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There are numerous ways to have your screenplay evaluated for free, both online and off.

American Zoetrope (www.zoetrope.com)
Some people may disagree with me, but this is one of the best places for free feedback I've come across. You post your screenplay to the site's Read page with a logline. Other people who frequent the site download it for review. Just be mindful that not everyone who downloads the script is going to review it for a myriad of reasons. You can't worry about that.

Some tips to increase your number of reviews:
Post reminders on the Main Message Board that it's available for review.
Give quality reviews to a lot of other screenplays on the Read Page.
Make friends with the people on the site and swap reviews.
Form an online writing group in your Private Office.

Writing.Com
There seem to be more novelists on this site, but you can post screenplays there for review as well. The beauty of having a novelist review your work is that they'll tend to be more focused on fixing story elements than formatting issues which can easily fill an entire review and is something you can learn on your own.

As you participate on the site, you'll earn gift points. You can use those gift points as incentives to have people read your work. There are also groups that form on the site to exchange reviews as well.

Script Frenzy (www.scriptfrenzy.org)
From the people who brought us National Novel Writing Month, this is their screenwriting equivalent that challenges participants to write a script in one month. They have some really active message boards where you can meet other writers who'll critique your work most likely in exchange for a reciprocating review. Script Frenzy 2008 is in April.

Writing Groups
A side benefit of Script Frenzy is that you can meet people in your area who could be interested in forming a writing group with you. This is a great way to receive regular feedback. Because all of you are writers, the feedback you receive from the group will be a nice balance to what you receive from people who are unfamiliar with the craft like your

Friends and Family
Don't overlook the resource of the people around you. All of them are potential readers. They will be especially helpful if they share the same occupation as one of the characters and would be able to spot inconsistencies with that aspect of the story.

Don't worry if they've never read a screenplay before. Your best critiques can come from people who don't know the ins and outs of screenwriting and only have their guts to go on. When your film hits the screen, the majority of the audience will be the same type of person.

The only person you wouldn't want to give the script to is someone who isn't a fan of reading. In those cases, reading a cereal box may be her idea of torture. Don't ruin a good relationship by not respecting the person's preferences.

As you can see, there is no shortage of places to receive free screenplay feedback. The most difficult thing about this whole process is distinguishing between genuinely helpful notes and the comments that don't help you at all. If you can remember to balance your ego with your writing instincts then you'll find that the old adage, "you get what you pay for" will not apply.

Happy writing!

Learn more about this author, Lori Crawford.
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