Below are some quotes and I've added some commentary under some of them.
"There are five simple rules for telling a good story: you must have
a scene where everybody cheers the hero, and a scene where they all
boo the villain, a scene where they gasp in horror, a scene where
they burst into laughter, and DON'T &*$#% UP THE REST!" -Howard Hawks
"With a sweep of my eye down the single-spaced scene list, I could
get the rhythm of the piece, how the action scenes were separated,
how far apart similar scenes were. I could spot when I'd let a B or
C story die and where I could insert something to keep that part of
the story alive." -Tom Lazarus, instructor at UCLA from book:
Secrets of Film Writing, pg. 4
My comment: Hence why it's important to create the scene list
before writing the scenes. You'll save time by not writing scenes
which had no business being there in the first place which you would
have had to delete later down the line.
"Finally, I recommend that aspiring writers study story-telling
masters like Charles Dickens. Because the old authors wrote their
stories for magazines, every chapter ends with a dramatic climax."
-Paul Collins
My comment: Every scene in your screenplay should end with a
cliffhanger.
"There is truly only one plot in all of fiction - the human heart in
conflict with itself." -William Faulkner
My comment: This really does describe the plot for my script
Donors. Both the "hero" and "villian" each has a heart in conflict
with itself. The hero has to make a decision which goes against his
heart, and the villian considers changing his decision because of
his heart.
"Because that's what an inciting incident does - it changes the life
of the protagonist forever. It forces him to seek a goal he may not
have thought of, or, if he'd thought of it, never had the courage to
pursue." -Paul Chitlik
My comment: The inciting incident moves the character out of
the life he has led up to this point and makes it impossible for him
to return to it - he is forced to move in a new direction. This
direction doesn't necessarily have to be a "good" one.
"Constant brainstorming or brewing, is the most important part of
writing..." -First Draft in 30 Days, Karen Wiesner
My comment: Actually it is this constant brainstorming that
makes writing possible. Without it there would be nothing to write.
"The pruned sentence must emerge not only leaner and clearer but
also more graceful and more effective than it was, better able to do
what you want it to do."
- Claire Kehrwald Cook,
Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing
"Look at the characters and try to understand their roles in the story." -Direct a Movie Well
My comment: By knowing their roles you'll know what part they
play in the story and be able to arrange each character's part into
an order that heightens the drama. This makes it possible for you to
compose a script that seamlessly integrates each character's
storyline.
"A good film script should be able to do completely without
dialogue." -David Mamet
My comment: To see if this was true I read through several
pages of my script Donor's only reading the action description and
well Mr. Mamet is right - the description of what's playing out
visually on screen really does tell the story. Try this exercise on
one of your scripts, if when you can't follow the story from the
action alone it's time to rewrite the action!
"You must brainstorm from the beginning of a project - before you
even write a word of it - through the outlining, the writing, and
the final edit and polish." -First Draft in 30 Days, Karen Wiesner
My comment: Never give up on the brainstorming - it is vital
that you do this all the way to the end of editing because it will
bring up new ideas you never would have thought of. Each time you
get another fantastic idea you'll be excited by how it makes your
script even better!
"Art must entertain and enlighten. To do only one, is a waste of
time and effort." -Voltaire
My comment: This is why each movie contains a theme, a
message you're sharing with the world, something which you think
people need to ponder on. The theme itself is not verbalized
explicitly but comes through in what the characters say and how they
react.
"If you satisfy your organization needs of structure and
flow...[then] you can write freely and creatively because if you
stick close enough to the spine of your story, as plotted through
your scene list, you'll always be moving the story forward." -Tom
Lazarus, instructor at UCLA from book:
Secrets of Film Writing, pg. 2
My comment: This is so true. After I wrote my beat sheet for
Donors I flew into the writing stage and didn't stop for 12
consecutive hours only stopping to sleep and then I started up again
the next day for an additional 12 hrs and for a third day of 12 hrs
and BAM! My script was done! It was an exhausting process - I was
walking around like a zombie for those three days but I was totally
gripped by how easy it was to write the script because my characters
were directing it and I was just recording it for them.
"...do give each major character the kind of scenes that, if acted
well, will bring accalim for managing such a challenging role.
Actors often tell their agents to look for 'Oscar roles' for them."
-Rob Tobin,
The Screenwriting Formula: Why It Works and How To Use It
"Your story takes place during a certain time frame - an
extraordinary period in your character's life. Use only those
characters necessary to tell this story; introduce events,
conflicts, situations that apply directly to this time frame."
-Laura Backes, Great Fiction Comes From Writing Lightly
My comment: This quote is exactly the point I'm always trying
to hammer home - all the miscellaneous things that have happened to
the character in the past do not count and therefore do not belong
in the script - the only thing that matters is the emotional event
that happened in their life that is now affecting the decisions they
are making in the moment.
My comment: It is vital that the reasons the characters take specific actions is
explained in some way - whether this be in foreshadowing, flashbacks, a line of dialogue or
a physical movement that indicates what caused him/her to become like this. You don't have
to give a full explanation but at least an indication of what led to this decision to act,
otherwise it will not resonate with the audience. You must create a reason for the audience
to believe he'd be
willing to: go that far, change his mind, seek out an answer, etc.
"In writing for the cinema, language takes second place. A look between two
characters in close-up can reveal much more than pages of dialogue.
Location, where a scene is set, is of vital importance to atmosphere and
can be a way of intensifying story and plot. The pace at which a film
unfolds, that subtle, almost indefinable rhythm, should be inherent in the
screenplay." -
Ronald Harwood