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…
Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: “Don’t Finish That Scene!” Let’s say you’re in the middle of writing a script — and it’s a slog. You’re finding it really tough to drag your ass onto the chair and…
Screenwriting 101: Michael H. Weber “We don’t have a set format for the outline. It’s not as if the outline is the same every time. It’s just that it’s a document for us…
Page One: ‘Legally Blonde’ (2001) Screenplay by Karen McCullah & Kirsten Smith, novel by Amanda Brown
Kinshuk, thanks for the suggestion. One thing you can do on your own: Read a movie script while watching the movie. Use your *own* imagination to reflect on why the filmmakers…
Short Film: “Seeds of the Mission” The backstory on a wonderful, inspiring animated movie which speaks to our contentious times.
60 Second Screenwriter: How to come up with story ideas? A video series addressing key screenwriting concerns in one minute.
On Writing “It is a silver morning like any other. I am at my desk. Then the phone rings, or someone raps at the door. I am deep in the machinery of…
Sundays with Ray Bradbury “I can imagine all kinds of worlds and places, but I cannot imagine a world without Bradbury.” — Neil Gaiman
The Theology of Cinema: Redemption “Metaphorically bondage can translate into being tied to some event or circumstance in the past, a character bound to it emotionally, even…
Great Scene: “Repo Man” The cult classic Repo Man (1984), written and directed by Alex Cos, has many memorable scenes. I want to feature the final scene in the…
Interview (Video): John Ford He’s been called “The Great American Director,” and yet John Ford also was a screenwriter with 24 titles he contributed to (per IMDb)…
The Incurable Disease of Writing “In psychological terms, it seems that drive is more important than talent in producing creative work.”
Page One: ‘Joker’ (2019) Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, based on characters created by Bob Kane & Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson
Find Your Writer’s Voice I hear this a lot in conversations with writers, but mostly with managers, agents, and producers. They’re looking for writers who cover a…
The Business of Screenwriting: “Everyone is here because of us” It is late spring 1988. I am in San Diego where K-9 is being shot. It’s my first day on a movie set. Ever. The scene the crew is shooting…
Scene Description Spotlight: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” The ending sequence includes a most interesting sentence…
