It’s a wonderful feeling when someone reads your script and loves it. To receive positive feedback after working so hard is incredibly affirming. When someone loves your script, it’s natural to believe you have succeeded in what you set out to do. And when more than one reader “gets” your script, it’s even more evidence of what you have accomplished.
So what does it mean when a reader doesn’t like your script?Ā Which reader is right? The reader who loved what you wrote or the one that didn’t?
For over two decades, BlueCat has been providing written feedback to our entrants, and I have been teaching writers for over ten years myself. The common reaction for most writers is to condemn the reader who didn’t connect with the script, and celebrate the reader who did. The reader who likes my script is a genius, and the reader who didn’t is not only not a good reader, but probably didn’t read it at all. We tend to discredit the more critical reader and praise the reader who, um, praises us.
I wrote a movie that was produced and released in theaters. I remember the first reviews I received when it premiered at a major film festival. If I read a positive review, I remember feeling impressed by how good the reviewer was. When someone wrote a review which was not positive, I found myself not liking that critic very much. I actually didn’t think they were very smart. I couldn’t believe they didn’t like my movie when my movie was clearly good, as evidenced by what the other reviews said.
Then I read a review calling my movie a masterpiece, and I thought, wow, I think I might actually agree with what this reviewer believes.
Later, when someone wrote that my movie didn’t have enough story to justify a short, complaining about the emotional intelligence of the story, I could not believe what how dumb the reviewer was. It was my worst review, and I was convinced the person who wrote the review suffered from serious emotional and mental problems.
Then I realized the great reviews and horribles ones were both wrong.
Or both right.
I realized that if I was to take the bad review with a grain of salt, I need to do the same as well with one who called it a masterpiece.
Readers respond to your work through the filter of their own personal, emotional history. Every note you will ever receive is personal. It’s not to be taken as right or wrong, only as a measure of how the reader responded to it through their own heart.
Storytelling is a personal, emotional business and we have to allow for our readers to react the way they do. Readers who like your script are not more qualified than readers who do not understand what you wrote. They have simply connected to what you have created, and that, in and of itself, should be celebrated. They are right in what they say.
But most importantly, the reader who struggles with your script is right as well. We cannot develop our scripts from praise. We grow as writers when a reader has the competence to admit they do not like what they have read. I want to know if someone doesn’t like a character or understand what I have described. If they miss what I wrote, I want to know.
The writer is responsible for the script. Completely responsible. If someone loves your story, claim credit. You gave someone a beautiful experience and that is why we write. If someone does not, even better, for you have been given a lantern for your future as writer, for there are no mistakes in any feedback you receive, only an opportunity for the writer to better reach an audience.
By: Gordy Hoffman
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I’ve read for contests, two well known producers, and a manager (in all cases, unpaid). I’m now reading for a mid level festival contest. As a writer myself, I try to be fair to scripts by ‘splitting my thinking’ and judging as best I can strictly on technique in widest sense of the word, story structure, character creation, strength of dialogue etc.
But there is always the difficult issue of the world view underlying the script, the writer’s closely held values, which are of course entirely the writer’s business but which may clash with mine. For example, how does the writer the question “Do we have free will or are we caught in the grip of fate?” I’m a big time free will guy so when I run into a script in which the characters are in the clutches of fate, that means extra effort to be fair. And there are great fate based films such as “Out of the Past’, the original ‘Manchurian Candidate’, etc.
My point is that when some one loves or hates your script, especially the latter, they may be reacting to the values underlying the script and not necessarily to its technical strengths and weaknesses. So don’t over react to an opinion regarding your script unless you know a great deal about the person who is offering it.
Thanks for the insightful comment, Doug. Objectivity vs. Subjectivity. Scott
Most readers don’t read, they skim at best and get on to the next one.
In 20 years the fee for a reader at a studio or production company has gone from $50 to $50. So of course the quality has gone down.
I’ve never had professional feedback on any one of my scripts because either it didn’t go far enough into a competition, or it I couldn’t afford to enter it in the ones that did give feedback (or even just people who would give me feedback). It’s good to know this before I actually get to this stage though.
This feels true. I submitted to Bluecat and got really amazing, supportive feedback from the first reader and lukewarm feedback from the second reader, who clearly had only skimmed my script as he missed so much. This script was shortlisted for the most prestigious UK contest and was a finalist in another. I am really disappointed that one lazy reader ruined my chances with Bluecat.
I can’t speak for all readers, but I don’t skim. I read every word. And even if it’s not my favorite genre, I try to focus only on story and craft. There will always be personal biases when human beings are involved in anything, but I do try to be as fair and open-minded going in as I possibly can.
I got more benefit from readers that didnāt rave about my script as it motivated me to consider their points and juiced my competitiveness to make it likable to them without surrendering my vision.
Gordy. You are dead right. The issue for a lot of writers is that it becomes difficult when one is paying a lot of money entering contests. Either way, itās a risk that must be taken. But itās a lil harder to swallow being rejected after paying money for that rejection. I, myself, got rave reviews from feedback for BlueCat. Then, my script didnāt even make the quarter finals. Then I got a negative review and then two more positive! Round and round it goes, right? āNobody knows anythingā goes the old adage. But we live and die by the sword. Itās just something we writers must face. Nothing makes it easier but we all go on fearlessly.
Yes, we pay a lot of money for competition entries and it’s down to luck if we get readers who connect to our stories to get shortlisted.
YES GORDY THANK YOU. OFTEN HAVE THIS CONFLICT OF DIFFERENT VIEWERS. BUT SOMETIMES THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS COME FROM A PERSON WHO ONLY SCANS QUICKLY MY BEST SCRIPT. EXAMPLE MY “BAD GUY’S SISTER” HAS A SCENE IN RENO, THE REVIEWER SAYS LAS VEGAS. SOME TRY TO TELL ME STUDENTS DON’T TALK THIS WAY. AS A COUNSELOR AND COLLEGE REGISTAR I TALKED TO KIDS FOR THIRTY FIVE YEARS. I AM OF A MUCH HIGHER INTELLIGENCE LEVEL, EARNED A PHD ON A RESEARCH FELLOWSHIIP AWARD. JOHN
Oh my god! This blog was the worst blog I ever read. hahaha
This blog is sheer genius! I couldn’t put it down.
Michael – Good points. š
It is important to read each review very carefully. Some negative comments are nonsense… such as when one reader told me I took too long to get the protagonist to her town….70 seconds? Another wanted me to take a flashback and put it at the start of the story… which would have made the whole story much more emotionally flat.
But sometimes, if someone doesn’t get your point, it might mean that others won’t get your point either… even if it’s clear to you. Another reader loved some dialogue that I feared was too much on the nose. Read each review as if it were a review of someone else’s work… don’t be afraid to discount some critical comments and don’t be afraid to accept critical comments.
That was pretty funny. š
I donāt care much for feedback or criticism, unless it is from fellow writers I trust.
I love hearing how people feel. The best thing someone told me was āI hate him. There is no way his wife could love a man like thatā.
She had a real emotional response to the story. Job done. She saw herself in the wife character and hated the man. He was loathsome, I wrote him that way.
The worst feedback I ever got was āI thought I may see a B story begin on page 11ā. That person was āmarkingā my script like an exam paper, not reading it.
There is an unfortunate industry that preys on the new writer. Their job isnāt to convince me. It is to keep the uneducated scared and uneducated. Read everything. Especially great scripts. You will begin to see what you need to see. This will change as you grow in experience.
It’s hard work and great fun to write screenplays.
Though once in a great, great while a few people, for a short amount of time, “make it” in the business, the hard truth is this: Unless you have been signed by one of the four packaging agencies (the de facto producers in Hollywood) by the time you’re in your early thirties, you have next to no chance. Why should they give any of that money to you? They’re going to fight like hell to keep all those commissions inside their agency — which means always selecting from WITHIN — including the screenwriters.
Mark – your whole comment is rather short-sighted & skewed but even more so on the whole not being signed by your early 30s you have next to no chance of making it? Is 110% bogus & grossly inaccurate on so many levels.
“The writer is responsible for the script. Completely responsible.” Yes, very true. But then your script is at the mercy of the readers – who respond subjectively, who may not read thoughtfully, who might know less about film and literature than you do, who may not connect with your subject matter.
Thanks Gordy for raising this important issue. I believe that there are objective criteria to judge a story/script and if a reader is using those (and in a prod co his boss’s standards/needs) he/she is doing his/her job. I suspect that many readers do not know what are the objective criteria to analyse a story and so are going on their subjective tastes, which is a disservice to their contest/prod co and especially to the writer. Scott McConnell
I am a reader for contests. I try not to judge a script by whether I like it or not. I try to look for the throughline of the plot, raising stakes, interesting unique characters with arcs, a writer taking chances but remaining true to the genre and the audience he is writing for. Some of the best scripts I have ever read were Macabre/Horror. I personally don’t care for the genre, but the skill and craftsmanship could not be denied.
This is a difficult subject. A reviewer will have a personal opinion on a script. Whether they love it or hate it, it may depend on the type of films/ screenplays they like, preferred genres or potentially whether they look to have male or female lead characters.
Iām new to submitting work to competitions or Sending out for critic and the first screenplay I submitted got 3 completely different sets of feedback from the same competition, with each person recommending changes to completely different elements. (Iām relieved to say there was some positive comment too). But, this reinforced my opinion that as good as it is to take on board suggestions for improvement, not all necessarily will be for the good. Writers would end up with an unrecognisable script if the auctioned every personal preference. These comments in question have, by and large, allowed me to develop and I believe, improve my screenplay but others I disregarded based on my humble intuition and knowledge of my story.
Positive comments are good, especially if the same element is highlighted by differing readers. It allows me to know Iāve been able to get my ideas and vision across somewhat successfully. Some of the negative reviews allowed me to see things from a different perspective, allowing me to delve further into a characters past or develop their journey further, which is why I donāt necessarily like negative comments but I can appreciate someoneās opinion.
Definitely worthwhile remembering, though, that as well intentioned as readers are, they have dozens of scripts to read within a short time frame, so there will certainly be an element of āskimmingā involved across the process- I had one reader continually referred to a lead character by a completely different name!
If the feedback makes sense and evolves the story/ character, grab it with both hands. If youāre gut tells you it doesnāt or itās missed the mark, stick to your guns.
I’m a reader for several competitions. Whatever the genre, whatever the writing level, I read every word and keep an open mind. Why? Partly because I’m keenly aware of the blood, sweat, tears and time that go into writing a screenplay. Discovering good or great work is what keeps me going. (Be encouraged — there are a lot of very green writers out there.) My goal is to meet the writer halfway, that is, to try to understand what they’re trying to accomplish, and encourage them for what they are doing right. Then I’ll give constructive advice on what can be improved, and once in a joyful blue moon just sit back and applaud.
On the flip side, I’ve had great feedback, but also critiques from readers who clearly haven’t read past Act I (they don’t mention twists that come later). I’ve also had self-appointed gods of writing rip my work apart, not knowing it’s already won awards. It really is the luck of the draw.
And to a previous point, my 70-year old friend just got a manager for her fantastic script.
I find it very difficult to discern what feedback I should listen to and what I shouldn’t. It’s the hardest part about writing! I find it so interesting when you walk out of a theater and you hear some people raving about the film and other people trashing it.
If you want great feedback, write something great. I recently submitted a script in the Bluecat contest and the feedback was right on the money. I revised the screenplay and resubmitted.
I’m looking forward to my final analysis. I requested the same reader.
This is my first time submitting to a competition and I’m not sure what to think about the analysis I received. I’m still processing it and separating myself from any sensitivity to the the feedback. Yet, the analysis almost seemed like it was written in a hurry. It’s also not very long or the person didn’t have very much to say, I guess.
It didn’t connote a “love it or hate it” vibe, it was very direct and succinct, so that’s appreciated. It was a “strictly business” analysis but I took issue with the last paragraph because, solely, it was contradictory. It was confusing to read, “this is a real-world occurrence but it’s not good this way”. The story deals in a heavy subject matter which tends to get romanticized or glamorized in a lot of movies and tv, and for some people it may be a more comfortable way to see this kind of issue. But I aimed to not go in that direction with the matter, because it’s not honest. I felt like the reader may have had a bias in assuming I may be in academia or coming from that place in my writing, and that’s how they ended up contradicting themselves. But that’s my own assumption.
Or… as the blog states, “Readers respond to your work through the filter of their own personal, emotional history”. And it just is, what it is.
You’ve had a constructive response to the feedback! Thank you for sharing.
Just like anything else in this cluttered, imperfect world… it’s a crapshoot. Take glee in the fact you finished a story you set out to write. That is victory in and of itself. We shouldn’t write to please or displease a reader. We write because we’re writers…
I think there are a lot of really intelligent, good writers that have replied in this blog! I have enjoyed it.
My own experience as a fairly new writer is that I have gotten mostly constructive reviews indicating much work is needed. I did, however get one recent negative review that didnāt make a lot of sense, and was not helpful. I really did feel like the reviewer didnāt quite get the story whereas others have.
I guess there are good and helpful negative reviews (most of them), and some that are not helpful. For me, it was pretty easy to see the difference.