10 Screenwriters on Screenwriting: Vol. 4

Professional screenwriters reflect on the craft.

“I force myself to sit down, write and hope it doesn’t turn out shitty. If it turns out shitty, I change it.”

— Will Beall

“It’s not until you really throw your character into the story that you can genuinely understand who they are.”

— Elijah Bynum

“Never attack a scene head on, do it obliquely. It makes the audience more curious if you approach your points sideways.”

— Catherine Turney

“For me, a screenplay starts with something I can tell other people in five minutes.”

— Harold Ramis

“I endlessly chart and re-chart a movie. Before I write, I have all the scenes listed, what happens in each scene.”

— Paul Schrader

“Good dialogue comes from character development. The better you know your character, the more specific the dialogue will feel.”

— Chris McCoy

“The job of the screenwriter is to run the film in the reader’s imagination. And nothing should get in the way of that.”

— Colin Higgins

“If I could say anything, it’s keep going. Don’t go back and fix that scene, that dialogue. Just write the next word.”

— Anna Hamilton Phelan

“A movie is about an emotional struggle. The physical struggle is a manifestation of that.”

— John Gary

“It’s the words, it always gets back to the words…”

— Julius Epstein

10 Screenwriters on Screenwriting: Vol. 1
10 Screenwriters on Screenwriting: Vol. 2
10 Screenwriters on Screenwriting: Vol. 3

To read 50 Things About Screenwriting, go here.