Screenwriting 101: Chris McCoy

“Normally, your first scripts are there to establish what your voice is, what you actually want to write and what you want to bring to the town. Then, off of a spec that people enjoy and pass around, you might get an OWA [Open Writing Assignment] or you might sell a pitch or something like that. So often, I think with their first spec, writers are trying to write for the market. But when it comes to your first thing, the town is looking more for a voice, and when you get in the room for that first round of meetings, everybody is going to say, ‘Okay, what’s the next thing?’ And maybe the next thing will be the one that sells. But trying to cater to the market, to me, is a big error that I think a lot of younger screenwriters make.”

— Chris McCoy

From Go Into The Story interview, December 2014

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