Don’t Plagiarize, or try to copy the theme of a popular book, a well known poem, or magazine story. You will not receive any consideration, if you infringe on copyrighted books or publications of any kind.

All adaptations from Books, or magazine stories are made by the salaried Staff writers of the Producers, or by the Scenario Editors themselves. Producers watch very carefully to see that they are buying original stories, as a great many law suits take place because the Idea of the Play was stolen from some copyrighted book or story.

You cannot write a scenario adapted from a copyrighted book or article unless you secure permission from the author.

Don’t write Scenarios, in which you show impossible inventions, or impractical machinery. These stretch too much on one’s imagination.

Don’t fill your Scenario with useless adjectives, or words that are not necessary. The more condensed, and still comprehensive, the better.

Don’t fill your Scenario with trivial details and explanations. They don’t appeal to Editors.

Don’t write plays that are expensive to produce.

Don’t enlarge or dwell on insignificant incidents in laying out the different scenes. The big thoughts or ideas are entitled to the big scenes or settings.

Don’t depict scenes, if you can help it, of train wrecks, ships sinking, or automobile accidents, as these scenes are too expensive to produce, and your play is liable to be rejected on that account.

Don’t get high ideas about scenic display. Expensive settings cost money. The Scenario that can be inexpensively produced has a better chance of being accepted.

Don’t use too many leading characters. They are too hard to group in the small radius of the camera.

Don’t keep your characters too long in one scene, and on the other hand, don’t have too many short scenes. The length of scenes all depends on the nature of the play.

Don’t try to be humorous if your inclination is for tragedy. Try and find out the kind of plays to which your nature is best suited.

Don’t write about themes, and ideas which have no meaning. Quite often you witness a picture and after it is over you say to yourself: “What was it all about?” Unless your problem is strong enough to be solved in a logical and reasonable way it is a waste of time to try to work it into a Scenario.

Don’t write illogical, lurid or immoral plays.

Don’t introduce an action that is not consistent with precedent.

Don’t incorporate actions in your play that are impossible.

Don’t let the thread of your story get broken in writing your play. Keep the incidents all closely linked together. The tighter the connection, the better the story. A disjointed action will not suffice.

Don’t write about tragic subjects, murders, suicide, uncanny incidents, coffins or grave yards.

Don’t reflect on any religion, belief or nationality. Remember the moving picture audiences are made up of all kinds of people.

Don’t show the commission of a crime, or depict immoral actions.

Don’t write on themes with which you are not familiar. Study your different characters, and have them do things, that are consistent with the parts they play.