Writing a Killer Sample Script

Even if you're not writing a thriller, your sample script still needs to slay.

My favourite sample script works her lil’ denouement off.

She’s been optioned twice, the second of which had a purchase price so beguiling that it secured me my agent. She won me my first screenwriting award. She landed me my first TV movie, a previously green lit thriller that needed a writer. Less than a year later, she got me my second TV thriller, which led to my third and now fourth.

None of my samples work as hard as she does. I’ve been honing and tweaking her for over a decade. She’s had three titles over the years and more drafts than I dare to count. Some of them may even be physical copies, that’s how long I’ve been hacking away at this one.

Maybe you’re wondering now: Where can I view this wonderful piece of cinematic artistry? Surely, someone must have produced it after all that?

Alas, her forever home is on my hard drive. She’ll probably never see the light of day and it’s not for my lack of trying.

When it comes to actually being produced, my sample script has been branded “difficult” as she doesn’t easily fit into a neat lil’ genre. She’s a psychological thriller, but she’s also a sci-fi. She seems on the surface to be about romantic love but she’s actually about friendship. She’s sorta scary, sometimes gory, but also darkly funny? She defies categorization, which is exactly what will usually (and unfortunately) hinder the commercial sale of any script.

For a good long while, it bothered me that I simply couldn’t sell this script. I poured so much of my time, energy, effort and love into her. A perspective shift, however, helped me see a truth about screenwriting I’d never considered before:

Getting produced doesn’t need to be the goal of every single screenplay. Some scripts are training to hone your craft. Some are therapeutic, opening you up for self-discovery. Others, like my hard-working sample script, are made to create opportunities.

Her purpose in this life has been to get me work and thereby advance my career. While she can’t be put in a box, she’s doing exactly what she’s meant to: perfectly showcasing my voice and vision. That is and always has been her destiny.

That is at the core of the sample script: It needs to signal exactly who you want to be as a writer. Whoever reads it should immediately understand your style, your vision and your screenwriting prowess.

So…

How to write that killer script sample

Show your command of the screenplay form

Before we get into style, the reader needs to see you wielding form like a custom katana. This script sample needs to be perfect. Utterly errorless. Not one period out of place. Not one typo. Not one mistake in formatting an intercut phone conversation. Don’t give your reader a reason to doubt for a millisecond your absolute fluency in the language of screenplays. My preferred reference guide has always been David Trottier’s The Screenwriter’s Bible. I always keep it close by when I’m drafting a script. Bending the format rules is for scripts that aren’t trying to sell your scriptwriting expertise.

Your tone needs to match your genre

If you’re all about comedy, this should be the funniest thing you’ve ever written. If you want to scare the bejesus out of people, make sure your horror script is positively bone-chilling. If you’re passionate about Christmas movies, they should be tasting gingerbread as they read it. You’re going to be using this sample to try and get work in your preferred genre, so make sure the tone perfectly dovetails. If a producer or exec is looking to read samples, they are probably hiring a writer for a specific gig. That also means that they’re probably reading a stack of samples, so your needs to stand out. A good writer can write anything well, so you have to sell yourself not only as a good writer, but also a specialist in your specific genre.

Kill your darlings to keep it tight

This almost goes without saying and applies to all scripts, but you need to build the world of your sample script with every. single. word. There is no room for throwaway sentences, characters, scenes, etc. If it’s not serving the story, kill it. Screenplays should generally never be over 120 pages. Depending on your genre, the ideal length can vary (comedies, for example, are generally shorter than dramas), but shoot for around 100 pages. If your story is bigger than that, perhaps you’ve got a miniseries on your hands!

Leave room for the director (and other creatives)

One of the most glaring tells of an inexperienced screenwriter is overwriting the action. A film is created by a whole team of creatives throughout the entire filmmaking process. Most notable is the director, whose complex task it is to translate your wildest imagination into an actual film. With your script, you need to leave room for the director and other creatives who will join the project to bring their own creativity to the story. You don’t need to include camera angles in your action. They’ve got that technical stuff covered!

Writing is rewriting (and rewriting) (and rewriting) (and rewriting…)

Everyone knows that “writing is rewriting” because we screenwriters are clobbered over the head with that message daily. In this case, it’s not a tired old adage, but it’s probably the truest statement there is about any kind of writing (even Substack posts!).

No first draft is worthy of anyone’s eyeballs, no matter how brilliant we may think it is. The more you revise, rewrite and revisit, the better your script will get. Asking for feedback from trusted friends and family or even paying for script coverage is a great way to notice blind spots. Sometimes the best feedback I get is from people who don’t work in the film and TV industry at all because they are coming at the story as an audience member rather than an industry professional. I also find leaving a script to simmer in my hard drive for a few months helps me gain some much needed perspective. Which leads me to my next point…

Writing the perfect sample takes time

Creating perfection takes a lot of time. More than you’d ever guess. Certainly more than you’d hope. It takes time to write, review, get feedback, rewrite, burn the whole thing to the ground, rewrite again, question your life choices, fall into a pit of despair, rewrite, climb out again, go get yourself a lil treat, rewrite, etc. A sample isn’t something that should be or even can be rushed.

That being said, there are ways to speed up certain elements of the process. Here is my guide for outlining that has cut weeks or possibly even MONTHS off my drafting time:

How I Write My First Drafts Faster: An Ode to an Outline

It takes 40 weeks to make a human baby. Give your script baby a nice, healthy gestational period if you want her to come out fully formed and cooing.

Write for yourself, not for anyone else

A sample is meant to showcase your unique voice as a writer. When writing a sample script, the only audience you need to worry about is yourself. Imprint each page with the intricate workings of your mind. As with anything else, coming from a place of unbothered authenticity is what draws people in. If you write for yourself, that genuine voice will be unmistakable for anyone else.

Remember: Nobody else can write like you!

And just because my trusty ol’ workhorse of a sample has yet to be produced, doesn’t mean that yours won’t be. I wish for each of you that your sample script sees the inside of a cinema or streaming service! It may not be the goal of the sample script, but it’s certainly the dream.

But if after all your hard work, your script still doesn’t sell, please don’t fret. Your sample is playing a crucial role in your development as a writer. Through your sample, you’re learning who you are and what kind of writer you want to be.

Now please excuse me while I go and put my old girl out to pasture. It’s just about time I start writing my next sample and see where she takes me next…

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