Charlie Kaufman’s Screenwriting Tips

I don’t really have anything against stories, but I just want to feel something happening. I read something that Emily Dickinson said that I'm going to paraphrase: you know something’s poetry if a shiver goes up your spine.” - Kaufman

Finding your voice is a process of figuring out how to ‘do you’

You need to explore and develop your individual voice instead of falling into conventional screenplay styles that are dependent on their predictability quotients. As a writer, your imagination is your superpower, and it is your responsibility to know how to wield it properly.

Understand what drives you to write in the first place

There has to be a wound that urges you to put yourself on paper and display it to the world. It is both specific to you, and common to everyone around you. it is your secret, even from yourself. But it is the thing that wants to live.

Don’t be a zombie to formula

We mindlessly consume content that runs along similar lines - stock characters and archetypical tropes have been ingrained in our heads and this consumer culture has made us into zombies.

We need to step away from systemic indoctrination and reflect on the content we are putting out into the world. Your goal should be to create something honest that speaks to you.

Don’t be afraid of ambiguity

"It’s always a mistake to settle on any explanation for anything, because whatever you settle on you will be wrong, even if you’re right. Everything is ephemeral; everything is in a constant state of flux. Thinking past any conclusion you’ve drawn will reward you with a more complex insight and a more compassionate worldview. This is something I’m constantly trying to learn and relearn…”

Let go of conventional approaches and do not be afraid to be slightly offbeat in your stories. Movies share so much with dreams which, of course, only deal with interior lives. Your brain is wired to turn emotional states into movies. And your imagination knows no bounds.

A screenplay is an exploration

A screenplay is an exploration. It’s about the thing you don’t know. It’s a step into the abyss. It necessarily starts somewhere, anywhere; there is a starting point but the rest is undetermined.

It is a secret, even from you. There’s no template for a screenplay, or there shouldn’t be. There are at least as many screenplay possibilities as there are people who write them. We’ve been conned into thinking there is a pre-established form. Like any big business, the film business believes in mass production. It’s cheaper and more efficient as a business model. Do not reduce your art to simply a business venture.

Don’t lose yourself in cheap tricks. Stay focused on the world you are trying to build

With a screenplay you’re creating a world; consider everything, every character, every room, every juxtaposition, every increment of time as an embodiment of that world. Look at all of this through that filter and make sure it is all consistent. As in a painting, every element is part of one whole composition, just as there is nothing separate in the actual world there should be nothing separate in the world you create.

Want to read more? Check out our blog, 'The Absurd Realities of Charlie Kaufman’s Universe'