screenwriters."—TONY apparently emphasis

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252 —SCREENPLAY —should be writing this script," or "Maybe I just don't have the talentto do this," or "Maybe I should just find a partner and write it withsomeone else." It goes on and on.But underneath all these thoughts, comments, or judgmentsyou're making is the common thread that somehow it's all "yourfault." If you could do it, you would, and if you can't, it's becauseyou don't have the talent or ability to do it. In short, we turn it insideand blame ourselves.No wonder it's called writer's block.If you're in this dilemma, and this veil of doubt and negativity issmothering your creative voice, then it's time to give the critic avoice. That means giving that judgmental, critical, and negativevoice that's roaming around inside your head the opportunity tospeak his or her mind.Remember that this is one of those common problems thatstrike fear in the hearts of <strong>screenwriters</strong> everywhere. I recall ascreenwriting student coming into class one night with a strangeand somewhat tortured look on her face. When I asked her whatwas wrong, her eyes welled up with tears and she became very serious,and said, "I don't know where I'm going. I'm totally lost, I'mconfused, and my pages stink. All that's happening is talk, talk, talk.I keep going around in circles, and I don't know what to do. I'm soupset I could cry."It's a universal problem. How you get out of it varies from personto person, script to script, but the first thing to do is to admityou have a problem and that it's not going to go away until you dealwith it, confront it head-on. That's just one of the truths of life.In my student's case she was so close to the material she couldn'tsee it anymore, so the first thing I wanted her to do was just stop writing.When you reach this kind of crisis point, you're so overwhelmedand frustrated that you have to regroup. Just stop writing. Put downyour pen and paper, shut off your computer or tape recorder, howeveryou're working, and spend some time contemplating your story:What is the story about? What is the dramatic need of your maincharacter? How are you going to resolve the story line? The answersto these questions are the key to getting back on track.First, go to your screenplay pages and take out a separate piece of
— WRITING THE SCREENPLAY— 253paper and label it The Critic's Page. As you start writing the script,every time you become aware of a negative comment, thought, orjudgment, just write it down on The Critic's Page. Number the comments,label them, just as if you were keeping a journal or making ashopping list. You might become aware of such comments as "Thesepages are terrible," or "I don't really know what I'm doing," or "Thisisn't working," or "Maybe somebody else should finish it for me";maybe "These characters all sound the same" and it's apparent that"I've lost my vision," and so on. Whatever your thoughts and commentsare about your pages, just write them down on The Critic'sPage.The first day you're doing The Critic's Page, you may write twopages of screenplay and four pages of critical comments. On thesecond day maybe you'll write three pages of screenplay and two ormore pages on The Critic's Page. The third day maybe you'll do fouror five pages of screenplay and a couple of pages of the critic.At this point, stop writing. The next day, take the critic's pages,put them in order, and read them: all your negative comments forday one, day two, day three. As you think about these comments,mull them over in your mind. As you look these pages over, you'lldiscover something very interesting: The critic always says the samething. It doesn't matter what kind of scene it is, or who the charactersare, or what you write; whether it's the pages from day one, two,or three, whether it's a dialogue scene or an action scene, the criticalways says the same thing—uses the same words, the same phrases,the same expressions. It's all the same. Your pages are no good; theystink. No matter what you write, this is what your critic is tellingyou: The pages are no good; you should be doing something else.That's the nature of the mind: to judge, to criticize, to evaluate.The mind can be either our best friend or our worst enemy. It's soeasy to get plugged into our judgments and evaluations of what'sright or wrong, good or bad.Now, it could be that what the critic says is accurate. Maybe thepages are terrible, the characters are thin and one-dimensional, andyou are going around in circles. So what? Confusion is the first steptoward clarity. What you try that doesn't work will always show youwhat does work. As you struggle through your problem area, just
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PRAISE FOR SYD F I E L D"[Syd Field
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FOUR SCREENPLAYS:Studies in America
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A l s o by S y d F i e l dGOING TO
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SCREENPLAYA Delta BookPUBLISHING HI
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A SPECIAL THANKSTo the extraordinar
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TO THE READER:My task ... is to mak
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2 —SCREENPLAY—desire to write s
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4 —SCREENPLAY—On Saturday after
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6 —SCREENPLAY—People say I was
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8 —SCREENPLAY—But when all is s
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10 —SCREENPLAY —visual descript
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12 —SCREENPLAY —What is a good
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14 —SCREENPLAY-a screenplay from
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16 —SCREENPLAY—During the two a
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18 —SCREENPLAY —marriage. So he
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20 —SCREENPLAY —a story told wi
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22 —SCREENPLAY—dialogue and des
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24 —SCREENPLAY—In Chinatown (Ro
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26 —SCREENPLAY—ACT III IS RESOL
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28 —SCREENPLAY —looks like. Any
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30 —SCREENPLAY—Think about the
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32 —SCREENPLAY—floor. It lent a
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34 —SCREENPLAY —only what the f
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36 —SCREENPLAY—subject will fin
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38 —SCREENPLAY—and the first ma
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40 —SCREENPLAY-ActionSUBJECTI I I
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42 —SCREENPLAY—As an exercise,
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44 —SCREENPLAY—It's a profound
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46 —SCREENPLAY—been the instiga
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48 —SCREENPLAY—Butch mutters to
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50 —SCREENPLAY —the same themes
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52 —SCREENPLAY —his identity, n
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54 —SCREENPLAY —they work it ou
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56 —SCREENPLAY—reveal them by s
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158 —SCREENPLAY—I'll even use p
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60 —SCREENPLAY—I write a lot ab
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62 —SCREENPLAY —Dundee's (Charl
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64 —SCREENPLAY —their motivatio
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66 —SCREENPLAY —believe in God.
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68 —SCREENPLAY —gold. Both Abby
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70 —SCREENPLAY—when he comes ho
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72 —SCREENPLAY —that the same t
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^Story andCharacter"You don't throw
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76 —SCREENPLAY —"Okay," I say,
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78 —SCREENPLAY —Sarah's family
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80 —SCREENPLAY —We decide it's
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82 —SCREENPLAY—stimulate, a dra
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84 —SCREENPLAY —Let's create an
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86 —SCREENPLAY—Sarah is congrat
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88 —CREENPLAY—create your chara
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90 —SCREENPLAY—ends. We talked
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92 —SCREENPLAY—way. I had good
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94 —SCREENPLAY —he managed to g
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96 —SCREENPLAY —another look at
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98 —SCREENPLAY—reads"; producer
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100 —SCREENPLAY —when an ice cu
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102 —SCREENPLAY—you would like
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104 —SCREENPLAY —you're writing
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Setting Up theStory"I'll tell you t
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108 —SCREENPLAY —well as many o
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110 —SCREENPLAY —sets up the st
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112 —SCREENPLAY—Curly slides on
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114 —SCREENPLAY-CURLY (crying) Th
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116 —SCREENPLAY-MRS. MULWRAYMr. G
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118 —SCREENPLAY —GITTES(visibly
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120 —SCREENPLAY-COUNCILMAN(acknow
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122 —SCREENPLAY —wouldn't take
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124 —SCREENPLAY—another source
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126 —SCREENPLAY—Watch Chinatown
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128 —SCREENPLAY —mental, and em
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130 —SCREENPLAY—story line is p
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132 —SCREENPLAY—Alabama, carryi
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134 —SCREENPLAY —the ring to th
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136 —SCREENPLAY—The key inciden
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138 —SCREENPLAY—inciting incide
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140 —SCREENPLAY —words and thei
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"Writing a screenplay is in many wa
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144 —SCREENPLAY—in, linear or n
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146 —SCREENPLAY—Vincent's brief
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148 —SCREENPLAY—woman. He takes
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150 —SCREENPLAY —tails Evelyn t
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152 —SCREENPLAY —In The Matrix,
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154 —SCREENPLAY —One." In other
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156 —SCREENPLAY—finishing up he
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158 —SCREENPLAY—episode, or eve
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The SceneRICK:"Inside both of us, w
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162 —SCREENPLAY —The scene is t
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164 —SCREENPLAY—wife was having
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166 —SCREENPLAY—the famous "sla
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168 —SCREENPLAY —the scene "aga
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170 —SCREENPLAY —Within the con
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172 —SCREENPLAY-No,MAX not justth
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174 —SCREENPLAY-VINCENT (CONT'D)C
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176 —SCREENPLAY-VINCENT (CONT'D)D
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178 —SCREENPLAY-MAX (CONT'D)Go fu
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180 —SCREENPLAY —freeway, ruini
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182 -SCREENPLAY —scene. Find the
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184 —SCREENPLAY—action and char
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186 —SCREENPLAY—The final actio
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188 —SCREENPLAY —with nonstop a
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190 —SCREENPLAY —French Connect
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192 —SCREENPLAY —hell breaks lo
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194 —SCREENPLAY-BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
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196 —SCREENPLAY —rising among t
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198 —SCREENPLAY-connected by one
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200 —SCREENPLAY—Now what?Take a
Page 218 and 219: 202 —SCREENPLAY—Act IIIbeginnin
Page 220 and 221: 204 -SCREENPLAY —One scene per ca
Page 222 and 223: 206 —SCREENPLAY—The essence of
Page 224 and 225: 208 —SCREENPLAY —unit of action
Page 226 and 227: 210 -SCREENPLAY —Lovell (Tom Hank
Page 228 and 229: 212 —SCREENPLAY —you'll pick up
Page 230 and 231: 214 —SCREENPLAY —treatment can
Page 232 and 233: 216 —SCREENPLAY—Because he was
Page 234 and 235: 218 —SCREENPLAY —ask them why,
Page 236 and 237: 220 —SCREENPLAY —(1) EXT. ARIZO
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Page 242 and 243: 226 —SCREENPLAY—Knowing these t
Page 244 and 245: 228 —SCREENPLAY —A long Quonset
Page 246 and 247: 230 —SCREENPLAY —(4)RYAN (on TV
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Page 254 and 255: Writing theScreenplayBAGBY:"Gentlem
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Page 262 and 263: 246 —SCREENPLAY —whether it's w
Page 264 and 265: 248 —SCREENPLAY —Many times you
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Page 274 and 275: 258 —SCREENPLAY—intact even aft
Page 276 and 277: 260 —SCREENPLAY —Ted Tally, the
Page 278 and 279: 262 —SCREENPLAY—this incredible
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Page 282 and 283: 266 —SCREENPLAY—the book by Car
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Page 286 and 287: 270 — S C R E E N P L A Y —Beca
Page 288 and 289: 272 — S C R E E N P L A Y —repo
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Page 304 and 305: 288 — S C R E E N PLAY—to expla
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302 — S C R E E N PLAY—gross at
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304 —SCREENPLAY —rights are not
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306 — S C R E E N PLAY—unique a
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308 —SCREENPLAY —In the long ru
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Indexaction films, 187-98Act I (Set
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— INDEX— 313matching to existin
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— INDEX — 315Gone With the Wind
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— INDEX — 317Parker, Dorothy, 2
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— INDEX — 319Shark Tale, 276Sha
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SYD FIELD is the internationally ac
show all

screenwriters."—TONY apparently emphasis

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