Hi Scott, Simple question... What techniques or strategies to you go about naming characters? For some reason this always bothers me, and there is neither a specific name they must have, but certain cinematic masterpieces always have strong character names that reflect who they are. Thanks! Chris

Hi Scott, I’m just coming to the end (or at least I believe I am) of my first feature (the found footage story), so naturally I’m beginning to think about getting out into the marketplace. However, I believe it is standard procedure for a first time writer trying to break into the industry to have at least one more script under their belt for when an agent asks, “What else have you got?” Now my question comes in two parts. 1 Do you have to have a second script fully finished, or can you have in the pipeline, say, a first draft our even an outline? 2 Is it better for this second story to be in the same genre as the one you’re trying to sell? So in my case, I’m going to try and sell a found footage film (thriller). Would it be in my best interests for my second story to be a found footage film or a thriller or both?

Hey Scott, Just found this post. I actually have two questions. 1 - You said that a good strategy for getting read is to see if friends of friends of friends will connect you. I've worked with a myriad of talented people that know A-list directors and producers that could do a world of good for my current script. However, our relationships are as colleagues, not friends, if that. How do I go about leveraging these connections? Some people are open-minded about being contacted if I know someone they know but others aren't, especially the more higher-ups. 2 - I have a story that's gone through many iterations and has been written in many forms. My main issue is that, I conceived it to be a script but I've resisted turning it into a screenplay because I fear it won't get produced (it's an expensive venture with sci-fi elements). I thought about turning it into a novel but I'm afraid that if it succeeds I will be pigeonholed as some novelist (which I'm not) and it will push me further away from my goals of being a working screenwriter. Any thoughts as to how to best approach this? THANKS IN ADVANCE!