...