30 Scripts in 30 Days: Part 1

In 2010, when I first moved to Los Angeles, I had no idea that I wanted to be a screenwriter. I was here for college. That being said, I’ve always loved movies and TV, so of course, I worked on a couple short films and auditioned with the rest of the Hollywood hopefuls. Still, as mentioned, there was no immediate sense of becoming a writer.
 
Being in college and needing a fresh supply of delicious ramen, I came to the realization that I would need to make some money. I needed a job. UCLA had a job board to help students navigate the overwhelming task of finding employment in LA. Lucky for me, I managed to nab a gig as a script reader for Ari Shankar’s independent script financing company, 1984 Films. It was here that I discovered a love for the craft of screenwriting.  
 
1984 Films required me to read three to four feature-length scripts every day! For the uninformed, a feature-length script usually runs between 90 and 120 pages and can take three hours to read. I wouldn’t call myself a particularly slow reader, but I get caught up in the story. I like to remember every scrap of detail the writer gives me, and in doing so, perhaps I don’t fly through the pages as quickly as most. After reading a script, the company required me to write a two-paragraph summary of the story and provide my thoughts on whether the company should help finance the movie.
 
Looking back, this gives a lot of power to a new reader pretty inexperienced with Hollywood. Still, I absorbed so much throughout this experience. Throughout my 3-months of summer employment, I read close to 150 screenplays. Subconsciously, I learned screenplay formatting, story pacing, character development, and so-so-SO MUCH MORE.

I believe that if you want to write screenplays, you need to read screenplays. Read the bad, read the good; read famous scripts, read scripts from your peers; read every genre, and read every type of writer. This is the best way to not only learn how to write, but you’ll learn how to write well.
 
THIS takes me to the whole point of this post. November is a big month for prose writers because an overwhelming number of them participate in a challenge known as NaNoWriMo (National Novelists Writers Month), with the goal to write a crap ton of pages in 30 days. Unfortunately, writing screenplays is a little different, so the many screenwriters who want to participate, find themselves at a loss for measuring their progress. So, I decided to join a little differently.
 
In November, I assigned myself the task of reading 30 scripts in 30 days. I’ve clearly done it before, as proven in my previous job, but I haven’t done it in a long while. So, this is an attempt to prove to myself that I have a somewhat structured approach to writing and can meet my own challenges.
 
Plot twist – I did not hit my goal.

But in PART 2, I’ll review the scripts and why the hell it’s taken so long.