Auntie Rae's Advice for Writers: I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script

[rae_beta]

Last night, M sent me a link to an article he thought might resonate with me. And oh, boy, did it ever: I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script, by Josh Olson

Comments

[tartysuz]

Thank you! This is a great service to me as someone who both requests and gives feedback on writing. Let there be less douchebaggery from now on!

[kouaidou]

Great article, applicable to many professions.

The disparity in the comments is amazing. A clear split between people who have been through this themselves, and those that haven't.

[rae_beta]

Amen to that. Or maybe between the people who've thought about it and those who're too busy sulking because no one will read their screenplays.

[alexotica]

Heh. I just saw Olsen in Dreams with Sharp Teeth (and more prominently in the DVD extras), and his piece reminds me of an old Harlan Ellison essay or two.

[rae_beta]

Honestly, at that point, I'd probably point her toward spellcheck; even most beginning critique groups would balk at something that sloppy.

Basic rules of critique: readers will zero in on whatever's most visible. If a writer hasn't taken the time to proofread, most readers--especially inexperienced ones--will never get far enough past the mechanical / legibility problems to give useful story feedback.

[andrew6]

"asking for feedback that you don't plan to seriously consider"

That's the one that REALLY bugs me.