May 26, 2012

My Golden Rules: The Twilight Saga's Melissa Rosenberg

The dos and don'ts of screewriting

by Melissa Rosenberg | Published June 24, 2010

Photo: Sarah Kehoe

1. Don’t ignore or rail against notes—or at least rail in a room alone and get on with it. If it’s a crappy note, see if there’s anything worthwhile in it. The suggested fix might be wrong, but it may be pointing to a legitimate problem. Make the note giver feel heard.

2. Don’t think your first draft was the best draft. It wasn’t. Every agonizing rewrite strengthens the work so…

3. Don’t rush it! They say they want it fast, but in the end they won’t remember that it was fast, just that it was bad.

4. Don’t cling to first impressions. The producer you hate most in the beginning will end up being your biggest ally; likewise, the executive you immediately bond with might sell you out in the end.

5. Don’t start a critique without offering praise. Surely you can find something good to say. The title? Nice margins? No one can hear a note when they’re completely shut down. And don’t criticize without offering alternatives—even bad ones. It’s lazy.

6. Don’t hold on to anything—lines, scenes, storylines, characters. Get used to killing your children. You cling to ideas because you’re afraid you won’t come up with any others. You’ll have more!

7. Don’t burn bridges, hold grudges or piss people off. This business is about relationships. Everyone knows everyone and reputations float.

8. Don’t say the first thing that comes to mind or you’re liable to burn a bridge, create a grudge or piss someone off. Take a beat. Even if it’s overnight.

9. Don’t dish about people—co-workers, stars, anyone. It generally just creates a bad vibe, plus, what goes around comes around in this town.

10. Don’t give up. You’re going to get kicked in the teeth. A lot. Learn to take a hit, then pick yourself up off the floor. Resilience is the true key to success.

Bonus tip: Don’t read the Internet—it’ll bring you down.

Writer-producer Melissa Rosenberg got her start in television, with credits on “Party of Five,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “The Magnificent Seven” and “The O.C.” She made her feature debut with 2006’s Step Up and in 2008 landed the enviable role of screenwriter on the smash hit Twilight. She has since written the scripts for New Moon and the upcoming Eclipse. Rosenberg is also a producer and writer on Showtime’s addictive serial killer series, “Dexter.”

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Comment by John Chadwell on 6/24/10 at 5:02 pm: I agree with all 10 tips to a point, that point being number 2 about “...every rewrite strengthens the work.” Most often that’s the case, but I’ve been diddled to death with rewrites that go nowhere but down. My nightmare experience was when trying to please a CAA agent who kept changing his mind, adding new elements. By draft 3 the script was pretty good. By draft 17 in was crap. Needless to say, the script languished until it died of neglect - fortunately.
Comment by Erken Rezervasyon Kampanyası on 7/12/10 at 5:43 am: varies for everyone. Wrote a book in just this kind of comments ...
Comment by Мебель на заказ on 8/01/10 at 1:03 pm: You are quite right. The Twilight Saga is the perfect movie.
Thank you very much!
Comment by Pc Tv Programs on 8/04/10 at 10:41 pm: I have been interested in screenwriting for as long as I can remember. My dream is to be a screenwriter, and I would also love to direct. How does one become a screenwriter? Attend film school, where they touch on writing, directing, editing, producing - all of which I am interested in?