Keep this up Scott! I am in learning mode as of this moment! #5 - When a character just isn't working for me, I try to throw things out there to make him/her different, which alludes to #9 I think. And #6. I've always heard of #7, and in the long run, it helps to know where you are going before you know where you have been. This leads to #8, just keep writing, no matter where you are in the story. I happen to take a day or two off if I am stuck, but that doesn't work for everyone. I'm in the bad habit of re-writes when I am writing, so this is a good way to break it. Besides that, not writing full time (having a J.O.B) doesn't help. I found all of these tips helped when I was actually unemployed! If only it paid the bills!

I have so much trouble with the "let go" part. So much trouble. I'm slowly learning to allow my brain to work for me while I'm not actively tapping on a keyboard. If something keeps nagging at me, if I keep thinking "This isn't right" but I can't tell why, eventually I'll think of a solution and it's usually not while I'm sitting in front of the computer. I'm more productive on days when I can accept that and work on something that I know is *not* a problem, trusting that the problems will stick with me to ponder later on.

Spent all day doing #5. Threw out a quarter of act one because in the end, it was dull and the audience didn't need to know any of it. Which is good. I think! #9 is brilliant. I'm going to start doing that.

[...] Shots via Scott Myers. Tweet (function() { var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = [...]

all of these rules are gold. thanks for posting them.

#9 is really intriguing to me. Probably because I don't quite understand it. My best guess is that listing "what wouldn't happen" often results in two things: lame stuff that can be thrown out immediately OR surprise developments that make a great plot twist. For example, let's say Pixar was stuck on how to get the toys out of the trash incinerator in Toy Story 3: "What wouldn't happen is that Lotso has a change of heart and comes back for them. That's not believable." "What wouldn't happen is that the incinerator breaks down somehow. That's a cop out." "What wouldn't happen is that the dumb little aliens come to the rescue. Yeah, that couldn't happen...or could it? There are three of them...and there's heavy machinery around...and they know how a 'claw machine' works. Eureka!" Or am I missing the point here? Again, I'm not quite sure how #9 works.

#5 is my favourite. I love that word: simplify. It gives you license to edit out all the flabby bits the egotistical part of you wants to keep. And the script is always, without fail, better for it. I also like to combine characters, usually because there will always be a couple that sound or act the same anyway. I've gone one step further with the screenplay I'm currently rewriting by cutting out the main protagonist altogether and focusing on one of the lesser characters who is simply more interesting. It's changed the entire dynamic of the script.

I think you hit it on the head for #9. I was a bit confused too, but since you worked it out in MY brain....very good!

After having just written my own TV pilot by the seat of my pants, I can say that #7 is a rule I probably won't be breaking in the future. Always know the outcome. You may not know the road, but you should know the destination.