Script Preference: Acts or Complete

[echenry]

Pros for complete script:
1) You get the writer's full vision. See how set-ups are payed off.
2) Story's given their do, told to completion.

Pros for just acts:
1) Takes a shorter time to read. Requires less of time commitment.
2) If the writing's bad, you don't have to put up with it for a long time.
3) Tests a writer's ability to pull off a story as seen in blocks. Drive to central question, or to a point of resolution or key decision point.

[songswithoutwords]

I'm having trouble evaluating single acts. I keep putting in notes like "I sure hope this pays off" -- but then I never get to see if it does.

Also, I have trouble to evaluate the writer's commitment to their work. Are they just going to give up at the first feedback? Have they already written themselves into a corner and are posting the act because that's all they've got?

Lastly, assuming a writer has only completed the act they've posted, how will this change when the rest is written? They get to page 70, get stuck, go back to the cards and.... act I gets a complete rewrite.

I will still read a single act occasionally, but I find it difficult to tell if it's on the right track, especially considering that a talented or experienced author will throw in a twist later.

[mscherer]

Both of you gentlemen make valid points -- which doesn't help me one iota in making a decision on how to vote.

Completed scripts: take both time and commitment – hours if done correctly. I will not read a completed script that is poorly written, so... I will provide feedback on the writing, but not the story.

Just acts: also takes time and commitment, but probably only an hour or so – not too bad. I won’t try to second guess the writer’s vision for the whole story (set ups, pay offs, twists, etc.), but rather what is on the page. Style, tone, dialogue, etc. My assumption would be these things would carry through the whole script.

Guess I will take some time to think this through just a bit more. Until then,

Keep Writing!