A 25-part series that takes a look at theological concepts as metaphors for significant philosophical and psychological dynamics writers can use in their stories. Annunciation Baptism Chosen Congregation Conversion Cross Despair Doubt Evil Faith Forgiveness Grace Guilt Hell Incarnation Kingdom of God Predestination Purgatory Redemption Revelation Righteousness Salvation Sin

Script readers are Hollywood’s threshold guardians, so it behooves writers to try to understand their mindset. Here I did a series of posts breaking down the guidelines one of the major Hollywood agencies provided for their script readers. It is instructive and informative. Part 1: Overview Part 2: General

I broke into the movie business selling a spec script. Ever since, I have been a proponent of the ‘spirit of the spec’. See what I mean with these posts below. You get an idea You act on your idea You write your story You put it out there And

Originally compiled by screenwriter Kevin Lehane, this list has evolved and grown over time. The List

A comprehensive series on the most significant of the supposed screenwriting ‘rules,’ hopefully to put things into proper perspective: Tools, not rules. Focus on your creativity, not picayune format and style issues. Write a great script. That should be your focus. Part 1: The Organic Nature of the Screenplay Part

Screenwriter (Tuck Everlasting) and TV writer-producer (Lost, Necessary Roughness, NCIS: New Orleans) Jeff Lieber tweets Showrunner Rules, an inside look at what life is like running a TV series. Links to all the tweets below. Numbers 1–10 Numbers 11–20 Numbers 21–30 Numbers 31–40 Numbers 41–

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that

When you think about it, a majority of most of the words you write in a screenplay are scene description. Yet there is very little attention paid on how to write good description. This series does that with examples from notable movie scripts. (500) Days of Summer: How to write

Very occasional reflections in the middle of the night. 4/22/2009 5/15/2009 9/5/2009

Here are five keys to learning the craft of screenwriting. Think Concepts. Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages. Live Life.

I first studied Joseph Campbell in college and graduate school, then happily discovered his ideas as presented in the seminal book “The Hero With a Thousand Faces” had become popular in Hollywood. I occasionally post an inspirational quote from Campbell accompanied by my own reflections. Here is a collection of

Here are some of my blog posts to help new and aspiring screenwriters get your feet on the ground, key principles and practices to help you learn the basics of screenwriting. Part 1: How I write a screenplay Part 2: 1, 2, 7, 14: A simple formula to be a

This series is not to prep people to become script readers, rather it is an approach for screenwriters to dig into and analyze screenplays, one key to learning the craft. I am not saying this is the way to read a screenplay. There is no right or wrong way. What