Those of you who traverse the online screenwriting universe on Twitter likely know about the whole @Mystery community (e.g., @MysteryVP, @MysteryStarlet, @MysteryProducer). Their ‘dean,’ as far as I can tell, is @MysteryExec. I started following him in 2011 and I can produce this post as evidence to that fact.

I have no idea who @MysteryExec is. All I know is it’s been a blast tracking his lifestyle via his tweets which for long stretches of time have involved providing behind the scenes snark about his work environment and anything to do with the Valley, then heading out for play time which typically translates into consuming copious amounts of Chivas 18 while chasing female companionship in the watering holes of Westwood.

But in the last few months, something happened to @MysteryExec. Yes, he still pursues carnal knowledge bathed in scotch, but in a moment of what I can only imagine was akin to achieving “total consciousness” a la Carl from Caddyshack, @MysteryExec realized something: The Hollywood filmmaking community can do better.

In fact, @MysteryExec coined a hashtag to that effect: #BeTheChange.

Yesterday provided an example as he let out with a Twitter rant reproduced here in its entirety and with his permission:

“pretty without pretense or solicitation” “pretty without trying” — If you have this as character description you are a BAD, LAZY WRITER. STOP WRITING FEMALE CHARACTERS AS FUCK PUPPETS. YOU ARE ALL BAD WRITERS. ALL OF YOU. TALK TO ACTUAL WOMEN. MALE WRITERS, YOU ARE ALL DOING IT WRONG. HAVE A WOMAN READ YOUR FUCKING SCRIPT AND CALL YOU OUT ON YOUR AWFUL FUCKING DIALOGUE. “She’s quirky”. NO SHIT!!! WE BETTER GET ZOOEY GODDAMN DESCHANEL ON THE LINE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!! LAZY LAZY LAZYYYYY. “It’s stylized,” you argue. NO. IT IS SHIT. NO WOMEN TALK LIKE THIS YOU FUCKING HACK. THE FACT THAT REPS BRING THIS SHIT TO ME IS EQUALLY EMBARRASSING. In closing, male screenwriters — you need to chiggity check yo’selves before you wreck yourselves. Your fucking terrible, lame approximations of women will not suffice. Step up your game. I need a fucking drink — when don’t I? #BetheFUCKINGChange

@MysteryExec’s blast spawned a lengthy Twitter discussion about how not to introduce female characters — “pretty but doesn’t know it… the girl next door only hotter” — which is a subject unto itself (indeed I teach an entire week-long course on Character Introductions).

There is a larger context to this discussion specific to how female characters are handled in scripts, the dearth of good roles for women, the under-representation of women writers and directors, so @MysterExec’s diatribe yesterday needs to be understood in light of that recent Twitter history. But the more universal takeaway is this: If you as a writer traffic in stereotypes and engage characters only at the surface level, you are going to piss off people like @MysteryExec.

On the other hand if you look at the subtext of what @MysteryExec is saying, beneath the rage at and disgust with shitty scripts lies a desire to see better stories and more multidimensional characters.

As cynical, beat up and downtrodden any industry insider may be working the hours they do, I have never met one who hasn’t desperately wanted to crack open a new script and be wowed by what they read. Safe to say that goes for @MysteryExec as well.

For all we know, @MysteryExec may be some community college dropout working as a stock boy at a pissant Radio Shack in Pacoima, but when he goes into #BeTheChange mode, it doesn’t matter: He is a prophet crying in the wilderness, proclaiming the truth from high atop Mount Twitter.

Writers, heed @MysteryExec’s call!

Dig deeply into your characters.

Make them come alive and lift off the page.

Find what is unique about them that takes them beyond cliché .

Zero in on something about your characters that generates resonance for a reader.

Don’t be afraid to break with formula whether it’s plot, genre, gender, race or a character’s country of origin.

If a character surprises you with something they say or do, chances are they will surprise a Hollywood reader, too.

And yes, write more and better female characters.

Strive to make people like @MysteryExec read your screenplay and lift a glass of Chivas 18 as a toast to your creativity… instead of a crap script that drives them to swill the stuff straight from the bottle.

#BeTheChange!

UPDATE: In honor of Elmore Leonard whose death was announced today, here is how he approached writing women:

“I don’t think of them as women. I think of them as a person and go from there.”

Sage advice from a great writer.



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