How to get an agent - Part 1

One of the first questions I'm asked by other writers when they find out what I do is, how do I get an agent? The age-old answer to this question is...write a great script. But what the hell does that mean? How do you know when you've written a great script?

Now I can't answer that for you (and I sure as hell can't read your script), but I can try to point you in the right direction. First of all, if this is your first script ever? It's not good. Trust me. You think it's great but it's not. Put it away in a drawer and write another one. Then another. Then pull that first one out of the drawer. Grimace in embarrassment.

Don't worry, we all have one of those in our closet. My first script was funny but I forgot to include things like three-dimensional characters, dialog that wasn't on-the-nose, oh, and an actual plot.

Next, make a list of your favorite films of all time. Find the scripts to those films and read them. If your favorite films aren't exactly Oscar-winners, then read a few Oscar-winning scripts as well. Now you know what a professional script looks like.

Think your script is ready now? Not quite. Please, for the love of god, spell check it! And I don't mean just using the computer program. That doesn't catch there, their and they're or other words that are spelled right but still very wrong.

I'll never forget the script I read that had a drug dealer trying to sell "hope" to an undercover cop. While that may be a really interesting image, I don't think it's what the writer was going for.

If your spelling and grammar skills aren't the best, find someone whose are. Hell, ask your old high school English teacher to take a look. Anyone!

And, yes, I know that there are professional writers who can't spell worth a damn. But you're not a pro yet. Why give anyone another reason to dismiss your writing? It's just lazy.

So, now you think your script is the best that you can possibly do? Then you're on to the next step. Which I'll continue in a second post. How's that for a cliffhanger?