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SPEC WRITING MISTAKES, A THREAD PT 1:
Are you writing a spec for one of the writing programs this year? Last year I read 100+ submissions and noticed some patterns. All the scripts that didn& #39;t make the cut had at least one of these issues, while the great scripts avoided them.
Are you writing a spec for one of the writing programs this year? Last year I read 100+ submissions and noticed some patterns. All the scripts that didn& #39;t make the cut had at least one of these issues, while the great scripts avoided them.
I read half-hour specs, but most of this applies to hour longs and original pilots as well.
Quick caveats that a) there will always be exceptions to every *rule* and b) as a writer it is ultimately your artistic choice to adhere to any such *guidelines*. But my advice would be to have a good reason for ignoring these.
If you consider yourself an auteur who can& #39;t be bothered with this kind of stuff, trust me when I say you will likely be miserable in ANY of the fellowships and possibly writing for other people& #39;s shows in general. But if you want to seek out weak spots in your sample, read on.
1) LACK OF SPECIFICITY and/or CLARITY
1A) On their own, a lack of specificity tends to make scripts feel generic while a lack of clarity makes them confusing. But these two are also amplifiers and will compound any other problem on this list.
2) AIMLESS CHARACTERS WITHOUT GOALS OR WANTS
2A) At the very minimum, at least one of your characters should have a want or goal we can track, and they should be making choices that drive the story.
2B) Ideally they will have a clear, specific, and properly motivated goal (potentially along with at least a loose plan of HOW to achieve it), and they will make BOLD choices in their attempt to achieve that goal.
2C) Properly Motivated means it& #39;s logical to the character & they can articulate their logic so it make sense to us too. Character logic doesn& #39;t need to be rational. Flawed thinking is funny but we must understand how they arrived there or you& #39;ll have a story logic issue.
3) TOO MANY "GUESTS" and/or MAIN CHARACTERS DIDN& #39;T DRIVE THE STORY
3A) Far too often writers introduced tons of new characters. Or (tying in with 2) they invented a new character and gave them the only goal in the spec. The CHARACTER(S) that already exist in the show you& #39;re writing should be the most active people in the script.
3B) If you must follow this instinct of chasing novelty, exploring a story with a recurring character who doesn& #39;t usually get much screen time is a better way to do that without bogging us down with information overload.
3C) But DO NOT turn your main characters into puppets who are only there to react to the wildcard guest role(s) you came up with.
3D) Guests can create new problems for the regulars, but do not make them stand-ins for a vindictive all-powerful omnipresent overlord who controls your character& #39;s every move. That is one way to end up with the note "This feels written and contrived."
3E) And seriously chill with the number of new characters you add. It& #39;s not an exact science, but in my experience the number of new characters introduced was inversely proportional to the quality of a spec.
4) ABANDONING YOUR PREMISE
4A) If you set up that your main story line is going to be about a character avoiding going to the doctor, then stick with that premise! So many writers set up GREAT premises that got me excited only to drop them ten pages later for something newer and shinier.
4B) The flip side of this is adding on extra premises and tangential pursuits because the idea you started with doesn& #39;t seem to be enough. It& #39;s enough if you put plenty of obstacles in the way. TRUST your idea.
4C) There is some nuance to this depending on whether the goal you& #39;ve set up is super specific (X wants to open a bar) or slightly more vague (Y just had a birthday and wants to feel young again).
4D) If you& #39;re going for the latter, be clear in what "feeling young" means to them otherwise it will feel disjointed if in one scene they& #39;re trying to date someone younger and in the next they& #39;re headed to a toy store to recreate the piano scene from Big.
4E) Bottom line: keep it simple and clear what the story is. Even in a more complex show like Rick and Morty, I’d stray towards a Pickle Rick type story over Ricklantis.
