Character-Driven Storytelling Read the entire Twitter thread of my conversation yesterday with the #scriptchat community.
Interview (Part 1): Ian Shorr My interview with 2022 Black List writer for his script The House in the Crooked Forest.
Great Scenes: “Wall Street” It’s one of the more infamous monologues in movie history: The “greed is good” speech from the 1987 movie Wall Street.
On Writing “Writing is an extension of my body. I am seeking the body on the page, even the broken body, even the ecstatic body — even the broken and…
Reader Question: Are there any script rules that really shouldn’t be broken? Or this: “How can you break screenwriting rules if there are none?”
The Theology of Cinema: Conversion A character transforming from their Old Self into a New Self is a narrative arc we see time and time again, a kind of “conversion”…
Great Scene: “The Verdict” Courtroom dramas. A staple of Hollywood cinema for decades. From a string of great films nearly a half-century ago Anatomy of a Murder…
Page One: “American Gangster” (2007) Written by Steven Zaillian, based on an article by Mark Jacobson
2023 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Get Your Head On Straight A series to help prepare writers for next month’s Zero Draft Thirty writing challenge.
Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Adopt a Different Writing Persona This is a first in this humble blog’s history: Another Dumb Little Writing Trick That Work, only this one isn’t my idea, but from some…
5-Part Series: Set Pieces A scene or set of scenes with a big idea, feel and/or scope to them, often associated with major plot points, and always about…
2023 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Genre Bend A series to help prepare writers for next month’s Zero Draft Thirty writing challenge.
Set Pieces, Part 5: Entertainment A series this week on set pieces: A scene or set of scenes with a big idea, feel and/or scope to them, oftentimes associated with major…
Writing and the Creative Life: “Believing is seeing” A twist on the old saying, “Seeing is believing.”
Hummingbirdheart8: Agreed. And you are so right about the first page of a script: It should lure the reader to turn the page, to excite them to read more … and be a…
2023 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Gender Bend A series to help prepare writers for next month’s Zero Draft Thirty writing challenge.
Set Pieces, Part 4: Complications, Roadblocks and Reversals A series this week on set pieces: A scene or set of scenes with a big idea, feel and/or scope to them, oftentimes associated with major…
The Business of Screenwriting: Celebrate your victories Based on my experiences as a screenwriter in Hollywood, there are many things I can advise you to do that are not particularly enjoyable…
