Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
Story Editor Sara Anne Fox to Writers: ‘Here Are the Rules. There Are No Rules.’

Story Editor Sara Anne Fox to Writers: ‘Here Are the Rules. There Are No Rules.’

Last updated on: September 25, 2022 at 1:24 pm by Kate O'Hare

Story Editor Sara Anne Fox to Writers: ‘Here Are the Rules. There Are No Rules.’ 2022-09-25T13:24:42-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Story Editor Sara Anne Fox/Photo: Kate O’Hare

After a career spent covering TV as a journalist and being immersed in that kind of storytelling, when I decided to try my hand at writing a Christmas movie, I needed some help.

So, I turned to a woman I’d met at an event, and I’m glad I did (the script, my first, got optioned and has a director attached).

Her name is Sara Anne Fox (website here), and she goes by Saran.

A writer herself, she’s worked as a development executive. Now, in her work as a story editor and script consultant, she helps writers — screenwriters, novelists, nonfiction authors — be better.

If the writer has obvious talent on the page, she works on improving story, character and structure. If the writer has talent but can’t quite yet deliver on the page, she helps the work get there.

And if there isn’t much talent to be seen … well, we’ll get to that in a minute.

Recently, I got Fox to leave her beloved Silver Lake neighborhood, and we sat down to talk writing at a brewpub on the Westside of L.A. Here are some highlights of that conversation.

On the hardest thing about working with writers:

When a prospective client, or a client, has a screenplay they’ve already written, and they don’t have any talent.

But many times that’s the hardest, because then what I have to say to them is, “There may be a screenwriter in you, but we have to back off, and we have to start an education. I’m going to be in screenwriting 101 with you. We’re going to be watching movies, reading scripts, doing scenes that I assign you, to see if you can really do this, because your script isn’t good.”

… But when someone really can’t do it, I say, “You might want to hire me to rewrite your script.” So the hardest thing is basically having to tell someone the truth, but I do. I have to do it. I have to be honest.

And I could steer them in the right direction, if they don’t want to work with me. I’d say, “Take some screenwriting courses. Do you go to the movies? Do you read scripts?”

I’m here to help, but I’m not here to give someone a load of baloney just to take on a client. Fortunately, I’d had very few of those.

On the truth of the old saying, “writing is rewriting”:

They talk about the “vomit draft.” I don’t like that phrase. Hemingway said, the first draft of anything is crap — and he didn’t say crap. And I don’t like putting [the first draft] down, because it’s a blueprint. You finish something, and then it’s writing and rewriting.

Writing is rewriting. So I tell them, “You are going to rewrite this.”

So I have one client, we had a script, and it’s won awards. He’s on his way up, this guy. And we worked on this for a long time. He must have revised scenes and big pieces of the script at least 20 times. At least 20 times, he went back and refined it.

Because each time I read it, and each time I was watching something on television or getting ready to go to bed, an idea would come to me. I would write it down, because you are always being creative.

On the magic and mystery of writing:

Here are the rules, there are no rules. So write what you know; write what you don’t know. You have imagination.

Pete Hamill, the journalist, author, screenwriter, said, “When you sit down to write, be disciplined but loose.” And John Milius, the great screenwriter, said, “Screenwriting is magical and mystical because, once you sit down and start to write, something else takes over.”

For me, as a writer, my characters are smarter than me. When I sit down and write to work on a screenplay, my characters know a lot more than I do, because they’re buried somewhere in me.

But I’m more mature than they are, because they want to stay at a scene forever. “Oh come on, let’s work this out. How about some on-the-nose dialogue?” So, the whole process is really interesting.

On what “on-the-nose dialogue” means:

You have to make your dialogue interesting. It has to be economical, and it can’t be on the nose. It’s how people talk, but not how people talk.

[On-the-nose dialogue is] not interesting. It’s saying everything, being obvious. A man is cheating on his wife. She suspects. He comes home at three in the morning, lipstick on his collar, and she’s there with the rolling pin, right?

He comes in, and he says, “Baby,” and she says, “Where were you? It’s 3:00 in the morning.”

Now, on-the-nose dialogue would be for him to say, “Oh, I was out with the guys. What’s wrong with you?” “You were with a woman. I know it.” “No, I wasn’t.”

No. What he does is, he looks around, and he says. “This place is a dump.” Now what did that do? It’s a diversionary tactic.

We know he’s been cheating, and we know she suspects, but rather than defend himself with saying, “Oh no, honey, I love you. I was just out with the boys,” … you understand what’s going on here. A marriage is in trouble, and he won’t cop to it.

So what’s going on? Then, if it’s the beginning of a movie or the second scene, we want to know what’s going on here?

So on-the-nose dialogue tells you exactly what’s going on. Elite dialogue, economic dialogue, not on-the-nose dialogue, pulls you in and shows you what’s going on underneath.

On the process of working with a writer:

Obviously [you need] intelligence and experience, expertise. You have to be articulate. You have to be able to communicate.

You have to understand the animal, who is my client. Can I tease them? Do they have a sense of humor? How do I get the best from them? How do I establish a relationship?

But for me, it’s all about intuition too.

This wonderful client, we’re working on a third project. He’s in his first five pages, and he sent it to me. Something was off, and I felt it. I intuited it. You sense it, and then you examine, and then you say, “I see what’s missing, move this around. and it makes more sense.”

The thing is, so you’re working with intuition, intellect, heart, your brain and your experience.

This is why I tell screenwriting students or aficionados or newcomers, “Google the AFI’s greatest American films, a hundred of them. Watch them. Read scripts. Sit with your back to the screen when you watch a movie, listen for sound effects music and dialogue, the rhythm of dialogue, subtext, what’s said, what isn’t said, the value of pauses and silence.”

Writing really is going in a room by yourself with your muse, with your pastor, your subconscious, with everyone you’ve ever loved or hated, who’s going to come out on the page. It’s really being alone with yourself and your story.

On the process and there being “no rules” (other than proper formatting, spelling and grammar, of course):

There’s all this [screenwriting] software about emotions. And I personally say, stay away from all of that. Take one course, take two courses, then go write. Then go write.

You’ll take what you like from the courses, but the best thing to do is go to the movies and watch great TV. It’s the Platium Age of television, watch how things are constructed.

Write your backstory if that’s going to help you. Do an outline if that’s going to help you. Do your bullet points. Write a long synopsis, whatever’s going to help you.

Whatever helps you find the voice of your characters, just do whatever works. Here are the rules, there are no rules, and if anybody tells you different, ignore them.

Along with story editing and script consulting, Fox is also available to speak to groups and classes. Click here for more info.

Image: Kate O’Hare

Don’t miss a thing: Subscribe to all that I write at Authory.com/KateOHare

About Kate O'Hare

Based in Los Angeles, Kate O'Hare is a veteran entertainment journalist, Social Media Content Manager for Family Theater Productions and a rookie screenwriter. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

September 21, 2022

'Father Stu': Mark Wahlberg Priest Biopic Hits Number 1 on Netflix

Next Post

September 27, 2022 Study Explores the Intersection (or Not) of Faith and Media

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz