--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you write a screenplay that gets…" description: "\"If you write a screenplay that gets circulated, you have a bigger readership than any literary novelist. And it's an educated audience as well.\" — Will..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/william-monahan-3226_audience_if-you-write-a-screenplay-that-gets-circ_1841076.jpg" --- # If you write a screenplay that gets circulated, you have a… ![“If you write a screenplay that gets circulated, you have a bigger readership than any literary novelist. And it's an educated audience as well.” quote by William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/william-monahan-3226_audience_if-you-write-a-screenplay-that-gets-circ_1841076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/william-monahan-3226_audience_if-you-write-a-screenplay-that-gets-circ_1841076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/william-monahan-3226_audience_if-you-write-a-screenplay-that-gets-circ_1841076.jpg) > “If you write a screenplay that gets circulated, you have a bigger readership than any literary novelist. And it's an educated audience as well.” [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Screenplays reach a broader audience than novels, and that audience is often more educated. **In simple terms:** Screenwriting can engage many educated readers. Key Takeaway Consider screenplay writing for wider impact. Themes media audience education Mood inspirational pragmatic Type professional creative When to use this quote - marketing campaigns - educational videos - public speaking - content creation Key Concepts communication literature film industry Questions to Reflect On - What trade‑offs are you willing to make? - How can you maintain depth in a screenplay? A Different Perspective Screenplays may sacrifice depth for broader appeal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Screenplays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenplays/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think when you're writing prose there's a lot of attendant description and that's were I used to really go bananas. With a screenplay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/i-think-when-you-re-writing-prose-there-s-a-lot-of-attendant/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) > [All of Europe is tremendously integrated now; perhaps from all those years of colonization. Everybody that they've colonized has come to the mainland, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-austin/all-of-europe-is-tremendously-integrated-now-perhaps-from-all-those/) Patti Austin > [If it were not for the fact that editors have become so timorous in these politically correct times, I would probably have a greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-oliphant/if-it-were-not-for-the-fact-that-editors-have-become-so-timorous-in/) [Pat Oliphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-oliphant/) > [No other serial publications carry a number on them that is of any weight to their readership. The number is there to serve a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brevoort/no-other-serial-publications-carry-a-number-on-them-that-is-of-any/) [Tom Brevoort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brevoort/) > [There's a really generous readership with YA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-h-k-choi/there-s-a-really-generous-readership-with-ya/) [Mary H.K. Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-h-k-choi/) > [In the 1950s we use to feel that television was taking away our comic readership; with today's exciting, powerfully visual movies I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-simon/in-the-1950s-we-use-to-feel-that-television-was-taking-away-our-comic/) [Joe Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-simon/) > [The combination of an out-of-control tabloid press and a readership that thrills to the destruction of the England head coach is something no other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-barnes/the-combination-of-an-out-of-control-tabloid-press-and-a-readership/) [Simon Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-barnes/) > [It's part of a writer's profession, as it's part of a spy's profession, to prey on the community to which he's attached, to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/it-s-part-of-a-writer-s-profession-as-it-s-part-of-a-spy-s-profession/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I realized early in my career that precisely what one reader doesn't like is what another reader loves. Collectively, any writer's audience presents a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-realized-early-in-my-career-that-precisely-what-one-reader-doesn-t/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Readership is highly dependent upon format and distribution as much as it is on content.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/readership-is-highly-dependent-upon-format-and-distribution-as-much/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Newspaper readership is declining like crazy. In fact, there's a good chance that nobody is reading my column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/newspaper-readership-is-declining-like-crazy-in-fact-there-s-a-good/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [It used to be, if you wanted to have a strong, influential voice in the feminist movement, you really needed to be part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/it-used-to-be-if-you-wanted-to-have-a-strong-influential-voice-in-the/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [I had a blog for many years. Once you develop your readership on your blog, and you can put something out there or direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-williams/i-had-a-blog-for-many-years-once-you-develop-your-readership-on-your/) [Evan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-williams/) > [A readership crisis is really a leadership crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hyatt/a-readership-crisis-is-really-a-leadership-crisis/) [Michael Hyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hyatt/) > [It's about being right and trying to get the facts and get the story right, and inform, you know, the readership or the viewership.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-spicer/it-s-about-being-right-and-trying-to-get-the-facts-and-get-the-story/) [Sean Spicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-spicer/) ## More by William Monahan > [“I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-put-no-stock-in-religion-by-the-word-religion-i-have-seen-the/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [When I was a kid in London there was just something about the light and there's something about the way London went onto film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/when-i-was-a-kid-in-london-there-was-just-something-about-the-light/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [I think the only real referent for anybody writing drama is probably Hamlet. You have the most extreme tragic drama, this sort of blood-boltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-think-the-only-real-referent-for-anybody-writing-drama-is-probably/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [If you need someone to come out of the sewer with a wire you don't hire someone who needs laborious collective instruction. You let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-you-need-someone-to-come-out-of-the-sewer-with-a-wire-you-don-t/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [In reviewing films, people get quite liberal about saying "the script" this and "the script" that, when they've never read the script any more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/in-reviewing-films-people-get-quite-liberal-about-saying-the-script/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [The era I love most is the Federal period, just after the Revolution and the formation of the United States. The birth of America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/the-era-i-love-most-is-the-federal-period-just-after-the-revolution/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [You know a shooter when you see it. At least the creative people do. If a picture isn't obvious in the first draft you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/you-know-a-shooter-when-you-see-it-at-least-the-creative-people-do-if/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [If you see, as I do, in edited film, you're going to end up as a director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-you-see-as-i-do-in-edited-film-you-re-going-to-end-up-as-a-director/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [I wanted to do London Boulevard because I saw the potential of a story about two people who need each other desperately, who love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-wanted-to-do-london-boulevard-because-i-saw-the-potential-of-a/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [Dialogue is used to reveal not what we want to say, but what we are trying to hide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/dialogue-is-used-to-reveal-not-what-we-want-to-say-but-what-we-are/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [Poetry died as a commercial form and then it died as a serious art form. No one serious touches it. It used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/poetry-died-as-a-commercial-form-and-then-it-died-as-a-serious-art/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [Casting is all about availability, as much as anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/casting-is-all-about-availability-as-much-as-anything-else/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [For me, film has been good because I'm able to work at top crack, working at something I love to do, in the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/for-me-film-has-been-good-because-i-m-able-to-work-at-top-crack/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [London matters to me because it's the center of what I do for a living and has been since Tudor times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/london-matters-to-me-because-it-s-the-center-of-what-i-do-for-a/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [I was always entirely about work, about getting where I am now. If I'm not working I'm thinking about it, though at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-was-always-entirely-about-work-about-getting-where-i-am-now-if-i-m/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) [Explore all 136 William Monahan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you write a screenplay that gets circulated, you have a bigger readership than any literary novelist. 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