Common Screenwriting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Whether you're an aspiring screenwriter or a seasoned pro, making mistakes is part of the process. However, there are common screenwriting errors that can hinder your script’s potential and diminish its impact on readers, producers, or studios. The good news? Many of these pitfalls are easy to avoid if you know what to look out for.

In this post, we’ll highlight the most frequent screenwriting mistakes and give you actionable tips on how to steer clear of them.

1. Weak or Nonexistent Structure

The Error: A story without a strong structure can feel aimless or confusing, leaving the audience unsure of where it's going. If your plot meanders, lacks clear turning points, or never builds momentum, it’s a sign of weak structure.

How to Avoid It: Stick to a tried-and-true narrative framework like the three-act structure, which breaks your script into Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. This gives your story a sense of progression and helps maintain pace. Make sure your key turning points—the inciting incident, midpoint, and climax—are clearly defined and drive the plot forward.

Tip: Before writing, create a beat sheet or outline to map out your story’s major plot points.

2. On-the-Nose Dialogue

The Error: Characters saying exactly what they think and feel can come across as unnatural and flat. This is called "on-the-nose" dialogue, and it eliminates subtext and nuance.

How to Avoid It: Good dialogue often communicates more through what’s unsaid than what’s spoken. Let characters talk around issues rather than addressing them directly. Focus on how people speak in real life—full of hesitation, innuendo, and indirect communication.

Tip: When writing dialogue, ask yourself, “How would this character show what they’re thinking or feeling without saying it outright?”

3. Flat or Stereotypical Characters

The Error: One-dimensional characters or clichéd archetypes make it hard for the audience to care about your story. If your characters feel more like cardboard cutouts than real people, the script will lack emotional depth.

How to Avoid It: Give every major character goals, motivations, flaws, and unique traits. Avoid relying on stereotypes—flesh out characters with unexpected details. Dive deeper into their backstory, fears, and desires to ensure they feel complex and authentic.

Tip: Write a detailed character bio for each main character to understand their motivations and internal conflicts. This will help guide their actions and dialogue throughout your script.

4. Overwriting or Unnecessary Detail

The Error: Screenwriting is a visual medium, so packing the script with unnecessary descriptions, overly complex language, or internal thoughts bogs down the pacing and makes your script a chore to read.

How to Avoid It: Keep your writing concise and to the point. Describe only what the audience can see and hear. Action lines should be tight and move the story forward. Avoid bogging down scenes with too much exposition or information that’s not immediately relevant.

Tip: Every line of description or dialogue should serve a purpose—whether it’s advancing the plot, revealing character, or building atmosphere. If it doesn’t, cut it.

5. Weak Conflict

The Error: Without sufficient conflict, your script lacks drama and tension. If your protagonist doesn’t face meaningful obstacles, there’s nothing driving the story forward or keeping the audience engaged.

How to Avoid It: Make sure your protagonist has clear goals and is consistently challenged by obstacles that escalate over time. There should be stakes—emotional, physical, or psychological—that increase the tension as the story progresses.

Tip: Ask yourself, “What’s at stake if the protagonist fails?” If the answer doesn’t feel compelling, raise the stakes or create additional sources of conflict.

6. Starting Too Late in the Story

The Error: If your script takes too long to get going, with pages of setup before the inciting incident occurs, you risk losing the reader’s interest early on.

How to Avoid It: Start your story as late as possible—ideally, close to the inciting incident or the moment that disrupts the protagonist’s world. Hook your audience in the first few pages with action, intrigue, or an unexpected event.

Tip: Look at your opening scene and ask, “Am I starting the story at the most exciting point, or could it begin later?” Cut anything that delays getting to the heart of the action.

7. Lack of Subtext

The Error: If everything in your script is literal, your scenes may feel shallow or uninspired. Subtext—the unspoken or hidden meaning beneath the surface—adds depth to your writing.

How to Avoid It: Rather than stating every character’s thoughts or emotions outright, use subtext to reveal what’s going on beneath the surface. Let characters hide their true feelings through their actions or in what they don’t say. This will create a richer, more engaging script.

Tip: Pay attention to body language, pauses, and indirect dialogue. These often convey more than words alone.

8. Neglecting Theme

The Error: Without a clear thematic throughline, your script may feel disjointed or shallow. Theme adds meaning and cohesion to your story.

How to Avoid It: Identify the central theme of your story—whether it’s about love, sacrifice, revenge, or identity. Ensure your plot, character arcs, and dialogue subtly reinforce this theme without hitting the audience over the head with it.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to explore deeper ideas. A strong theme can elevate your script beyond just entertainment.

9. Overusing Flashbacks

The Error: Flashbacks can be a useful storytelling tool, but over-relying on them can disrupt the flow of your narrative or confuse the audience.

How to Avoid It: Only use flashbacks when absolutely necessary to reveal crucial information about your characters or plot. Avoid using them as a crutch for exposition or backstory—if the information can be conveyed in the present timeline, do so.

Tip: Ask yourself, “Does this flashback add necessary depth, or is it just filling in backstory?” If it’s the latter, consider cutting it.

10. Neglecting Character Arcs

The Error: If your characters don’t change or evolve over the course of the story, the audience may feel unsatisfied. A stagnant character arc suggests a lack of growth or emotional depth.

How to Avoid It: Ensure your protagonist undergoes a meaningful transformation by the end of the story. Whether it’s a shift in worldview, overcoming a flaw, or achieving personal growth, your character should be different at the end than they were at the beginning.

Tip: Track your character’s arc before you begin writing. Know where they start emotionally and where they need to end up.

Final Thoughts

Making mistakes is part of the journey to becoming a better screenwriter. The key is to recognize these common pitfalls and learn how to avoid them in your own writing. By focusing on strong structure, authentic characters, tight dialogue, and meaningful conflict, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a script that stands out.

At ScriptGen, we’re here to help you avoid these errors with insightful feedback and analysis. Our AI-powered coverage tool can provide valuable insights on your script’s strengths and weaknesses, helping you refine your work and achieve your vision.