I'm requesting intervention from anyone in the Script Revolution Family for my script about crack addiction, Baby Huey, which I just uploaded this morning. Forgive the subterfuge, but, as we all know, getting someone to take a look at your script is extremely difficult. Getting someone to look at a story about crack addiction or any social ill is even more difficult. Akin to asking someone to cut your lawn in July, the grass knee-high, with a push mower, for free. A helluva ask. At 129 pages, Baby Huey is a tad too long--but each time I consider making cuts, I start shaking and sweating like...like a crackhead. Ooh wee! Thus, if anyone here in the Script Revolution Family would be willing to take a glance at Baby Huey, I would be eternally grateful. JH
I can't read your script, sorry. But at 129 pages you might find a more receptive audience if you can shorten it a bit. I know you find your scenes precious and don't want to edit them, but how about this: Concentrate on widows/orphans and page endings; in other words look at the micro to take care of the macro. Take a 4-line paragraph that has two words on the fourth line, rework the paragraph (which I know you can do, 99% of the time) and get that fourth line up onto line three. If you have three consecutive two line paragraphs, maybe you can join two of them and save a line (blank space between). The goal? Get rid of 6 single lines, per page, and over a 100 page script you've saved 600 lines and that is about 10 pages. Somebody might want to read a 119 page script.
Here's a screen snap of a print preview of one of my scripts:
https://www.integerentertainment.com/files/aggressive_widoworphan_editin...
See what I mean? See all of those blocky paragraphs (description AND dialogue)? Some people probably think that I have full justification turned on, but this was achieved through aggressive editing - all done without really endangering my own precious prose! I don't have a before or after screen snap, but I can guarantee you that those 4-line blocked paragraphs were once 6 or 5 lines, and the 2's were 3's, etc.
All I do know is that the first draft of this particular script was 115 pages, it's now 107, and I did not remove a single scene or major element to do that.
Now, as to whether or not your story's any good (its premise has promise!) I'll leave that to the bevy of readers that you are able find. G'luck!
Thanks, Steve. Will do.
Here is a link to a video on how to lose pages with losing story. It is not about cutting story, just consolidating and telling more story with less words. I hope this helps.
https://youtu.be/9vhfwwMUxJw
Thanks Craig for the link.