Reader Question: Is it okay to take more time than normal to set up the story in Act One? What if that script you’re writing insists on having a 30+ page first act?
Songwriters on Songwriting: Tom Petty The late singer-sonwriter talks about how long he waited to write “The Waiting”.
Page One: “Stand by Me” (1986) Screenplay by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans, based on a novella by Stephen King
Writing Mantra: Set aside your attachments “All too often, attachments get in the way of our writing. When you should be inside your story universe, your mind is outside thinking…
Successful Screenwriters Have A Consistent Daily Routine A 6-minute video featuring… me, reflecting on the importance of a writer locking down a specific time of day to get feedback from readers.
Page One: “Young Frankenstein” (1974) Screen story and screenplay Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks, based on characters in the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
Make Words Your Friend “Putting one right word after another” — that is so right. When you bust it all down, writing is about choosing words. A writer can choose…
Reader Question: What if you fall out of love with a script? “What about a script you fall out of love with after 2–3 drafts, and just can’t finish? Put it aside for now or just push through?”
The Importance of Persistence in a Writer’s Life “PERSIST on telling your story. PERSIST on reaching your audience. PERSIST on staying true to your vision.”
Screenwriting 101: Florian Zeller “We are telling a story for others. We are doing it for other people. It's really about sharing things. I think this is what cinema is…
Page One: “Stalag 17” (1953) Written for the screen by Billy Wilder and Edwin Blum, based on the play by Donald Bevan
Victoria, the thing is, as the article indicates, a writer can convey the experience of this or… Save the camera shots for a production draft when working with the director.
What to do when you feel out of touch with your creative energy When a creative spark seems so very far, far… FAR… away…
The Coen Brothers and the Long Shadow of Authority Figures If there is one thing about the craft writers hear ad nauseam, it’s this: There is no drama without conflict. And there is no story without…
Movie Story Type: Buddy Picture In Hollywood movie circles, there are genres like Horror or Science Fiction, cross genres like Action-Thriller or Drama-Comedy, and…
On Writing “Plot offers the promise of Chekov and his gun, of Hitchcock and his bomb under the table. An event here leads to a choice there which…
Sundays with Stephen King’s “On Writing” A series featuring reflections on writing from the famed author’s memoir.
Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “The Father” The entire part series delving into the Oscar-winning drama dealing with the mental decline of a family’s patriarchal figure.
Scene Description Spotlight: “(500) Days of Summer One of the best moments in the delightful film (500) Days of Summer is the morning-after-having-sex-with-Summer-big-dance-bit.
The Theology of Cinema: Despair This commonly occurs at the end of Act Two — what is often called All Is Lost — representing an existential crisis for the Protagonist.
Non-Linear Storytelling in ‘Pulp Fiction’ “Tarantino, whether intended it or not, hit upon non-linearity as the only way he could tell one particular storyline involving the fates…
Script Analysis: ‘The Father’ — Part 6: Takeaways Read the script for this Oscar-winning drama dealing with the mental decline of a family’s patriarchal figure.
