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Monthly Archives: October 2016

Joke About Gender-Neutral Language

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Joe Toplyn

Setup: University of Northern Colorado students are now forced to use mandatory gender-neutral language.

Punch Line: I’m sorry, we meant “PERSONdatory.”

Writer: Tom Patrick

Joe’s analysis of the joke

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: gender neutral, language, University of Northern Colorado | Leave a comment |

Joke About Tiger Woods Cheating

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Joe Toplyn

Setup: Tiger Woods doesn’t regret cheating on his ex-wife Elin Nordegren.

Punch Line: However, he does regret teaching her how to swing a golf club.

Writer: Cassie Brenn

Joe’s analysis of the joke

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: cheating, Elin Nordegren, Tiger Woods | 2 Comments |

Joke About Man Urinating on Plane Passenger

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Joe Toplyn

Setup: Man kicked off plane for urinating on fellow passenger

Punch Line: Because he produced more than 3.4 fluid ounces

Writer: Christopher Schmidt

Joe’s analysis of the joke

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: passenger, plane, urinating | Leave a comment |

Joke About Farmers Dumping Excess Milk

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Joe Toplyn

Setup: America’s dairy farmers dump 43 million gallons of excess milk

Punch Line: No use crying over it.

Writer: Mike Malyar

Joe’s analysis of the joke

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: dump, excess milk, farmers | Leave a comment |

Should You Include the End in a Movie Synopsis?

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Joe Toplyn

An early step in selling a movie script you’ve written is often to send a brief synopsis of the script to a reader. If the reader likes your synopsis, he or she may ask you to send the entire script.

It’s a big mistake to give away the ending of your movie in your synopsis.

Plenty of screenwriting advisers disagree with me. For example, in this InkTip article entitled “Your Synopsis Should Not Be These 3 Things,” Michael Kim recommends, “Spoil the ending in your synopsis.”

And Allen B. Ury writes in an article for Greenlight My Movie, “Should you reveal your ending? Absolutely.”

Here’s why I strongly disagree with both advisers.

A big pile of movie scripts

 

The purpose of a script synopsis is not to make a reader’s life easier.

 

The purpose of a script synopsis is not to give away all the key elements of your script, for free, to a total stranger who is hungry for new movie ideas.

 

Instead, as Kim himself points out, the purpose of a script synopsis is “to compel the reader to read the script.”

 

 

Spoiling the ending in the synopsis will not help to compel a reader to read the script.

Consider this. If your synopsis gives the reader the main characters and the entire story, including the end, the only reason for the reader to read your script is to see how you handle dialogue.

But dialogue is a minor part of any movie script. Premise, characters, and story are almost everything.

So sending the reader a synopsis that includes the end is basically giving away your entire script to the reader. Why then would an overworked reader bother reading your actual script?

movie_trailer

 

Here’s a show business analogy. The purpose of any movie trailer is to compel the public to spend time and money to see the movie. That makes a trailer the movie marketing equivalent of a script synopsis.

Does a movie trailer ever include the ending of the movie? Never!

A trailer that spoiled the end would give people a reason not to spend time and money to see the movie. And a studio marketing executive who insisted that a movie trailer reveal the ending would be laughed at, and possibly fired.

So don’t include the end of your screenplay in your synopsis.

Instead, make your synopsis as compelling as possible without the ending.

Prove to the reader with your few well-crafted paragraphs that your script has an intriguing premise, engaging characters, textbook story structure in the first two acts, rising conflict, stakes that are raised, and all that good screenwriting stuff.

But omit the ending. Make the reader of your synopsis think:

“This writer seems like a total professional and this script sounds amazing. I really want to know how it ends. I guess I’ll just have to read the whole script to find out.“

Any reader who thinks like that will ask you to send your script. And your synopsis will have done its job.

As successful screenwriter William Martell says about writing a synopsis: “It’s designed to make the reader want to grab my script and start reading, NOT to give them all of the story beats so they can ‘pass’ without reading it.”

For more of my advice about writing get my book Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV.The book "Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV"

Posted in Writing Tips | Tags: Allen B. Ury, does a synopsis reveal the ending, does synopsis include ending, end, ending, Greenlight My Movie, how to write a film synopsis, How to write a movie synopsis, How to write a synopsis, InkTip, is the ending of the play or movie shared in the synopsis, Michael Kim, movie cynopsis, movie synopsis, screenplay cynopsis, screenplay synopsis, script synopsis, should a movie synopsis include the ending, Should a screenplay synopsis include the ending?, Should a synopsis for a screenplay reveal the ending?, Should a synopsis give away everything, Should a synopsis give away the ending, Should a synopsis include the ending, Should a synopsis reveal everything, Should a synopsis reveal the ending, Should you give away the ending in a synopsis, Should you include the ending in a movie synopsis, Should you reveal the ending in a synopsis?, Should you spoil the ending in a synopsis, William Martell | Leave a comment |

Joke About Trump’s Debate Microphone

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Joe Toplyn

Setup: Trump Claims He Lost Debate; Blames His Microphone

Punch Line: He was correct in blaming his microphone. It picked up everything that he said.

Writer: Paolo Busignani

Joe’s analysis of the joke

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: debate, microphone, Trump | Leave a comment |

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