FDMX’s Wired series at the University of Hertfordshire was lucky enough to host James Bartlett, a Hollywood Script Reader, who regaled an enthusiastic audience of over 30 students and budding scriptwriters alike with tales from the glamorous world of screenwriting in Hollywood.

James, who has read for some of Hollywood’s top producers, plus the official Academy of Motion Pictures’ Nicholl Screenwriting Awards and UCLA, is touring the UK (via the FDMX region) helping budding screenwriters to avoid the usual pitfalls that he comes across again and again when reading scripts.

Whilst story, character and plot are the essential elements in creating a good script, there are also many technical issues to be aware of when writing and presenting it to potential buyers. Many mistakes are made over and over again by screenwriters, which can be fatal in getting your script past the first hurdle. James talked through these disastrous and often amusing “red flag” mistakes.

All scripts in Hollywood are read initially by people, like James, who are hired by studio executives and producers to sift through the mounds of scripts they receive each week. It is James’ job to filter through the bad ones and only pass on recommendations. He is the first line of defence for his clients and it doesn’t look good on him if he passes on a script containing bad mistakes (regardless of how great the story or characters may be).

Therefore, it is in the screenwriter’s interest to ensure that their script is honed to technical perfection and you can do this by listening to James’ top tips and avoiding his “13 mistakes”:

James’ Top Tips

“Firstly, be professional. Don't rely on Spellcheck, number your pages, and follow the correct industry way to format and present your script from www.oscars.org/nicholl/format.html

Secondly, be visual. Keep asking yourself: What can the audience see and hear on screen? Describing the thoughts and feelings of a character is pointless, because the audience can't read the script.”

To hear more of James’s top tips for screenwriting, keep an eye on our Wired Wednesday page for his next visit to the UK.