Make it a
page-turner they
can't put down

Nobody cares how fast you wrote your screenplay. The reader only cares about how fast it reads. When a screenplay reads fast, that means it's gripping and compelling — an engaging story they care about. You want them to want to know what happens next.

In this eye-opening phase, you'll design the speed of your screenplay's read. You'll turn a solid draft into an irresistible experience for the reader — once they pick up your script, they won't be able to put it down until the very last page.

The Tweak Phase has
2 Movements:

1. Maximize Your Impact

   Here, you'll turn your attention to the words on the page, and the reader experience. First, you'll zoom in to the individual pages and rewrite for maximum impact. You'll tighten your story and reshape its punch to deliver an experience they can't turn away from.

2. Control the Speed of the Read

   Lastly, you'll focus on the individual words and pages, and carefully craft an addictive document they can't put down. You'll discover brand new ways to keep your reader glued, and remove the speed bumps that get in the way of the read. With this level of polish on your screenplay, you'll be ready to face the world with a whole new confidence.

When you've completed the Tweak Phase, you'll have a captivating page-turner the reader can't put down. You'll be ready to send your work out into the world in the Alignment Phase.

You've also now completed the 4 core writing phases (Focus Apply Strengthen Tweak) and you a have a system for turning any future idea into a gripping page-turner in a fraction of the time.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn, do, and master in the Tweak Phase

It would be impossible to list everything included in this phase, but here's a small taste of what's in store:

• The secrets and principles of page design (if mastered, you can almost force them to turn the page)
• How to take a solid story and make it an enthralling read (and why achieving each one requires an entirely different way of the thinking [which is why we've got a different phase to handle each one])
• How to pinpoint the irresistible word choice for any scene or moment (without overdoing it)
• How to ensure a dynamic "image order" (they won't know why, but they'll all say your writing just "flows")
• How to make pages that pop (it's like the literary equivalent of a sparkling diamond)
• How to know with certainty that you've pulled every last drop out of your story (there's nothing worse for a reader than a writer who didn't go all the way)
• How exactly to know when you're "finished" (there's no such thing as a "final" draft on a spec screenplay, but there is a clear way to know when you're done)
• Why mastery of this phase alone will make producers clamor for you (hint: this skill set makes you more marketable as a writer)
• How to spot (and fix) the speed bumps (which slow down the reader's eyes, giving them a chance to look away — and never look back)
• How to control the reader's experience (believe it or not, the writer has all the power)
• How to avoid last-minute formatting problems (these will distract some industry pros into rejecting a project they'd otherwise love)
• How to guarantee your dialogue leaps off the page (hint: dialogue has multiple layers of complexity — we'll make it all doable)
• How your writing style reveals your skill level — within seconds (they won't even take you seriously unless you have the style of a pro)
• How to change the pace of your screenplay in minutes (shortcuts to a blazing fast read)
• How to create powerful reader epiphanies (if you give them something they weren't expecting, you'll have a fan for life)
• How to make your reader cry (with real tears — not "oh, what a sad scene")
• How to make your reader laugh (not "hey, that's funny" — we're talking audible laughter)
• How squinting at your screenplay reveals your trouble spots (and what to do about it)
• The one thing you MUST put on every page (it's like a magnet for your reader)
• The mistake 99 out of 100 writers make that will kill your project (and almost no writer we've ever seen knows they're doing it)
• How to make absolutely certain you've exceeded your promises (it's not enough to give them the ride they were expecting; they need to feel like they got more)
• How to avoid starting your project with all these thoughts (most writers try to do Tweak Phase stuff first — a recipe for disaster)... there's a reason all this stuff is in the last phase of the core writing process!
• How to see complex solutions in minutes, and blast through the steps of the Tweak Phase in days on every future project
  
  ...and we haven't even scratched the surface!
  
  

We turned all that
into this:

One step at a time, to a screenplay they can't put down.

A screenplay that grabs its reader's attention is one that gets talked about. Most of your "competition" is just spitting out pages, sending them off, and adding to the "haystack" producers have to dig through. The "needle" they're looking for is the page-turner screenplay that hooks them.

Throughout the earlier phases, you've crafted a powerful idea from your own unique voice and shaped it into a compelling story. This step-by-step phase turns that rock solid foundation into an unforgettable experience.

 

The Tweak Phase goes hand in hand with the Strengthen Phase — together, they're the whole rewrite process. The Tweak Phase is not a stand-alone phase. Using these principles to mask flaws in a draft that is not yet solid will backfire when you get to the Payoff Phase. For this reason, please do not start the Tweak Phase until you have a solid draft, and the skills acquired through the Strengthen Phase.

When you're done here, you're ready for: