In my continuing efforts to add more screenwriting content to this site, here is a list of mistakes/cliches I have seen in reading over 150 scripts on Triggerstreet.com.
By no means is my word the gospel, I’m definitely still learning I’m not a professional, just someone who has read a TON of scripts and sometimes even these mistakes/cliches could work in your favor, depending on who is reading you work. So take this advice with a grain of salt.
Without further ado.
1. Not Caring About Formatting
What this really means is not caring about if your script ever gets read by anyone that matters. If you’re script is not properly formatted it outs you as an amateur, putting you at an even further disadvantage in an absurdly difficult field.
2. I’m About To Leave, But Let Me Turn Back to Say This One Dramatic Thing
This dialogue exchange is cliched in movies and screenplays. I’ve probably read at least a dozen scripts if not more that use it. Here’s a made up example (not properly formatted).
BOB
Well, you take care, Jim.
Bob walks to the door and stops. He turns to face Jim.
BOB
And Jim?
JIM
Yeah?
BOB
Don’t go in the closet.
Bob leaves.
END EXAMPLE
Seems like it is pretty dramatic right? Well yeah, it probably was the first time someone used this dialogue rhthym. But by now it’s super cliche.
3. Horror scripts that don’t care about doing anything different
Here’s my take on this. Horribly (no pun intended) unoriginal horror movies keep making money. So a new writer might think, my script doesn’t have to be original to sell. And yeah, that might be true. But I think if a studio wants to make a typical teen slasher, they’ll go to someone they know and trust, not some random stranger. I just think that makes logical sense. And in an artistic sense, no writer should strive to be typical. If your teen horror script hits every cliche in the book (don’t go in that spooky cave, white girl! Don’t trip at the worst possible time! Don’t smoke weed and have sex in an isolated cabin!) you might as well program a robot to write it.
4. Cradling that photo.
In real life who actually takes a photo around with them and looks at it all the time? Probably not as many people as the amount who do it in scripts. This is actually really hard to get around and I admit I’ve used it before. But as writers we need to strive to find another way to suggest a lost love or estranged daughter or what have you.
5. “This script is more slice of life” by which you mean it has no conflict
Saying a script is “slice of life” is not a defense for it having no conflict. Occasionally I’ll come across writers whose script is filled with chatty, rambling dialogue, zero character arcs, zero conflict and an overabundance of general pleasantness. Guess what? Life is filled with conflict. I’ve had more conflict on an average Tuesday than are in these scripts. No conflict means no interest, from the reader.
6. Noooooooooooo!
This never fails to appear super-silly on the page. If someone dies and you write the witness screaming “Noooooo!” with literally numerous o’s, it is too silly. Your scene might be super serious, but the effect is going to be majorly goofy.
7. Dull Villains
We know the bad guy is going to be mean. This is not a surprise. It is also not a character. Someone who is just mean for meanness sake, if presented too simplistically is BORING. Think about the great villains in film history, Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, these guys have personalities, backstories, personal philosophies. Your bad guy needs to be as interesting as your lead.
-Dan Benamor