5. Keep 'Em Guessing
I don't necessarily mean write every one of your screenplays as if it's a mystery thriller - I mean write scenes that feel fresh and original. Write scenes that you don't feel like you've seen variations of before. Take
A Clockwork Orange, for example. Each one of its scenes feels "fresh" (or at the time it was made, they did, at least). Even when the characters are talking, they're doing it in ways that don't just have them sitting across from one another at tables. That in mind, keep your audience guessing in the sense that you're constantly giving them reason to feel excited or exhilarated That doesn't mean pull an M. Might Shyamalan at the end of your screenplay, because that rarely ever works. But take your audience on a journey that doesn't mean they're guessing what happens at every turn. Though that's fine for an afternoon, it doesn't give your script any staying power. Take risks, and dare to be bold. As much as audiences are told that we just like the same stories being told over and over again, the truth is, we actually like to be taken to places we've never been before.