Tweetstorm: Ed Solomon on Not Writing a “Micromanaged Script”

“You are NOT creating a document to be manifested precisely as written. No, you’re creating a template for other artists to interpret, to be inspired by, & to add to.”

Twitter can be a gold mine for writers. Case in point, when pro writers generate a tweetstorm about the craft. Recently, screenwriter Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Men In Black) uploaded an excellent series of tweets on not micromanaging a script. Reprinted here by permission.

That’s a great exercise: Watch a movie. Transcribe it as you see it. How about this wrinkle? Then read the shooting script and compare what you wrote to what they wrote. I’m almost positive your script will have a lot more words than the production draft.

It’s a delicate balance. You write what is essential so the scene works, write it as efficiently as possible, yet entertain the reader.

As Ed suggests, maybe the best way to think about it is to write to inspire people who read your script:

• Inspire managers and agents with your writer’s voice
• Inspire producers, studio execs, and financiers to ‘see’ your movie
• Inspire directors with the story’s cinematic possibilities
• Inspire actors to want to inhabit your story’s characters

As I tweeted:

You may follow Ed on Twitter: @ed_solomon.

For 65 more screenwriting tweetstorms, go here.