5 Reasons Why You Need a Screenwriting Consultant

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against collaborating with people on spec projects for which they show a deep passion and commitment to seeing made into scripts. I've done it on a few occasions and the end results show some serious promise.

However, I am vehemently against is working with individuals who have “million-dollar ideas”, who promise to “split everything fifty-fifty” and who lack an understanding as to how professional writers work.

Let that phrase sink in: professional writer. While I create scripts because I love the process and I enjoy helping those who need it, I also want to make a living at doing what I love.

Here are some of the reasons why people with "million-dollar ideas" need to invest a few dollars in hiring a professional screenwriting consultant.

Three Acts vs. Four Quarters: How a Super Script Resembles the Biggest Football Game

Nearly every screenwriting class teaches the classic “three-act structure”. In a two-hour film, Act I takes up the first half-hour, Act II takes place over the next hour, and Act III runs through the final half-hour.

However, most rookie writers run into problems with their scripts halfway through Act II. How do they fill that entire hour between the end of Act I and the start of Act III? 

With less than one week to go before The Super Big Game With That Trademarked Name, we'll look at how to break down a script into four equal quarters and how the story's dramatic tension should move like a thrilling football game.

Download 10 Oscar-nominated screenplays and play "Academy Voter" at home! (UPDATE: More Screenplays!)

If you've ever wanted to play the part of an Oscar voter, you can read through the scripts for these ten nominees and play "Academy Voter" at home!

All of these scripts are available for legal download as PDFs and are presented "For Your Consideration".

Write an Oscar-Winning* Screenplay!

• Have you ever wanted to write a script about a mute teenage girl who struggles with love, loneliness and guilt in World War II era Mexico?
• What about your story of a Russian Orthodox impostor, a Catholic villain and a serial killer who work through marriage, sibling rivalry and political power in 1920s Italy?
• Are you still sitting on that script about a closeted abusive husband and a bisexual psychopath dealing with sexual repression in 1970s New York?

If so, you just may have a future Oscar winner* on your hands!

"I have a great idea for a movie!"

No. You don't have a great idea. You don't have an idea that hasn't been pitched in a thousand meetings to a thousand producers by a thousand writers who are each more qualified, more creative and more dedicated than you will ever be.