Blake, I am so glad you responded as this confirms — with numerous other…

Blake, I am so glad you responded as this confirms — with numerous other conversations/communications I’ve had — with script readers about how these so-called “rules” have gotten “codified.” Whether the intent of some of these “how to” books has been to contribute to that codification or not, the fact is, it’s happened. I just had my first class with a group of university seniors tonight. Almost all of them screenwriter majors with a few directing students as well. I presented a series of excerpts from actual movie scripts as part of our discussion (it’s a scene-writing class) and as I came across several examples where the professional writers(!) “broke” this or that rule, I asked, “How many of you have been told you can’t do this or you can’t do that?” A majority of hands shot up in to the air.

My answer to this issue is always the same: Read movie scripts by pro writers. Time and again, this paves the way for us to be free to tell stories the way they need to be told, so-called rules be damned.

Anyway, I’m glad you’ve found your way through all of that. I trust you have tapped into what a script should be about: A living, breathing organic story!

Thanks again!