Picture-Play Weekly (Apr-Oct 1915)

Hints for Scenario Writers By Clarence J. Caine It is assumed that the majority of those who follow this department have had some experience in preparing scripts for the market, but for the benefit of beginners even the most simple questioning pertaining to photo-play writing will be treated at some time or another in the future. Any scenarioist who is in doubt as to anything which comes under the head of script writing is welcomed to write in and state his trouble. Questions will be promptly answered through this department or personally. Address all correspondence to Scenario Writers' Dept.. Picture-Play Weekly, Street & Sn:i:th. Publishers. New York City. A MODEL SCENARIO. SHOWING JUST HOW A SCRIPT SHOULD 3E PREPARED, WILL BE PRINTED IN THIS DEPARTMENT NEXT WEEK. THOUGHT. Ar the scenario writer, who has not yet registered his first sale, though he has been working along for some time, will look into his own heart and t,e fair with himself in everj waj-. we teUeve he will find that no one but himself is to blame for his not achieving success. 'j There maj be mam^ reasons for this failure, far too many to attempt to list, ibnt the principal one is probabh' the lack of thought in preparing each scenario submitted. It is a common faidt and a hard one for the joung scenario writer to master — the reason tor this being that he cannot recognize "his own weakness. He gets an idea which appears to be £. good one. He looks it over for plot possibilities. He ifinds what he considers i£ fine angle, and applies it. Then he adds motives, a little action, some suspense, and some heart-interest stuff, and ■■fires it along." In time it comes back; it is sent to another studio, and meets ia similar fate, and then another, witii ■S. like result He begins to think of rhe possible reasons for tlie rejection, u: seldom strikes upon the right one, for he is certain that he has given the 'idea the best development it could have it his hands. The place he should look for the weak spot is in his very first step after getting iM idea of merit for in ninetj out of a hundred amateurs cases we believe this is where the trouble lies. The beginner does not like to discard his ideas when building up a plot. so. when a situation or incident pops into his head, he feels that it belongs to the story, and puts it in. Once in. he will seldom remove it Then, too. he often starts his idea off along a certain line of general development, without giving it proper consideration. This maj result in the entire scenario being hopelesslj" bad. whereas, had the idea been thought over and considered from various angles, a viewpoint might have been secured which would furnish the main plot for a salable script. To trained writers tlie creating of tlie main elements of the plot by which they are to present their idea on the screen is a most ner^-e-racking process. They think and think, select and discard, build up and tear down, until in their mind tliej have outlined what, in their judgment, is the best possible line of development. Even this they will alter if they later discover a more likelj possibilitj-. but the more thorough the forethought, the less the need there will be for changes later on. The beginner will never lose b}" giving much time and thought to this part of scenario writing, for it is of extreme importance. Of course, the fact that a writer can learn to apply this to his scripts does not mean that he can sell all he writes, for very few do that but it does mean that his chances to break through the line of rejection slips at ver\frequent intervals will be excellent. FREE LAJfCES A^SD ABAFTATIOJJS. Speaking of general conditions, tliere is no market at the present time for scenarios adapted from books or plays bj' free lances. Here and there one may be "placed" by an outside writer, but this should not lead the newcomer in the field to believe tliat he can do likewise, for there is a lot of work on a five — or -more — reel adaptation, and to have it rejected time after time is anything but pleasant We cannot say that we blame amateurs for wishing to tr3 their hand at adapting plays and novels for the screen after visiting picture tlieaters night after night and seeing so man^ of them on the screen, but it is the same with these as witii serials, which we have treated before — the game is for the older hands. Every company turning out multiple-reel feature productions based on produced plaj-s or published books has at least one, and, ver\ often, three or four, experienced writers, who can give them all the material thej need along the lines of working script adaptations. The free lance must be content for the time being to do one, two, and possibly three or four-reel original scenarios — the length depending upon each individual writer's experience and abilitj^ Things are bound to change, and when the} do But that is looking too far into the future! THE MAItlNG DEPASTMEXT. Ever}" now and then it is advisable for the promising scenarioist to look over his mailing department and see that it is not getting into the rut. A writer striving to turn out too much salable materia!, is liable to overlook the importance of selling what he writes and become negligent in the matter of submitting intelligently. This can never lead to success, for he must be on his toes all the time. From the moment he begins to create the script to the tim.e he signs the dotted line on the release blank, he must watch every^ opportunity to reap financial reward for the oroduct of his brain. He is an artist until the script is completed —