I'm a newbie,  still green, slowly learning this wonderful craft. I came across the shooting script on here for Moonlight.
Can someone help me understand the writing style of this script? Is this the creme of the crop? Something to really study...yes it won awards, so logic says yes, but I haven't come across that style of writing yet .....I haven't finished reading it...
Thank you for any responses..

Kirsten, hi.

My two cents. Get as many pro scripts as you can. Not the shooting scripts. Best is to get scripts that were sold on spec, not scripts from writers hired on assignment. You can join trackingboard.com for a small fee. Not sure where else to get them these days, sometimes a free site pops up for a while.

You don't need to read the whole script, just enough to get a sense of the style.

It's not about copying any one style, though you will get an idea how different situations can be handled. What it;s really about is writing in a style that most effectively makes the reader think it will make a good film.

You'll hear a lot of useless advice from other amateur writers and gurus. The only thing that really matters is writing in a style that makes the reader see your movie, feel your movie...and therefore want to see your movie made. Certain style choices can help you create those images and those feelings, such as mystery and suspense. Sometimes the "rules" get in the way of creating those things, in which case they should be ignored, because there really are no rules.

You do want the script to look competent and professional. Beyond that, the only people that care about "rules" are people who've been taught certain things or who teach certain things.

Good writing style and good storytelling technique trumps any system of rules any day of the week. Focus on that instead of worrying about whether every way you handle something is "correct". Correct is what works best to make to create the effects you want with the reader: mystery, suspense, strong imagery, powerful emotion, strong character.

Quoted from leitskev Kirsten, hi. My two cents. Get as many pro scripts as you can. Not the shooting scripts. Best is to get scripts that were sold on spec, not scripts from writers hired on assignment. You can join trackingboard.com for a small fee. Not sure where else to get them these days, sometimes a free site pops up for a while. You don't need to read the whole script, just enough to get a sense of the style. It's not about copying any one style, though you will get an idea how different situations can be handled. What it;s really about is writing in a style that most effectively makes the reader think it will make a good film. You'll hear a lot of useless advice from other amateur writers and gurus. The only thing that really matters is writing in a style that makes the reader see your movie, feel your movie...and therefore want to see your movie made. Certain style choices can help you create those images and those feelings, such as mystery and suspense. Sometimes the "rules" get in the way of creating those things, in which case they should be ignored, because there really are no rules. You do want the script to look competent and professional. Beyond that, the only people that care about "rules" are people who've been taught certain things or who teach certain things. Good writing style and good storytelling technique trumps any system of rules any day of the week. Focus on that instead of worrying about whether every way you handle something is "correct". Correct is what works best to make to create the effects you want with the reader: mystery, suspense, strong imagery, powerful emotion, strong character.

Kirsten,

I don't post much anymore, but I'm always around... and that's some pretty good advice from a well-respected member...

Good Luck

_ghostwriter

Hey guys. Awsome! Great advice! It's what I need to hear....I have the urge to write in a style that tells the story and gets the 'feel' across, and this is what is done in moonlight.... and yeah it will end up being my own style, cause i don't want to follow rigid rules all the time.... but i want to look professional... of course... I get it...

Again great advice... thankyou!

Do try to get the pro scripts though, Kirsten. I'd send you some, but in the last few years I've been focused on prose, so I don't even remember which pro scripts would be good to send. Follow the tracking board! It's worth it!

And don't forget, there is a difference between a shooting script like the one you found and a spec script that we're all writing... so there will be things in the shooting script that people will advise against in a spec script.

As per the other advice, read lots!

I've read ....

- Hell or High Water
- Denial
- Captain Fantastic
- Arrival
- Girl on The Train
- Eye In the Sky
- The Founder
- Loving
- Manchester By The Sea

These are all non-shooting scripts you can read in the 2016 awards consideration list. I tried to open up the Moonlight link to see what you were talking about but it must've been taken down. The top three of this list are my favorites so far... for Manchester though i found it very annoying how they had the dialogue set up.

Quoted from Lightfoot I tried to open up the Moonlight link to see what you were talking about but it must've been taken down...

They sometimes take the award nominated scripts down which is why it pays to get in quick with downloading whatever you want to look at.

You can still get Moonlight here:

http://www.la-screenwriter.com/2017/01/06/moonlight-script/

Click on the pic.

Thanks again guys n gals...I got a few downloaded, Loving is definatly a spec and looks pretty good so far. I'll go online and find out the exact differences between spec and shooting scripts, so when I read a shooting I know what to ignore...

I couldn't stand the Moonlight script. I couldn't stop shaking my head at the relationship with Jaun. Then the k8d grows up to become a dealer. I wish they had a point to this script.

Quoted from WritingScripts I couldn't stand the Moonlight script. I couldn't stop shaking my head at the relationship with Jaun. Then the k8d grows up to become a dealer. I wish they had a point to this script.

Concur 100%