Jenna Avery Answers Your Questions About All Things Writing

Dear Jenna,

How do you know if a script is really ready to be sent out (contests, queries, etc.)? While the writer may think it is, sometimes reality/the truth says otherwise. Is it a gut feeling? Confidence in the work?

- P.

Dear P.,

This is a great question, and one more screenwriters should be asking. Many screenwriters hit “fade out” on their first draft and think they’re done; that their script is ready to send out, when in fact the real work has just begun (writing is rewriting, and all that). On the other end of the spectrum, there are writers endlessly wordsmithing scripts or tucking them away into drawers, never putting them out into the world. Obviously, neither is ideal.

Compounding this, there are different schools of thought about when to send out work. Some writers believe getting their work out early is important in order to get feedback from industry professionals as quickly as possible. But more often than not, screenwriting instructors and industry professionals recommend waiting until you’ve  achieved the highest possible iteration for your script. I lean toward this end of the spectrum. But how do you, as the writer who’s oh-so-close to the story, know when you’ve hit that “ready” point? Or when you’ve gone far past it into perfectionism? Or strayed into overconfidence or under-confidence in your work? And — side note — is there a difference between submitting to contests and querying producers?

Finding the sweet spot between underdeveloped, less-than-good work and overly-perfected work is tricky; but you can use a combination of your internal sense of the script, assessment tools and feedback from beta and professional readers before you start submitting. Along the way, your confidence in your work and your ability to self-assess will grow.

First, assess your script yourself

Here’s how to make a start at deciding whether or not your script is ready for the public eye. The idea is to get you challenging your own assumptions about the quality of your script and to dig a little deeper, particularly if it hasn’t received the warm welcomes you’ve been hoping for if you’ve put it out already.

To assess your script, you’ll use a combination of subjective and objective assessment tools.

Subjective: Use your inner intelligence

Start with your own inner sense. Just as you suggested, you’ll want to tune into your gut for the first pass at assessing your script.

Here are some questions to help you subjectively litmus test your screenplay against your own inner intelligence about whether your screenplay is up to snuff. Write down your answers so you can see them in black and white.

• Deep down you know this: Is your story living up to its potential? Yes or no.
• Are you delivering on your concept to the best of your ability or are you holding back somewhere?
• Are there places you know are off when you read through your script but tell yourself no one will notice, or that you can’t be bothered to fix right now?
• Would you be 100% proud to have this story representing you; your writing skills, your professionalism, and your screenwriting brand in the industry and the world right now as it is?

Any doubt here is a useful red flag to let you know something is amiss and needs work. This is a place where authentic, honest self-assessment is required.

Objective: Put your script through its paces

Next you’ll want to objectively analyze your screenplay to see how well it’s working.

This is ideally done after you’ve worked on another project for a short while, and come back to your script with “fresh eyes,” if you have room in your timetable, but you can proceed even if not.

First, export your script to a PDF or print it out, so you’re reading it in a different view than the one you write in. This will help shift you into an objective mode immediately.

Begin by reading your script. Make notes about anything that feels off as well as anything that stands out as working well. Then, update and refresh any of your story development notes that are out of date with your current draft, such as your plot points or logline.

Using your notes, ask the following questions to assess your draft (feel free to revise or add your own, this is a starting point). Again, write down your answers so you can see how well everything is working.

• Story and structure: Is the story compelling? Is the reader pulled through the read to the very end? Is your story structured for maximum effect?
• Scenes: Do each of your scenes serve a purpose, and do they “turn” on new information or action? Is there anything that can be cut?
• Goals, motivation and conflict (GMC): Are your characters’ goals, motivations and conflicts (and the stakes) coming across through the story? Is your main character changing over the course of the story (if they aren’t a “franchise” hero)? Is your protagonist firmly taking the lead role? Are the forces of antagonism challenging the protagonist and pushing them to the breaking point?
• Pacing and story tension: Does the story move well? Are there places where the story tension and conflict plateau or keep rising? Is the pacing of your primary plot points working?
• Dialogue: Is the dialogue unique and specific to each character?
• Theme and message: What’s this story about? What’s the universal message being communicated? Is it coming through powerfully without being heavy-handed or on the nose? Does your title reflect your theme and your genre?
• Genre conventions: Are you fulfilling the conventions for your genre while also innovating on them?
• Plot backstory: Who was doing what before we entered this story world? Is it clear to you, even if it’s showing up only minimally in the actual script?
• Logline: Does your logline deliver the impact of your story effectively?
• Premise line and/or synopsis: Does your premise line or synopsis summarize your story succinctly? Would someone reading it “cold” (without knowing the script) be able to make sense of it, or would they get lost in the details?
• Query letter: Is your query letter organized around the hooks that sell your script? Does it make sense and read well? (If you can’t write a query letter that works, chances are the script needs work, too).
• Prose, proof, polish: Does your prose sing? Have you tightened and cut everywhere you can? Does your page lay out beautifully with plenty of white space, the way a screenplay is meant to? Have you proofed and polished your pages?

After you’ve assessed your script, chances are you’ll need to dig in and make some revisions you haven’t wanted to face yet. Often this is a place where a screenwriter will have to do some internal self-motivation around making this work happen. Get fired up about making your script the most amazing version of itself it can be.

If you truly find nothing to work on, the likelihood is high you’re stuck in either denial or perfectionism — and you will be the one to know, deep down, which one it is.

Next, get outside feedback and revise, revise, revise

Once you’ve done everything in your power on your own to revise and rewrite, then send your script out for feedback.

Start with trusted beta readers and colleagues, then move on to professional-level feedback; such as working with a writing coach who gives script notes or hiring a production company script reader under the table to give you professional-level feedback.

At each stage, you’ll revise and improve your script until it’s finally ready to go out — and you know you’ve left no stone unturned.

Last, check again

Now, one more time, check the script. In your heart of hearts, is it truly, for real, no holds barred working?

Run through those subjective litmus test questions one more time to help you decide.

Now submit

Once you’ve tested your screenplay’s mettle using all these steps, then your script will be ready to send out in the form of contest submissions or queries to production companies.

The bottom line is this: Knowing when a script is ready to go out is both an art and a science. It requires both intuition and analysis, internal and external to know.

The way to get there is by a plan and set of tools you can rely on, so you’re not guessing and hoping for the best, but making a confident step forward into the limelight.

Your weekend writer’s assignment

Carve out some time to look at your most recent work and check in with yourself about how well your screenplay is delivering on what you set out to do, then make a plan for how you’ll bring it to its next level — or send it out!

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 Got Questions You Want Answered?

After working with hundreds of writers over the last seven years, writing coach and Called to Write Founder Jenna Avery has answers for you about how to balance your life and your screenwriting, trust yourself more as writer, fulfill your call to write, and more. Submit your most pressing questions to finaldraft@calledtowrite.com or via Jenna’s online form at https://calledtowrite.com/final-draft and she may choose your question to answer anonymously in a future article.