RULES OF DEVELOPMENT aka HOW TO TALK TO A SCREENWRITER

Rule One
READ THE SCRIPT IMMEDIATELY .

Rule Two
YOU'VE FINISHED THE SCRIPT, NOW CALL THE WRITER IMMEDIATELY AND PRAISE THEM!

Rule Three
BEGIN YOUR PRAISE WITH A VAGUE COMPLIMENT, THEN FOLLOW IT UP WITH SOME SPECIFIC POSITIVE COMMENTS.

Rule Four
SET THE MEETING AND STICK TO IT

Rule Five
THE MEETING - START A VAGUE POSITIVE STATMENT

Rule Six
DO YOUR BEST TO TAKE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD THE SCRIPT

Rule Seven
GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE SCRIPT PAGE BY PAGE AND TELL THEM SPECIFICALLY ALL THE MOMENTS YOU LIKE!

Rule Eight
BEING NICE PAYS OFF - AKA THE BENEFITS OF BEING POSITIVE

Rule Nine
WHEN GIVING A SCRIPT CORRECTION BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE

Rule Ten
DON'T PUSSYFOOT ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE.

Rule Eleven
ASK QUESTIONS!

Rule Tweleve
CONVINCE THE WRITER THERE ACTUALLY IS A PROBLEM

Rule Thirteen
SOMETIMES YOU WILL BE WRONG.

Rule Fourteen
THE WRITER IS WRONG AND REFUSES TO SEE IT. WHAT DO I DO?

Rule Fifteen
DON'T OFFER SOLUTIONS. CONVINCE THE WRITER THERE'S A PROBLEM AND THEN LET THEM COME UP WITH A SOLUTION.

Rule Sixteen
DON'T "SPITBALL" IDEAS. (SEE RULE FIFTEEN)

Rule Seventeen
THE WRITER SHOULD FEEL IT'S THEIR STORY...

Rule Eighteen
BE SPECIFIC ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND VAGUE ABOUT GIVING A SOLUTION

Rule Nineteen
WHAT IF YOU HAVE A GREAT SOLUTION?

Rule Twenty
THERE'S A PROBLEM AND YOU'VE DROPPED HINTS AND DESCRIBED YOUR GREAT IDEA VAGUELY, BUT THE WRITER CAN'T GRAB THE HINT?

Rule Twenty One
SUBMIT YOUR IDEA AS A CLICHE THAT SHOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY DISMISSED

Rule Twenty Two
DANGER! HACK WRITER AHEAD

Rule Twenty Three
PREFERABLY HAVE ONLY ONE PERSON IN A ROOM, ONE EXCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT EXEC FOR EVERY WRITER

15. DON'T OFFER SOLUTIONS. CONVINCE THE WRITER THERE'S A PROBLEM AND THEN LET THEM COME UP WITH A SOLUTION .

Telling a writer a solution is along the lines of telling them what to write. It's the exact same thing as a director giving an actor a "line reading". If you don't know what that is it's when a director performs a line of dialogue and then tells the actor to say it just that way . In in effect it is telling the writer that you are the creative engine, not them. You're relegating the writer to a role somewhere between a hack screenwriter and a glorified typist. And you have lifted yourself to become a screenwriter's Great Satan.

You're unintentionally implying that the writer may not be creative enough to come up with ideas themselves. Once you go down that path - both you and the writer - it is hard to return. The writer will appear to become lazy, when in reality they have lost hope and now they're along for the ride and can't wait until the job is over. Better to convince the writer something isn't working, where it's not working and then let the writer come up with an organic (to them) solution.

The key to this is properly explaining what is wrong and why. Again, a vague description of the problem will not work. Specificity and strength of argument is crucial.

GO TO RULE SIXTEEN

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