Go Into The Story

Protagonist v. Nemesis: Keys to Conflict

The simplest way to imbue a story with a strong, central conflict is to have your Protagonist confront a Nemesis.

Great Scene: “Wonder Woman”

Diana single-handedly takes on the German Army in the breathtaking No Man’s Land scene from the movie Wonder Woman.

Interview (Video): Kevin Wilmott

From Season 11 of the PBS series “On Story”.

Page One: “Locke” (2013)

Written by Steven Knight

Go Into The Story Resource: The Story Behind Script Coverage

Script readers are Hollywood’s threshold guardians, so it behooves writers to try to understand their mindset.

Real World Screenwriting: Know Movies

You hear this a lot in script meetings: “It’s like that scene in…”

How They Write a Script: Ted Tally (“The Silence of the Lambs”)

Ted Tally is yet another screenwriter who started out as a playwright. His film credits include White Palace (1990), The Juror (1996), All…

Writing and the Creative Life: Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 4: What Is / What Could Be / What Is / What Could Be / What Is…

Page One: “The Little Mermaid” (1989)

Written by John Musker and Ron Clements, based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

Go Into The Story Resource: Character Introductions

Everything you need to know about the subject… and probably more.

Videos: Academy Originals Screenwriter Interviews

Featuring John August, Ava DuVernay, Eric Roth, Aline Brosh McKenna, David Seidler, Dustin Lance Black, and more.

Reader Question: Who is the Nemesis in “character driven” films?

Is it necessary for more character-oriented movies to feature a specific Antagonist figure?

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

Part 6: Rolling out a new writer’s spec script.

Page One: “Lincoln” (2012)

Screenplay by Tony Kushner, based on a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Go Into The Story Resource: Writing Mantras

Some writing inspiration I have picked up along the way.

Humanize Your Nemesis

We don’t need to sympathize with an Antagonist, but it we empathize with them, that makes for a more compelling character.

Scene Description Spotlight: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”

The ending sequence includes a most interesting sentence…

Interview: Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith

Background and writing tips from the screenwriter of such hit movies as 10 Things I Hate About You and Legally Blonde.

Page One: “The Lego Movie” (2014)

Screenplay by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, story by Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

Zach, every so often, I like to feature comments from some of the Old Guard who worked in movies…

There’s no right way to write.

My Writing Workshop Schedule

Two online workshops this summer… my only ones in 2021!

40 conseils du scénariste Scott Myers

In English: “40 tips from screenwriter Scott Myers”

Go Into The Story Resource: Writing and the Creative Life

Dozens of articles about creativity, what it is, how to nurture it, and steer our writing into the center of our creative soul.

Screenwriting 101: John Milius

“A writer’s greatest fear now is not that he’s going to be no good when he sits down to write. A writer’s greatest fear is that he’s going…

Page One: “L.A. Confidential” (1997)

Screenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson, novel by James Ellroy