The 20 Rules of Screenwriting.

In Craig Mazin and John August’s book SCRIPTNOTES, based on their podcast, they offer a facetious list of “The Rules of Screenwriting.”

You may know that I am a fan of Craig Mazin, both as a writer and as a teacher. CHERNOBYL is remarkable storytelling, and I consider a workshop he taught at the WGA in 2012 or so, a wonderful influence on the second half of my career.

Their podcast is the gold standard of screenwriting podcasts.

Their list highlights the weird obsession that screenwriting discourse has with “rules.”

The common back-and-forth is almost always launched by someone saying, “You shouldn’t do that,” and then 95% of people respond, “There are no rules!”

But in the pushback to the strangely unyielding fundamentalists, a certain truth has been lost:

Most of these screenwriting “rules” are actually pretty good advice!

They didn’t pop out of nowhere. They came about for a reason.

Where the rules came from.

SCRIPTNOTES theorizes that these rules came about from a logical flaw. That is, many bad screenplays did these things; therefore, people concluded that screenplays are bad because of them.

So, don’t do these things!

I am sure there is a little bit of truth to this, but I don’t think this is the primary driver.

Some of these are just archaic instructions that no longer serve a purpose. In this case, it’s just people being stubborn.

But more often, the “rules” have a truth to them and point to something the writer should be intentional about.

Often, they will make your job easier.

If you have two choices and they both deliver the same emotion, go with the simpler one.

After all, both the layup and the 21-foot jump shot are worth 2 points. So, take the layup.

The “why” behind Scriptnotes’ 20 Essential Rules of Screenwriting.

Again, this is a facetious list. August and Mazin’s point is that these are often repeated as rules, but are obviously nonsense as such.

1) Your script must be 120 pages or fewer.

This is actually a good rule of thumb! Sort of. Why specifically 120 and not 119?

That archaic guideline of 1 page = 1 minute, of course. Which has never really been all that accurate, and even less so today, as directors’ and writers’ styles vary so widely.

But the psychology of 120 pages remains. As does the psychology of 99 pages.

This rule came about because writers write more than they should, and readers like to read as little as they can. Not a great combo!

The very first thing a reader does when they open your screenplay is check the page count. That’s how important it is.

So how long should it be?

While I would encourage less than 110 pages (only 1 of my last 5 scripts did this), the real (less helpful) answer is the shortest length possible that still evokes the emotional experience you intend.

2) 12-point Courier only.

Take out the “only,” and this is 100% true. A screenplay simply does not feel like a screenplay unless it’s 12-point Courier font in the main text.

It’s the “only” part that earns its place on Scriptnotes’ list.

You can add plenty of stylistic flourishes of fonts, gigantic sizes, and whatever you want, as long as the primary text looks and feels like a screenplay.

And that means a 12-point Courier font.

3) The inciting incident must happen by page 15.
4) The first act break must be on page 30.
6) The second act break must be on page 90.

It’s the specificity of the page count that makes these so ridiculous. But something does need to shift and change and propel the story forward around these general areas.

Why? Because it is HARD to keep an audience interested if nothing is changing. The longer you go without major shifts, the more challenging it is.

So, how soon should the inciting incident come?

If the reader gets bored, it came too late.

5) The midpoint is really important.

I don’t get this one. The midpoint IS really important. I consider committing to a strong midpoint the single biggest change in my writing that led to me going pro.

That said, I have broken down movies I really liked and thought the midpoint wasn’t very effective. It didn’t matter. It was still a good movie!

But a great midpoint makes your job so much easier.

7) No scene may be longer than three pages.

I think this one came from Syd Field! I remember reading it in SCREENPLAY.

This is more of a best practice and a general guideline. You could be writing a one-location movie where this is completely irrelevant. In that case, we just have to be adults and know the strict interpretation doesn’t apply.

That said, in general, if your scene is longer than three pages, make sure it really needs to be. This is true for any length of scene, but now you’ve got a red flag saying, “Hey, look at me!”

A longer five-page scene may lack momentum, or it could be two scenes crammed into one.

But, sure, if it needs to be five pages, let it be five pages.

8) Use only “DAY” or “NIGHT” in scene headings.

This is a rule from the old studio days. It no longer applies. Take advantage of that space to give the reader more information if you need to.

SUNSET, DAWN, LATER, even LATER THAT NIGHT, MIDNIGHT.

All acceptable, and I would encourage any of these choices when it helps.

9) Never use “CUT TO” (it’s unnecessary filler).

Every time a scene ends and a new scene begins, you are cutting to that scene. So, yes, it’s a very good idea to avoid any “CUT TO:” that doesn’t have a specific job.

It is unnecessary and adds a few pages to your page count.

But I will still use “CUT TO:” with transition margins once or twice a screenplay to denote a significant cut in time or distance.

More commonly, I will use “cut to:” in the action lines to keep the eyes moving ahead into the next scene.

Like everything else, I use it occasionally with a specific intent.

10) No camera directions unless you’re also the director.

I happen to agree with this, except for the “unless you’re also the director” part. I don’t think directors should do this silliness either.

Camera angles are awful to read, and there are much better ways to achieve the same thing from the reader.

This is usually when someone points to some great screenplay and goes, “Christopher Nolan did it.”

And then I have to point out, “I didn’t say it was illegal. I didn’t say someone will pass on your script if you do it. I am saying it is almost always the weaker choice because camera angles are awful, clumsy, and annoying to read.”

Sometimes we just want to write better because we’re writers, and writing well itself is satisfying.

Which brings me to:

11) Don’t use “we see” or “we hear” in scene descriptions.

Again, I agree with this facetious rule. Not because it’s a rule, but because it’s often the weaker choice. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it; of course you can do it. But is it really the best way?

Mazin and August give an example of a passage that would not be improved by removing the “we see.”

They write:

I am not so sure.

To me, “we see” seems so much less urgent, and removing it adds more energy.

Some of our very best writers use “we see,” so clearly it’s not “wrong.” I have just found that I can almost always do better.

12) Use UPPERCASE only for sound effects and character introductions.

Another one from the old studio days. All-caps is now a stylistic choice. For example, I use all-caps for emphasis. I will use it to try to capture the energy of a VIOLENT action or a LOUD noise.

I would never use it for a gentle action or a soft noise.

However you personally try to use it, the key is to be consistent throughout.

13) No bold, italics, or asterisks.

Likely another carryover from the old days, since they wrote on typewriters and didn’t have access to bold or italics anyway.

I don’t use bold or italics myself, but not because there is an alleged rule against it. There isn’t.

I don’t use either because I find them visually unappealing in a Courier font. In addition, I don’t think italics even show up all that well, which defeats their purpose entirely.

So, personally, I refrain. But if you like it, definitely have at it.

14) No action in parentheticals.

There actually is somewhat of an actual rule here!

Any physical action in the parenthetical should only be what that character is doing as they say that line of dialogue.

Any other action should be an action line.

Will someone throw your screenplay away if you break this rule? No. But it may create a moment of confusion for no good reason. Or just be clunky.

Beyond that, a personal guideline is that if putting the action into the action line eats up fewer lines, I’ll likely put it there instead.

15) Don’t make asides to the reader in your action descriptions. If it can’t be seen or heard, cut it.

There are actually two different “rules” here.

The first one, “don’t make asides to the reader in your action descriptions,” is probably pretty good advice for early writers. It’s harder than it looks, and done poorly it can feel indulgent and make the reader like you less.

But it’s not a rule, because, when done well, it can establish a strong bond between writer and reader. Even if one person likes you less, maybe the “right” person likes you more!

My personal feeling is that you can build just as strong a relationship with the reader by writing well. That means confident, specific choices, with a clear POV that evokes the intended emotion.

But big swings can bring great results when they connect.

That second part, “If it can’t be seen or heard, cut it,” is something different. It’s a good guideline, but it’s not as literal as many believe.

For example, you could write that someone buckles their holster like they have “every day for the last twelve years.”

We haven’t seen this character do that for twelve years, but we know what that looks like. It tells us plenty about their comfort level performing that action in the moment.

It would be much more of a stretch to add, “Each time thinking about ice cream.”

When a reader can’t visualize what you wrote, or at least knows they’re not supposed to visualize it, they will be thrown into discomfort.

They stop in their tracks. “Wait. What?”

That’s the thing you want to avoid.

16) Don’t use the words “is” or “walks.”
17) Don’t use the passive voice.
19) No “-ing” verbs.

I agree with the intention behind all three of these! Again, not because “you can’t” but because doing otherwise is almost always the weaker choice.

Present participles (the “-ing” verbs usually in question) are soft and low-energy by nature. Over 100 pages, they make your writing soft and low-energy.

We want our writing to telepathically transfer images, emotions, and enthusiasm to the reader.

The words we choose are the conduit by which this is done. The right word for the job sends a much cleaner signal with less loss to the reader.

Weaker words are full of interference. Sure, the signal might get through. But not at full strength.

I’ve never understood the contention that the words we use don’t matter. Of course they do. Some words do the job better than others.

We’re writers, aren’t we?

Of course, sometimes “John is tearing down the street” is exactly what you want. That’s fine!

But often we write less effectively out of bad habit, laziness, or indifference. Don’t.

18) No adverbs ending in “-ly.”

This is another specific variation of “I bet there is a better choice.”

Most adverbs are unnecessary. A better, more specific verb might be available. It just needs a little effort to find it.

This is why “walks” and “runs” are so frowned upon. There is almost always a better choice.

Change this guideline to, “When available, a specific verb is preferable to a general verb modified by an adverb.”

20) No voice-over.

My theory about this rule is that when schools first started teaching screenwriting, many new screenwriters resorted to voice-overs to compensate for poor storytelling. Finally, a screenwriting teacher somewhere said, “No more voice-overs! Find another way!”

By the time the film school generation became institutionalized, that command morphed into “no voice-overs.”

But again, this is really just a warning. Voice-overs feel like a life raft, but when done poorly, they can undermine the immediacy of your story.

But done well? THE APARTMENT, GOODFELLAS, CASINO, JERRY MAGUIRE, AMERICAN BEAUTY, FIGHT CLUB — we could go on.

One of my favorite unproduced screenplays was a book adaptation I wrote for ABC back when ABC was still airing TV movies. That script was a beginning-to-end voice-over. GOODFELLAS volume. And I loved it.

But I haven’t done it since because no story has demanded it.

So maybe think of this as, “Use voice-over because it makes your story better, not because it makes it easier.”

Just be intentional.

There are indeed no real rules. But that doesn’t mean you can do anything you want or that nothing matters.

It means don’t be confined by arbitrary limitations when it comes to your intention.

Doing something because you’re “supposed” to do it that way leaves you secretly asking, “Did I do it right?”

There is no way your best work will come from that.

But don’t settle. Strive to be better. Never look for a reason that you don’t have to be.

There is no way your best work will come from that either.

True confidence comes from knowing exactly what it is you want to achieve and making strong choices in order to achieve it.

That's a wrap for this week!

As far as word count goes, this was one of my (if not the) longest emails ever.

So I'll make my exit quickly here.

See you next week!

Tom

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