Screenwriting 101: John August “A lot of screenwriting is disciplined daydreaming. It’s like you’re trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle, but you’re not quite sure what…
Daily Dialogue — August 21, 2018 Hannibal Lecter: After your father’s murder, you were orphaned. You were ten years old. You went to live with cousins on a sheep and horse…
Plot = Structure A screenplay is a unique literary form. It both tells a story and serves as a blueprint to make a movie. As such, understanding structure…
Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 1: Writing Scenes With every scene, you should ask yourself this question: What is the scene’s Beginning, Middle, and End?
On Writing “I think creativity is everywhere. I see creativity with my grandmother cooking. I see it at the winery, making wine. I see creativity with…
Daily Dialogue — August 20, 2018 Andrews: I asked you a simple question. Do you love my daughter? Peter: Yes! But don’t hold that against me! I’m a little screwy myself!
“Crazy Rich Asians screenwriters break down their script for Rachel and Eleanor’s first meeting” In conversation with Entertainment Weekly, screenwriters Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim dissect a key scene from Crazy Rich Asians.
The Psychopathology of Heroism “As crazy as it sounds, there may be a closer link than most people would think between the extreme-altruistic personality and sociopathic…
Script To Screen: “The Iron Giant” A dramatic scene from the wonderful 1999 animated movie The Iron Giant, screenplay by Tim McCanlies, screen story by Brad Bird, book by Ted…
Daily Dialogue — August 19, 2018 “This puts us in an awkward position. I don’t have enough to continue.”
Saturday Hot Links Time for the 355th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…
2018 Scene-Writing Challenge: Week 2 Here are all of Week 2’s prompts for this year’s Scene-Writing Challenge.
Daily Dialogue theme next week: Confession Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,747 consecutive days and counting.
Reader Question: How to create genuinely unique character voices? As opposed to the characters all sounding alike… or like the writer.
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: The Mundane and the Marvelous “Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous.”
Daily Dialogue — August 17, 2018 “That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Making the wrong move at the right time.”
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…
