There’s one thing that every screenwriter must do if they want to have a real shot at getting an agent and selling their script.
The agent and the sale of your screenplay are the end goals. But the journey ultimately begins and ends with the quality of your screenplay.
How good your screenplay is is the sole factor that will determine your success as a screenwriter and define your writing career.
So what can you do to elevate your screenplay and make it stand out as not just a readable script, but a great story (something that is irresistible to agents and producers and people working in Hollywood)?
The answer, surprisingly, be found by analyzing other great screenplays that have been lauded and well received (both commercially and at awards ceremonies).
One common element that all great movies have is that the objective and the motive of the main character is well defined.
Examples of Great Motives:
1. Catch and stop a killer (Se7en)
2. Escape from prison (Shawsank Redemption)
3. Resist a life of crime (The Godfather)
4. Get the girl to fall in love with you (There’s Something About Mary)
5. The journey to success (The Social Network, Steve Jobs, Walk The Line and other biographical movies)
When you think about your own screenplay, is there one overall defining objective that rules your story and drives your main character forward?
Try to be as honest as possible. If you find that your story is fragmented and constantly changing direction then you will need to re-focus your story and place the emphasis on giving your main character an overall purpose and mission.
Now I would never say that a movie can’t be entertaining and fun to watch if it doesn’t have one defining motive for your character to follow, but it’s going to be very difficult to make your story great without this element in place.
If you really want to make your screenplay stand out from 95% of all the other screenplays out there, you need to make sure that your script has one overall defining motive driving your character forward.
If you can do this, then you’re well on your way to writing a great script.
*Jennifer Sloane has worked as a screenplay agent in Los Angeles and Nashville for the last five years. Jennifer loves good movies, music and animals. A former television and movie executive, Jennifer currently heads business development at Script Mailer (a company that connects screenwriters with agents and producers in Hollywood).