Faulkner’s that goes something like this: “In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” The scene with the governor was certainly a darling of mine, but eventually I realized I had to kill it. Because, probably not consciously, I was approaching what I believe to be the single most important lesson to be learned about writing for films and this is it: SCREENPLAYS ARE STRUCTURE. As I said earlier, there are two Roman numeral I’s to this book—the first being that nobody knows anything. Well, this is the other, in well-deserved caps: SCREENPLAYS ARE STRUCTURE.
