The Un-Rules of Screenwriting: Karen McCullah’s List

E.B. White wrote that there are “no inflexible rules by which the young writer may steer his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.” With this in mind, we’ve asked working screenwriters to share a list of the “un-rules” that they find most helpful in their writing careers.

We’re excited to have a new list of screenwriting principles this week from Karen McCullah (@KarenMcCullah1). Karen and her writing partner Kirsten Smith (who shared her own list of rules here) are the team responsible for such hits as Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, and The Ugly Truth. (See their full list of credits here.)

With her list, Karen decided to keep things short and sweet. These are the three screenwriting rules that she found most important to share with budding writers:

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Script: The Ugly Truth

The Ugly Truth script was written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith.

Screenwriter Profile: Kirsten Smith & Karen McCullah

The Writers:

Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Karen McCullah are the powerhouse duo behind some of the biggest  “chick flicks” of the last fifteen years. Several of their films, however, have transcended the diminutive term and established themselves as gender-stereotype-surpassing cultural phenomenons. True, you’d be hard-pressed to find a man who will admit that Legally Blonde is his favorite film, but you’d have an even harder time finding a guy who didn’t secretly love every second of it. Smith and McCullah are the creative powers behind such hits as 10 Things I Hate About You and The Ugly Truth.