I was working as an intern and as an assistant. Reading scripts and doing coverage were a very small, but incredibly time consuming portion of the job.

I'm not sure there was anything in particular that I looked for.

If anything, simply professionalism. I wanted to feel confident that the writer was taking me on a journey. That we were going somewhere.

Many scripts I read, had no direction at all.

For me, there's really 2 different types of "bad scripts"

1) Most scripts are just bad. I found myself uninterested after 5 pages. I give scripts the benefit of the doubt until about page 30 or so. But if you make me read through 25 more pages of nothing, with no direction -- I'm going to be bias towards the rest of the script. This accounts for 90% of the scripts I had read.

2) This is the next "bad script." These are the "hopefuls." Strong premise, strong opening -- and then nothing.

These scripts have great character. Great opening scene. Establish the world and plot very early on -- and then run out of gas at about page 15.

These scripts usually get a pass, unless there was something I found truly unique and compelling that could be developed further.

The biggest problem is the stakes, either, never get high enough, or they seem contrived.

The plus for these scripts, is they really do have potential. They just need a little more thought put into them and a rewrite or two and they could easily be sellable.

This also usually means a major rewrite. It's more important to pay off the initial concept that's established in the opening, than some twisty, turning plot, that loses the writer (and usually the audience too).

These are about 7% of the scripts I read.

The remaining 3% are the ones that I wanted to see on the big screen. Not all were "perfect, flawless" scripts. Most just had a voice that said "I am a movie." It's hard to explain.

Just on final morsel for though: personal taste does play a large factor.

Stephen King, in his book On Writing, talks about pleasing his IDEAL READER. I think it's something new writers should think about. Your script doesn't have to please everyone. But it damn well better please your ideal reader.

I just reread this whole series like a week ago ... actually, when I first found GITS, the first thing I plowed through was the HOW I WRITE and HOW THEY WRITE series ... great stuff, and I've gone back over then more than once ... then this I reread a few times after it was originally posted ... great, great stuff, Scott.