Did you already read "Screenwriting from the Soul" book? No? Than you can not imagine, how much you missed! Richard Krevolin, one of the most respected screenwriters, authors and screenwriting teachers in Hollywood has sent us short passage from his book. Lets have a look! In case you would like to have this book, feel free to use our e-shop and to order on-line.
Q and A with Rich Krevolin, author of Screenwriting From The Soul and in 2003, How To Adapt Anything Into A Screenplay from Wiley & Sons

Dear Mr. Krevolin,
I have several different scripts and dont seem to be able to find a way to
sell any of them. Please help.
Helpless in Hoboken

Dear Hopeless,
First, alas, dont get upset all is not lost. It may take years, nay ecades to break through into Hollywood. Keep writing and keep that chin up. The key thing is to make sure that you are getting better with every script. Hollywood is a land of pigeonholes and your job is to fit snugly into an open cranny In other words, if you specialize in thrillers, write several polished thriller scripts and when you first meet others in the industry, dont mention that you have also worked in other genres unless someone specifically brings it up. Sell yourself as the next hot thriller writer and this should help. Over my career I have enjoyed writing in many different genres and with many different partners. Though this can be quite interesting and in many cases, has alleviated the solitude of spending ones life in a dark room all by ones lonesome; it has be a real detriment in my career path in that nobody knows exactly what to make of me. Is he a playwright or screenwright? Comedy guy or drama guy? Is he the brains behind this collaboration or did the other guy do all the writing and he is merely along for the ride? And will he and his partner remain together? You also seem to demonstrate a true passion for writing and a real sense of perseverance that will pull you through this crazy town and all the characters whom inhabit it. It seems like everything takes twice as long as you might imagine and it is standard practice for most people to tend to stray quite far from the truth In other words, Lets have lunch next week means Ill never speak to you again, and Ill read your script tonight means I might have my assistant do coverage of your script next month That is, if I feel like it and if youre lucky. With all that said, let me offer some suggestions. The Hollywood Creative Directory offers an online service with hundreds of email addresses. You can just cut and paste your query and email hundreds of production companies in one afternoon. They also offer a book that you can purchase in most bookstores. To be honest though, Id avoid the agencies and go straight to production companies, especially the smaller independent ones who really need material. Dont forget to use your books as a wedge to keep those doors open. However, take your time developing your query. Most people work for years on their scripts and then write their queries in a few minutes. In fact, I talked to the person at ICM whose job it was to read literally thousands of queries a month. She told me that 99% of them had a generic feel. They did not demonstrate good writing, intriguing storytelling or that their authors had really done any homework investigating exactly what ICM had to offer or who at ICM they should be directed to. In other words, they did a mass-mailing and it showed. Nobody, especially Hollywood types who are all ego, want to feel like one of the masses. They need and want to feel especially desirable and your query must epitomize that. I also like throwing a few scripts and dollars at screenwriting contests such as the Nicholl Fellowships, the Chesterfield, and the peoples pilot at TVWriters.com. Contests are a great way to introduce your material to the world and bulk up your resume. In addition, please try to attend some conferences and meet/greet/pitch buyers in person at such events as the spec script pitch marketplace pitch-fest (email mail to:scriptmarketplace@compuserve.com the Las Vegas Screenwriters conference at vegasscript.com and the Santa Fe conference at SCSFe.com mailto:writeon@SCSFe.com and the Maui Writers Conference Above all, keep pushing. Its a long, grueling process, but somebody got to be the next multi-million dollar earning recipient of the Academy Award for Best Screenplay of the year, why not you?

Dear Mr. Krevolin, Im stuck in the brad/spiral binder dilemma. What should I do? And if I am to use brads, what kind, where do you get them and why are brads the industry standard?
Best, Brad

First, I must caution you about telling people in Hollywood where they can take their brads and stick them. This might lead to costly lawsuits and/or some strange, new love partners for you Ah yes, the old brad controversy This one has been plaguing mankind since the discovery of the weed whacker in the eleventh century. I have polled many Hollywood big-wigs on this issue and to be honest, have never received a uniform response. There are those who like two and others who lean to three. In fact, in my book, I advise to use only two brads, one in the top hole and one in the bottom hole, leaving the middle hole open for ease of bendability, but if you pick up the book, you will see that the cover features three brads So, Im a man torn between two lovers. I can say this though; never use a spiral binding. Standard procedure is three-hole punch paper with either two brads or three, but never, I REPEAT NEVER, use two brads in the middle and bottom or middle and top. If you do this, the screenwriting police will cart you away to Burbank and hold you there in a cell where you will be forced to watch an endless loop of Saved By the Bell re-runs in perpetuity. While we are on the subject, todays brads of choice tend to be the Acco plated brass fasteners, 1 1/4 length, available at most office warehouse stores and at the WRITERS STORE. However, please remember, this only applies to screenplays, teleplays and stageplays. In the publishing world, if you submit your work on three-hole punch paper, they immediately laugh at you and toss your novel into the Hudson River. So, for non-fiction and fiction proposals, you should definitely use clean, white un-punched 8 1/2 by 11 paper that is held together by a rubber band and placed in a think ream-size cardboard box. Now, you are probably asking yourself, why Prof. K is there such a huge dichotomy between Hollywood and the New York Publishing world? Well, Ill tell you. You see, Hollywood was originally owned by Seymour Hollywood who made his fortune in the three-hole punch business while Seymour Simon of Simon and Schuster prior to entering the publishing field, had made his fortune in the rubber manufacturing business and when he sold out, took a ton of free bands with him As a result, you can see how the diverse traditions of holes vs. bands clearly originated

Dear Mr. Krevolin,
Should I go to Film School?
Inquisitively yours,
Joe Student

Dear Joe, You can glean a tremendous amount from reading books on screenwriting and watching movies. In fact, years ago, there were no film schools and still, many people wrote incredible scripts. How you may ask? Well, they read books and they wrote plays and novels and they worked hard But they did not work in a vacuum, nor should you. I would truly advise to take some classes. As long, of course, the teacher is supportive and not destructive. Yes, you will need to work with his or her criticism, but the feedback must be helpful and inspiring, not depressing. I do believe that you will need to learn how to listen to others comments and will not have the perspicacity and distance to truly see your work objectively. So, enroll in classes, read some books, hire a consultant or two and attend conferences. If you can afford to go to film school, by all means, go, but I do know many USC film school graduates who are working the streets with WILL WRITE FOR FOOD signs hung around their necks and a $100,000 student loan debt staring at them every night when they go to sleep. If you go to medical school, theres a damn good chance that you will get a job as a doctor. Film schools not like that. Theres no guarantees and not many jobs. You will meet many interesting people, some of whom may even call you back when they become famous, but networking is not a legitimate reason to go to film school. If you are young and you can get a teaching fellowship, or you are affluent, go, if not, do what you can with the money you have, shoot DV and get your work out there
As always, patience, passion and perseverance That is all. God bless and write hard
Prof. K.