3-2-1 Screenwriting: Hanlon's Razor, Surface Area for Luck, Make it Their Fault
July 23, 2026· Kate Gaulke
Happy Thursday!
Pardon me as I write this having only ingested a double espresso and a glass of OJ while my eggs and toast stare at me accusingly, slowly going rubbery, indignant over being ignored.
I need a vacation. I think I'm losing it a little.
Anyways, on with the show:
3 IDEAS FROM ME
I. Hanlon's Razor
Not my idea but worth featuring is Hanlon's Razor:
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
Robert J. Hanlon was a random computer programmer in Scranton who mailed it in to a Murphy's Law book, though it's unclear if he's the one to coin the term or not since near-identical lines pre-date his submission.
Regardless, the next time you think someone is intentionally doing you wrong, ask yourself if maybe they're just being stupid.
II. Increase Your Surface Area for Luck
I can't take credit for the phrasing on this one - I heard it somewhere and loved it.
Some people are luckier than most and some people are simply increasing their surface area for luck on a regular basis.
What do I mean by increasing your surface area for luck? Mostly just getting out into the world!
Submit your screenplay to that random contest even if you don't think it's the best thing on the planet. Go to that networking party even if you're tired and you think it'll be a drag. Do the random thing, talk to the random person, be yourself, take the risk, email that person, JUST GET OUT THERE!!!
III. Make It Their Fault
There's usually a moment where your protagonist loses the thing they want most. Is that loss caused by their own doing? Is it traceable to a flaw in their own character that they've been avoiding? It's much juicier if the cause of a character's suffering can be attributed to themselves (imagine me French with a cigarette: how like life) rather than some external coincidence.
If outside bad luck causes the moment of loss, rework it until the character's own choice earlier in the story causes the issue.
2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS
I.
Attributed to Georgia O'Keeffe:
"I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do."
II.
Vincent van Gogh:
"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."
(Shameless plug for Show Up & Write)
1 QUESTION FOR YOU
How is the universe on your side?
Until next week,
Kate Gaulke
p.s. Fool of a Took