PASG Code of Conduct and Guidance for Giving and Receiving Feedback

Code of Conduct.

1. No group meeting may proceed unless an approved Moderator is available. If an approved Moderator is not present, the meeting must be postponed until a later date. This is to ensure that no one breaches this code of conduct at any meeting. The approved moderators at present are: Claire Newman, Jeff Cyrulewski, Rich Wright, Marcus Kashuk, and Julie Welch.

2. Scripts presented for discussion by the group are the property of the author(s) and no group member may use, copy, or share any part of them without the explicit permission in writing of the author(s).

3. All group members must be respectful of one other (see “Guidance for Giving and Receiving Feedback,” below).

4. The group is welcoming to everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, political affiliations, socio-economic status, country of origin, or occupation.

5. The group is equally welcoming to those with no experience of writing scripts as it is to those who have written scripts professionally and had their work produced.

6. Authors whose scripts deal with certain topics should provide a “trigger warning” on the second page of the script. Examples include: rape and sexual assault, incest, sexual activity involving children, extreme violence, suicide, mental illness, extensive drug/alcohol abuse. No details are needed, and group members can choose to ignore this page if they want to avoid even minor “spoilers,” but for those who may be affected by such topics this will be very valuable.

Guidance on Giving and Receiving Feedback.

When giving feedback to a script’s author(s), group members should:

1. Provide a clear, thoughtful, and respectful critique of the script. Most scripts will have something you think could be improved, and authors submit their scripts for review in order to find out what this is, so don’t be shy about providing constructive criticism.

2. Avoid being personal, pushy, or aggressive in your delivery. Feeling that criticisms are justified does not excuse this.

a. Example #1: Instead of saying “You need shorter descriptions and action lines” say “The script might flow better with shorter descriptions and actions lines.”

b. Example #2: Instead of saying “The characters are all boring and one-dimensional” say “The characters could be made more three-dimensional by...”

3. Provide positive comments as well as a critique. We always start with a “what we liked about the script” round, but you can also add to this during the main feedback period.

4. Be courteous and sensitive to how feedback is being received. Remember that this might be the first time the author is receiving feedback, and pay attention to how they are reacting to it. If they’re shutting down and not saying much, or arguing with every point, they may be new to getting feedback and need a gentler approach.

5. Resist quoting screenwriting books / blogs / interviews as if they’re gospel. There are very few (if any) hard rules in screenwriting! That doesn’t mean you can’t raise these points, but you can do so without making them absolutes. For example: Instead of saying “The inciting incident has to be on page 12” say “Your inciting incident feels a little early/late.”

6. Avoid detailing formatting / grammatical / spelling errors. If the author keeps on repeating the same error, you should note this succinctly in your comments (or email them such comments separately), but please focus on bigger picture comments in the group meetings. This is both for efficiency (as meetings are limited in time and it’s more important to talk about story arc, characters, structure, etc. than issues that are more technical and easily fixed), and to avoid embarrassing authors who may have a learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

7. Ask for the author’s email address to provide more detailed comments, if available. Most authors will be very happy to receive more detailed comments, although those comments should also respect the above guidelines.

When receiving feedback from the group, script authors should:

1. Feel free to ask for clarification, provide an explanation for a choice they made, and/or point to something they think the person giving feedback may have missed.

However, authors should resist being combative. For example, arguing that the feedback is wrong, or implying that the group member providing feedback is stupid.

2. Understand that not all feedback should be implemented:

a. The feedback will be on the script you submitted, not necessarily on the script you’re trying to write. For example, if you intended to write a comedy and the feedback is about ramping up the drama, what you should take away from it is probably that the comedic elements are not coming across.

b. Some group members may be influenced by genres in which they prefer to write. For example, if someone insists your script needs more action, comedy, or romance, consider whether that fits with the genre you’re aiming for.

3. Pay attention if you keep getting the same feedback. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should make the changes suggested (see #2a), but it does usually mean that there is a problem with the script.

4. Look earlier to solve the problem. Often, a scene that doesn’t work cannot be fixed because the problem is actually several scenes earlier.