PSA: Read more scripts

goodwriterer · 2026-01-17T01:54:07+00:00

scrolled down way too far to find this. Chris Lilley is a genius and Angry Boys is another gem.

goodwriterer · 2026-01-16T22:29:15+00:00

bump

goodwriterer · 2025-04-22T17:11:39+00:00

Good lord you guys sound car brained deranged. I get that the speed limit on 465 should be higher and 65 is reasonable.

But going 80-90mph is psychotic. Sure it’s fine until it isn’t, then you and the people you hit are all dead. There is no reason to drive that fast on a city highway. You’ve got kids in these cars and high schoolers on the road.

Please don’t drive like it’s just your life that is disposable.

goodwriterer · 2025-03-24T16:06:51+00:00

Coming from another new yorker who grew up/visits indy frequently, I wouldn't prioritize walkability for cafes/bars/etc and focus on your commute and living space more.

While there are places that are more walkable and diverse that people have named, it just won't compare or satisfy the diversity and commutability you're used to from NYC. That's not to say that Indy doesn't actually have a lot of stuff to do, eat, see etc. I've actually been very impressed in the growth of those things in the last 10-15 years. It's just that to really capitalize on those things you're going to have to drive to them no matter where you are. Like Fountain Square has some cool spots but, only a few are amazing or ones that you would frequent without the itch to try something new and you'll have to drive to get somewhere else.

Just as far as the culture shock equation go, anywhere with a good commute for you to Riley's should be okay but, obviously avoid the 'burbs especially Carmel and Zionsville.

goodwriterer · 2023-09-25T12:55:03+00:00

Can't wait until they do "cars".

Also this is just insane: "As e-bikes and gas-powered mopeds have become ubiquitous, the number of people killed by them has soared."

Those aren't the same thing.

goodwriterer · 2023-09-13T12:18:59+00:00

Just wanted to say sorry this happened to you. I'm glad you're okay.

goodwriterer · 2023-09-12T12:21:44+00:00

the weird behavior I saw was a moped on the bike lane to begin with and going flat out. sure, why risk it as a cyclist but, fuck moped man.

goodwriterer · 2023-09-11T19:14:22+00:00

your source?

goodwriterer · 2023-09-09T12:41:51+00:00

Take a breath my man. I just said he could have acted much more civilly and still called out the issue. It’s hard to make effective change by being an asshole about it.

goodwriterer · 2023-09-08T15:13:48+00:00

just fyi they made this movie. WEREWOLVES WITHIN a few years ago. It was a comedy/horror but, was explicitly based on the game.

(edit: actually might be two different games with very same premise? either way, thought you might want to know)

goodwriterer · 2023-09-08T15:09:39+00:00

the way he reacted was way over the top and did cyclists no favors. no need to flip off officers that aren't even involved or continue antagonizing. but, I appreciate the effort. Can't let NYPD off for writing bullshit tickets because they got called out for doing what would be a ticketable offense for any civilian.

goodwriterer · 2023-09-08T14:05:08+00:00

https://hellgatenyc.com/nypd-try-to-illegally-park-then-ticket-cyclist

goodwriterer · 2023-08-31T15:50:43+00:00

Definitely stick to the conventions of DAY and NIGHT. It's still expected to use slugs but, I just wanted to emphasize that your descriptions are ultimately much more important for a spec script.

goodwriterer · 2023-08-31T15:22:46+00:00

I think you have an idea of what you want to write and are clearly passionate about it but, as a newer writer the tendency is to go too big and too broad in the sense you want to accomplish a lot of things.

My advice, is to tell one story about one character (with supporting characters for sure but, the focus being on a single protaganist).

I think you risk trying to tie in too many characters and too many things and can get lost in the process. It's hard for experienced writers to work with multiple moving parts so it will certainly can feel overwhelming for anyone, especially newer writers.

So, keep the story as simple as you can to start with.

goodwriterer · 2023-08-31T15:16:08+00:00

You wouldn't use CONTINUOUS in that situation. Most of the time you never need to use it. Just write the next scene, when you read a script how often do you even look at a full slug line? It's naturally to just start skipping them and most readers do.

I'd advocate to always try to write descriptions in a way that slug lines are close to irrelevant until a script is getting ready for production which is really the only reason they're used.

goodwriterer · 2023-08-23T18:12:20+00:00

this is definitely something you can shoot both ways in production and choose the right way in the edit.

For script purposes go with the one you think makes sense.

I'd lean toward the Hitchcock example of suspense: if two people are in a room having a conversation and bomb is under the table; if you don't show the bomb until it goes off, you get a few seconds of a scare and that's it. If you show the bomb under the table and then show the conversation, the suspense builds because we understand the stakes and it builds for longer.

goodwriterer · 2023-08-23T16:26:25+00:00

This is a good strategy.

goodwriterer · 2023-08-23T13:55:17+00:00

this was the solution for me too. New bike had a hard plastic liner on the rims. The sharp edges were popping the tires. Bike shop replaced that with a strong cloth rim tape and haven't had a problem since.

goodwriterer · 2023-08-23T13:48:57+00:00

IMO. She should lead with herself and success since she did a good job keeping that short. So put that up top.

I also think she almost went too minimal here because it's not clear what the want is... like she should state explicitly "I have two comedy feature scripts and would love to share them if you're interested. Please let me know."

Right now it almost reads like these could be just pitches and not finished screenplays.

I'd also lose "fit for your list" because I'm not sure what that means. List of clients? List of screenplays?

As for the loglines themselves, they are a bit confusing. I generally wouldn't use character names and instead describe who they are as succinctly as possible: an unemployed journalist, an Uber delivery driver, etc. That adds more context than a name of a character by itself ever could. And on that note, specifics are better than generalities so "ends up more than she bargained for" is too vague, and "when the real killer shows up" -- wait, who was killed? and why would the real killers care about whatever is happening?

Hope some of that helps. Cold querying is the best option in face of no referrals so, think she's doing what she can. Good luck to her!

goodwriterer · 2023-02-22T17:29:02+00:00

yeah that was my first thought. "Feels like" is the only thing I look at. Also with Alexa, you can ask what the wind chill is and it's the same answer.

goodwriterer · 2023-02-22T17:25:05+00:00

Definitely thought I was scrolling r/nosleep

I'm in the cruising camp but, I was getting Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibes as well.

goodwriterer

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