Mary Cybriwsky's Lounge Discussions

Steven Fussell
What do your words cost you?

In an ideal world a screenwriter would get paid for everything they put into a script. So here is the question: what are the costs of writing a script, hidden and unhidden? Here are two of mine... Overtime -- two hours of work every night on top of my day job... All the time since I was a kid readin...

Expand post

Mary Cybriwsky

Software, computer and paper! Stress and countless hours of brain power - but it's all worth it if you complete a script you're happy with

CJ Walley

Balance is currently at $182,347.81 in the red.

Edith Woi

@CJ - baaahhhaaaaaha! But one can't put a price on the time missed with family members.... Getting the actual hours * (price of other employment) is easy. I think though a lot of writers really sacrifice other things.

Victor Titimas
Do some people really write for this reason alone?

I've read this over and over again as a warning against trying to do this, which made me think...Are there people who write screenplays just because they think it's a way to get very rich really fast?:(

Danny Manus

There are definitely people who do it for that reason. most learn quickly the reality of the situation though.

Michael Lee Burris

Mary I understand what and why you say what you do but another aspect you may want to explore is "High Concept". There are various pros that say right of the bat it is a mistake to write with such min...

Expand comment
Trey Wickwire

I think that people who are writing specifically for monetary gain are likely to get frustrated at the work involved then quit. But anyone who sticks with it has a chance, no matter what their motivat...

Expand comment
Chanel Ashley

There is no doubt that some people see this as an avenue to easy, quick money - some are deluded and fall by the wayside, but some also have the talent and ability to do exactly that - geez, wish I was part of the latter.

Edith Woi

I write because I think the stuff I put out is damn smokin' :-)

Michael Ford
DIALOGUES – LONG vs SHORT

Hi, writers! I'd like to talk about length of dialogues in feature scripts. I always loved long ones. In fact, I think that ability to make a 10+ pages dialogue – it's what separates men from boys. But when I started submitting my stuff to contests, absolutely every reader told me same – shorter is...

Expand post

Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

DG: Methinks you are correct, sir. I have a lot of different material so I don't have to go with the same horse in every race.

Christopher Binder

For better or worse we live in an age of emojis and text messages. Lots of information can be conveyed in simple abbreviated sentences. This has shortened attention spans dramatically. So keep it focused, short and sweet. Dialogue is for the theater anyway.

Doug Nelson

Keep in mind the acting talent available to you. Very few present day Actors can deliver an extended aria or a long soloquie so it's best to keep the dialog in two/three lines separated by some action or cutaways. It makes everyone's life simpler.

Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

Kyle

Awesome post.

Bill Albert

Really depends on what type of script you're doing. Even if it's just dialogue you have to keep things moving. Just watched the original "Fail-Safe" yesterday. Absolutely brilliant. It's all dialogue but you can't look away from the characters and situation.

register for stage 32 Register / Log In