Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — December 12, 2015

Jerry: Oh no you don’t! Osgood, I’m gonna level with you. We can’t get married at all. Osgood: Why not? Jerry: Well, in the first place, I’m not a natural blonde. Osgood: Doesn’t matter. Jerry: I smoke! I smoke all the time! Osgood: I don’

Screenwriting Master Class: January-June 2016

You can learn everything you need to know about the craft of screenwriting on your own. Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. Study the pros. You can do that and get to where you need to be. If you want to expedite your learning process… Steep yourself in comprehensive, coherent

“I saved your blog posts…”

I received this email the other day, reprinted by permission: Hi Scott, I wanted to take the time to email you to say a big thanks for your advice and encouragement through your blog! The last few years I’ve been a bit lost creatively. I’d keep starting projects

TCM Remembers 2015

TCM just dropped their annual video memorial for movie and TV people who died this year. Always touching and a great way to honor these creatives. Included in the video are several artists with screenwriting credits: D.M. Marshman Jr., Melissa Mathison, Stewart Stern, Harve Bennett, Betsy Drake, Wes Craven,

Rewriting Your Script (Part 5): Structure

In November, upward to 1,000 writers — myself included — took a crack at pounding out a script as part of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Many of them reached FADE OUT / THE END. They’re probably like me, staring at my 86 pages of diamonds-in-the-rough amidst pages

Living and writing in L.A.

Let me say up front, there are enormous advantages for a screenwriter to live in or near Los Angeles. Here are a few key ones: * You are where the action is. There’s no better way to keep track of the ebb and flow, ins and outs of the movie

Daily Dialogue — December 11, 2015

MAN: Good evening. Not what I expected. A little taller…a little more polished than the others. THORNHILL: I’m so glad you’re pleased, Mr. Townsend. MAN: But, I’m afraid, just as obvious. THORNHILL: What the devil is all this about? Why was I brought here? MAN: Games?

The Metamorphosis of Darth Vader

With the new Star Wars movie a week away, I was reminded of a note I had jotted down a few months ago — to do a post tracking the metamorphosis of Darth Vader, how his narrative function changes from SW:IV to SW:V to SW:VI. In A New

Wanted: Your questions for upcoming screenwriter roundtables

I am pleased to announce there will be two Go Into The Story screenwriter roundtables this year: * For the fifth consecutive year, I will be having a conversation with longtime friends of the blog: Chris Borrelli, Brian Duffield, F. Scott Frazier, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, and John Swetnam. * And for

Rewriting Your Script (Part 4): Themes

In November, upward to 1,000 writers — myself included — took a crack at pounding out a script as part of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Many of them reached FADE OUT / THE END. They’re probably like me, staring at my 86 pages of diamonds-in-the-rough amidst pages

Writing and the Creative Life: Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling (Part 3)

In Part 1, we considered a Harvard Business Review article about the influence of stories on the brain, how much of it apparently boils down to the reaction of a chemical called Oxytocin. In Part 2, we considered additional chemical reactions in the brain related to storytelling: Cortisol during tense

Daily Dialogue — December 10, 2015

David St. Hubbins: Oh, let’s hear your suggestion. Nigel Tufnel: Stonehenge…Stonehenge. Best production value we’ve ever had on stage. David St. Hubbins: But we haven’t got the equipment. We haven’t got Stonehenge. Nigel Tufnel: Not yet we don’t. let’s start…Please, please just

Reflections on Zero Draft Thirty

My head is still spinning from events which transpired in November in relation to what came to be known as Zero Draft Thirty. While I don’t have any definite numbers, it appears over 1,000 writers publicly participated in the event, contacting me via Go Into The Story, Twitter,

Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 3 new scripts / 38 total

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. UPDATE: Current total of 2015 scripts for download: 38. Newly added scripts (3)

Rewriting Your Script (Part 3): Characters

In November, upward to 1,000 writers — myself included — took a crack at pounding out a script as part of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Many of them reached FADE OUT / THE END. They’re probably like me, staring at my 86 pages of diamonds-in-the-rough amidst pages

Great Scene: “Citizen Kane”

One of the great opening sequences in cinema history. Enticing the reader into the story — it’s one of the most critical goals when writing the first few pages of a script. The opening of Citizen Kane achieves that goal by using mystery. Each shot takes us deeper and deeper

Daily Dialogue — December 9, 2015

GRISELDA: Listen. I have put a pellet of poison in one of the vessels. HAWKINS: Which one? GRISELDA: The one with the figure of a pestle. HAWKINS: The vessel with the pestle? GRISELDA: Yes. But you don’t want the vessel with the pestle, you want the chalice from the

Wanted! Volunteers for Script Scene-By-Scene Breakdowns!

Reading scripts. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this aspect of learning the craft. To that end, we resurrected a script read and analysis series in 2015. I’d call it a success. As of today, we have 50 scripts GITS readers have analyzed and 26 scene-by-scene

Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 1 new script / 35 total

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. UPDATE: Current total of 2015 scripts for download: 35. Newly added script (1)

Rewriting Your Script (Part 2): A Clean Read

In November, upward to 1,000 writers — myself included — took a crack at pounding out a script as part of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Many of them reached FADE OUT / THE END. They’re probably like me, staring at my 86 pages of diamonds-in-the-rough amidst pages

Screenwriting 101: Andrew Bujalski

“Write out the scene the way you hear it in your head. Then read it and find the parts where the characters are saying exactly what you want/need them to say for the sake of narrative clarity (e.g., ‘I’ve secretly loved you all along, but I’ve

Daily Dialogue — December 8, 2015

King of Swamp Castle: Guards, make sure the prince doesn’t leave this room until I come and get him. Guard #1: Not to leave the room… even if you come and get him. Guard #2: [hiccups] King of Swamp Castle: No, no. Until I come and get him. Guard

Private Script Workshops

Imagine having your very own private script workshop. A structured environment with content and a schedule tailored to meet your specific creative needs. Your own unique online course site. And a one-on-one mentor relationship with a professional screenwriter and educator. You can do this through Screenwriting Master Class.

“The 25 Best Films Of 2015: A Video Countdown”

For my money, Rolling Stone staff writer David Ehrlich’s video compilation is the best of the end of year bunch. So feast your eyes on this! This is the 4th consecutive year where I can honestly say we’ve had a slew of fantastic movies. Hail cinema! Via Vimeo.

Full Scholarship to Spain Writers Retreat!

I get hit up for all sorts of endorsements, almost all of which I turn down. But one came my way recently which resonated with me. Claire Elizabeth Terry reached out via email with an interesting pitch: The reason I’m writing now is that I’m also organizing a