Go Into The Story

Test Your Story Concept

5 questions to ask about a story idea to assess its viability as a scripted project.

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 2: The Protagonist’s Arc

Transformation lies at the heart of the Hero’s Journey.

Spec Script Deal: “The Dryline”

Sony Pictures Entertainment acquires action thriller spec script “The Dryline” written by David Rothley. Via Deadline:

Screenwriting 101: Laura Colella

“I just want to keep making films that I’m really passionate about. That usually means things that aren’t formulaic. I try to do things…

Screenwriting 101: David Turpin

“I guess what I would say about screenwriting, in general, is that you can get an awful lot of guidance and an awful lot of help on how to…

Page One: “The Revenant” (2015)

Screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Alejandro G. Iñárritu, based in part on the novel by Michael Punke

“How 50 Famous Female Characters Were Described In Their Screenplays”

A journey through many scripted female character introductions, both fascinating… and educational.

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 never correct anything and I never go back to what I have written, except to the foot of the last page to see where I have got to. If…

Page One: “The Queen” (2006)

Written by Peter Morgan

When you sell written content to a movie studio, they become the “author.”

Note: This from someone who is *not* a lawyer. Best to direct the question to someone who is before making your own deals.

Sundays with Stephen King’s “On Writing”

A series featuring reflections on writing from the famed author’s memoir.

12 Free Go Into The Story eBooks

Nearly 1,000 pages on the craft and business of screenwriting.

The Theology of Cinema: Forgiveness

“When someone does something wrong to us, it hurts, but the longer we live in that space, it becomes more like a prison, chained to the…

Script To Screen: “The Crying Game”

The escape attempt in The Crying Game (1992), written by Neil Jordan.

Page One: “The Player” (1992)

Written by Michael Tolkin

How to Use Go Into The Story

Blog resources to support your growth as a screenwriter in five areas: Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages. Study the Craft. Learn the…

Studies in Voice-Over Narration: “Fight Club”

Part 3 of a five-part series on movies where voice-over narration works.

Spec Script Deal: “The Bee Keeper”

Miramax acquires action thriller spec script “The Bee Keeper” written by Kurt Wimmer. Via Deadline:

Interview (Written): Jordan Peele

A conversation with the writer-director-producer on the cultural relevance of horror movies.

Page One: “The Master” (2012)

Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Dan Harmon, The Hero’s Journey, and the Circle Theory of Story

“To this day, Harmon still studies each film and TV show he watches, searching for his algorithm underneath, checking to see if the theory…

“The Story We Know”

Reflections on a poem by Martha Collins.

Writing and the Creative Life: Trust the Process

In 1978, I was in my final year of a Masters of Divinity program at Yale. Going there was part of the plan I had formulated as an…

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs

Links to all twenty articles in the series.