I’m trying a script consultant this month for the first time ever. I’ll let you know how the experience goes, but in the meantime, here is an article (written by the service I’m trying — Script A Wish) outlining some reasons why you might want to consider using a reputable script consultant as well:
Before we start, I have to make a confession… I’m a script analyst. I know, I know – I have a conflict of interest here. Feel free to take this with a grain of salt – but I promise you, this will be a balanced and insightful article on story notes, and why they are a vital component in every serious screenwriter’s arsenal.
There is one key to success that I want you to keep in mind while reading this article: all it takes is one champion of your script to make your dream of becoming a professional screenwriter a reality. Write that above your desk – it will get you through those nights where you question what it is you are doing, and it will be a happy reminder once you’ve “made it”.
First, let’s talk about the professionals – the big league players everyone here wants to be. They don’t often use script analysts for their story notes. What? That’s right, they don’t. Why? They don’t have to. They have managers, agents, producers, and studio executives who give them story notes all the live long day. They don’t often use script analysts, but they rely on story notes to guide them to the final draft.
It’s an important point, because as we all know – writing is rewriting. So while they may not take every story note from every single person and integrate it into their draft, they use all of them to help winnow down what needs to be done to get the ball across the touchdown line. Why is that? Because, and this applies to all writers – aspiring and accomplished alike – we don’t have fresh eyes when it comes to our screenplays. We live them, we breath them, we write them – thus we don’t have an unbiased, objective eye to see exactly what works, and what needs work. So that’s point number 1:
#1 FRESH EYES: All Writers Need At Least One Pair of Fresh Eyes to Read A Script
Professional screenwriters get the added bonus of having managers, agents, producers, and other people who know exactly what makes a script work take a gander at their screenplays and tell them what it lacks.
But aspiring writers don’t have the same luxury – their family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and people they bump into every day are usually not highly knowledgeable industry professionals. Sure, you could have a friend who went to film school or another who’s an intern for Brett Ratner – but are they experienced and acclaimed analyzers of the golden brad-ed 120 pages? Most likely not.
What can those accomplished and experienced “fresh eyes” bring you?
