There Are No Rules, You Can Do Anything
As long as you what you're doing is really really good
If there’s one constant in extremely competitive industries, it’s that people are always hoping to break in. And when you’re hoping to break in, you desperately want to know what the “rules” are. I get it. We love rules. In a universe that is nothing but random chaos, rules give us the illusion of control. If I simply follow the rules of the Three Act Structure, I will tell a good story. If I “Save the Cat” then that will prove I am a competent writer, and people will want to employ me.
There’s another reason we hear about “rules” all of the time. Rules are easy to sell. There is a veritable cottage industry of people who believe they have the rules figured out. Or, more accurately, people who would like you to believe they have the rules figured out, so that you will buy their online course, follow their social media, or just sort of generally help bolster their presence. America loves gurus. Snake oil salesman are in the DNA of this country (here’s one of my all time favorites, John R. Brinkley: radio host, charlatan, pioneer of the goat testicle transplant).
But the thing is… despite their popularity, rules will not make you a good writer. Yeah, sure, you want to know basically how to format a script. And you want to know basically how to tell a good story. But following rules is not exactly one of the cornerstones to success. Because… hint hint…
It seems like every week there’s some new weird debate on “screenwriting twitter” (ew, sorry) about some dumb rule. Never put a quote on the first page, they’re pretentious. Don’t use parentheticals because they slow down the action. Bold your slug lines. Don’t bold your slug lines, it’s unprofessional. Always use appropriate scene headings like INT. / EXT. Don’t have a fun design to your title page.
It’s exhausting. And stupid. And worst of all, none of it matters! At all!
THIS WHOLE BUSINESS IS MADE UP! Hollywood is the bullshit capital of the world, founded by bullshitters who decided to build a city in the middle of the fucking desert where there was nothing but… you guessed it… oil! The only reason Hollywood has become the movie capital of the world is because East Coast cheapskates and hooligans wanted to avoid paying Edison any royalties for the rights to use moving picture cameras, and there was no meaningful oversight in California, allowing movie people (who are basically the modern equivalent of carnival people) more freedom to do whatever they wanted, including hire people to draw weird cartoons of animals as works for hire that they could then copyright for all eternity in order to become ultrawealthy titans of industry.
Since then, Hollywood has tried to transform, and loves to pretend it’s a much stodgier, much more organized capital B “Business,” but at its core its still a bunch of theater kids, hucksters, and people who don’t want real jobs (I say this with all the love in my heart. These are my people). There’s a reason big “normal” businesses like Gulf & Western and Coca Cola and AT&T keep trying to buy studios and then realizing they’d much rather sell them. This business doesn’t make sense. There aren’t actually any rules to what works and what doesn’t. It’s fickle, because it’s SHOW BUSINESS!
So… in the spirit of the absolutely depraved maniacs who started this great town, and the long line of lunatics whose egos alone could keep the lights on…
DO NOT LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU THERE ARE RULES TO MAKING ART.
Why? Well, for one thing, this is a made up business of people who are very good at making believe. And why would you ever want to limit your ability to make believe with some dumb rule that feels restrictive at best, and backwards looking at worst?
If you are still trying to break into the business, you have nothing to lose (and everything to gain) from trying to figure out how to break the rules and do your own thing.
Worrying about rules is basically the craft equivalent of worrying about trends. There is no big book of “the rules of movies” that producers all read. There is no Hollywood Constitution (although there probably should be). So at best, we have practical guidelines that have proved useful in the past. They’re essentially not that different from trends.
Every year there’s one big movie that makes a ton of money and a ton of producers and executives decide they’re going to try to chase the trend. “People like grounded science fiction like Ex Machina. People like “elevated horror” like Babadook. People like movies about toys like Barbie. People like romantic comedies like Anyone But You.” This is looking backwards.
If you had to bet which of these options was going to be the next big thing, would you rather choose
“The thing that was really big last year”
“Something totally unexpected”
Hint hint — it’s probably going to be something unexpected. You have to remember that the thing that everyone saw last year, they probably won’t be as excited to see again four years from now!
The thing that you have to offer as an artist, as a person, is you. Your point of view. Your uniquely strange way of doing things. Your idiosyncrasy. That’s what makes an artist. And it’s exactly what makes “art” generated by a computer… not art.
Here’s an extremely practical breakdown from my buddy Nic Curcio (who has a great TikTok account) about why and how exactly being “unique” is actually the most valuable asset you have as an emerging artist:
It boils down to this: If you are trying to “break in” to this business, you want to create the thing that nobody else has done. The thing that people who are very tired of reading are going to perk up for because it is unlike anything that’s crossed their desk this week.
If you’ve been tasked with reading twenty scripts this weekend, which of these are you going to be more excited about?
A very conventional three act hero’s journey which is appropriately paced, follows all the rules, and is entirely unoriginal as a result
A really fucking crazy thing that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before
I know I’m stacking the deck in the way I’m writing these descriptions but… that’s the point! This whole industry is about making an impression. Especially when you’re starting out.
You can’t control what the marketplace wants, you can’t control who will or won’t read the thing you sent, and you certainly can’t control whether they’re going to want to take a chance on you. You can’t even really control how good you are at this. You can work hard, revise, improve, but I really do believe there is an inherent natural talent level that people exist within. Craft (aka “the rules”) is a skill you can be taught and improve at. Talent is an inherent, and therefore much more amorphous, quality.
Sorry, I don’t make the rules!!! That’s just how it is.
But one thing you absolutely can control is how “exciting” the thing is that you’re sending. I do not mean action movie exciting, nor do I mean $$$ exciting. I mean more broadly the thrill of “I have never seen anything like this.” Or even the slightly more attainable thrill of “I haven’t seen anything do this like that before!”
That’s something you do have control over. And it’s absolutely the kind of risk you should be taking as an artist early in your career. Why on earth would you try to sell out before anyone’s ever offered you a single dollar to do so? Why not do it exactly the way you want?
This is a screed! A manifesto! I know, and for that I apologize!
But I really do believe there is basically only one rule in telling stories:
Do not get bogged down by rules.
The entire medium of film is barely a hundred years old, and the whole machinery of moviemaking is about faking our way through things. Nobody knows anything. So when they try to get you to agree to the rules, try to remind yourself…
THIS IS ALL MADE UP.
A little anecdotal evidence, if it’s at all helpful.
The script that first got me my manager is a non-linear one act play written entirely in the second person. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written (and it’s something we still send to people as an introduction to my writing). It’s 40 pages long.
The script that first got me on The Black List was a three-part story that spans the entire history of the universe.
The first original script I got paid to work on was a creature feature about giant killer slugs, which was also a musical.
Life is too short to chase trends or worry about rules. Do what you want. This is a made up job anyway. And trust me, people are going to be much more excited to read something written with passion that breaks the rules than something that feels like it perfectly follows the rules but isn’t all that interesting.
PS. Last week I promised to keep you posted on the original feature I’m currently drafting. The writing retreat weekend worked. I’m officially through the first act (about 35 pages into the draft right now) and it’s coming along nicely. I’m not pushing for more than 5 pages a day. It’s a nice leisurely pace that allows me to take other meetings, futz around with other projects, and also, as I’m sure you were wondering, finish dealing with the mold in our house.
Colby- Thanks for sharing this. I think if we all apply this to everything we do, then there’s something there: “Life is too short to chase trends or worry about rules. Do what you want. This is a made up job anyway. And trust me, people are going to be much more excited to read something written with passion that breaks the rules than something that feels like it perfectly follows the rules but isn’t all that interesting.” 🙌🏼
Absolutely love this, and love following your wisdom here and your career. Thanks for sharing :)