Script Analysis: “12 Years a Slave” — Part 2: Plot Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Plot Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Dialogue Saturday: Takeaways Today: Plot. In every
Songwriters on Songwriting: Mose Allison “One of my formulas in life is ‘Ambivalence plus interdependence equals contrariety.’ All day long we’re being pulled in one way and pushed in another way. It’s all part of the interaction of opposing forces.” I wrote my first song when I was 14 years old. Over the
Dialogue-Writing Exercises [2016] Here are prompts for the 2nd annual GITS Dialogue-Writing Challenge. Use these to improve your dialogue writing chops. A monologue in which a character expresses regret for something in their past A scene built around the line “Give me the God damn key” A stoner conversation A young child
2016 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 2 Last year at this time, we did a month-long Dialogue-Writing Challenge. It was a big success with dozens of writers participating. We all learned quite a bit about this important aspect of the craft plus we had some fun in the process. So I’ve decided to bring
Screenwriting 101: Rita Mae Brown “Character is destiny. The resolution of any plot must come from within the character. The redemption or destruction of any character is not the result of an external event, but the result of that character’s motivation. The inner life of people drives and manipulates their outer lives. We are
Daily Dialogue — February 2, 2016 EXT. TRUCK/CAB — (CAMP 7) EARLY HOURS The man gets down from the cab and walks a few feet in the dark and snow. He coughs a bit, takes a few breaths of air, and walks away from the truck, vanishing into the mist. EXT. CAMP/ROAD — (CAMP 7) — EARLY
Story Summaries: From Loglines to Beat Sheets From elevator pitches to development meetings to conference calls with talent, a screenwriter’s ability to share stories in a variety of narrative forms is both a valuable and necessary skillset. In the upcoming 1-week Screenwriting Master Class online course Story Summaries: From Loglines to Beat Sheets [February 8–
Script Analysis: “12 Years a Slave” — Part 1: Scene By Scene Breakdown Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Plot Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Dialogue Saturday: Takeaways Today: Scene-By-Scene
Songwriters on Songwriting: Brian Wilson “You write in two ways… One, you go where your heart tells you to go. And you also consider, ‘What is it that people like?’ Commerciality, they call it.” I wrote my first song when I was 14 years old. Over the years, I’ve composed hundreds of songs. It
2016 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 1 Last year at this time, we did a month-long Dialogue-Writing Challenge. It was a big success with dozens of writers participating. We all learned quite a bit about this important aspect of the craft plus we had some fun in the process. So I’ve decided to bring
On Writing “Stories come from violence, they come from sex. They come from death. They come from the dark places that everyone has to go to, kind of wants to, or doesn’t, but needs to deal with. If you raise a kid to think everything is sunshine and flowers, they’re
Daily Dialogue — February 1, 2016 BOWMAN: Open the pod bay doors, please, Hal. Open the pod bay doors, please, Hal. Hello, Hal, do you read me? Hello, Hal, do you read me? Do you read me, Hal? Do you read me, Hal? Hello, Hal, do you read me? Hello, Hal, do you read me? Do
Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 31 Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 31. January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever. Goal: Rewrite an existing draft. I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited
Interview: Anthony Grieco (2015 Nicholl Winner) Anthony Grieco wrote the original screenplay “Best Sellers” which won the 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. Recently Anthony and I had an excellent hour long telephone conversation about his background and the craft. Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview: Part 1: “I wrote from an
Screenwriting News (January 25-January 31, 2016) Gregory Bernstein and Sara Bernstein scripted spy thriller “Official Secrets” moving forward with Clear Pictures Entertainment and The Solution Entertainment Group. Mark Boal scripted Detroit riot project moving forward at Annapurna Pictures. Gregory Crewdson and Juliane Hiam adapting drama novel “The Deepest Secret” for Marc Platt Productions. Jared Hess and
Movie Analysis: “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” This week, we have been reading, analyzing, and discussing the movie Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt, based on characters by George Lucas. IMDb plot summary: Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat
Interview (Written): William Monahan A /film interview with William Monahan (The Departed, Kingdom of Heaven, and The Gambler) whose newest movie is Mojave, which he wrote and directed. The movie stars Oscar Issac and Garrett Hedlund. Usually in this scenario, there’s an average joe and the villain, and the former has to stoop
Daily Dialogue — January 31, 2016 “There goes my last lead. I feel all dead inside. I’m backed up in a dark corner, and I don’t know who’s hitting me.” — The Dark Corner (1946), screenplay by Jay Dratler and Bernard C. Schoenfeld, story by Leo Rosten The Daily Dialogue theme for the week:
Daily Dialogue theme next week: Abandoned Daily Dialogue theme next week: Abandoned, suggested by ymep1. Open Water (2003) Psychological abandonment. Physical abandonment. Emotional abandonment. Or sharks! Whatever angle you want to take, do it and let’s come up with 7 great movie scenes. The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDb Quotes or some other
Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 30 Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 30. January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever. Goal: Rewrite an existing draft. I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited
Interview (Part 6): Anthony Grieco (2015 Nicholl Winner) Anthony Grieco wrote the original screenplay “Best Sellers” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently Anthony and I had an excellent phone conversation in which we covered a lot of territory, his background and how he got into writing, a deep analysis of “Best Sellers”, and a discussion
Saturday Hot Links Time for the 223rd installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest. Sundance 2016: Amazon Lands Huge Deal for Sundance Sensation ‘Manchester By the Sea’. Sundance 2016: How Netflix and Amazon Are Dramatically Shaking Up the Market.
Movie Analysis: “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” — Takeaways Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of
Daily Dialogue — January 30, 2016 “Yes, Daddy, I’ve seen it. This is the murderer. Murderer, murderer.” — The Third Man (1949), screen play by Graham Greene The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Accused. Today’s suggestion by Katha. Trivia: The huge ferris wheel that Martins and Lime ride on in the Prater was erected
“Useful Lessons I Learned From Having Screenwriters for Parents” When I lived in L.A., my oldest son Will attended Wildwood School. Founded in 1971 as a kind of proto-hippie alternative school, among the Westside set Wildwood was known for having Type A parents in Type B clothes, both intense, yet laid back. While not as jam packed
