Go Into The Story

Go Into The Story Resource: Script To Screen

Nearly 100 scenes from scripts compared to the their movie versions.

Narrative Voice

What if you were to think of scene description as Narrative Voice’s dialogue?

Great Scene: “Jaws”

It’s the antithesis of “show it, don’t say it”… and it flat out works.

On Writing

“One maxim that my students find helpful is: One thought per sentence. Readers only process one thought at a time. So give them time to…

Page One: “Knocked Up” (2007)

Written by Judd Apatow

Sundays with Stephen King’s “On Writing”

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

Happy Birthday, Go Into The Story!

Launched on May 16, 2008, here we are 4,748 days of blogging later… but what does it all mean?

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “First Cow”

The entire 6-part series on the lauded indie movie.

The Nemesis as the Protagonist’s ‘Shadow’

Want drama? Ask your Protagonist: What do you fear the most? Then put them in a story where they have to confront that fear: Their Nemesis.

Page One: “Knives Out” (2019)

Written by Rian Johnson

Go Into The Story Resource: Movie Script Scene-By-Scene Breakdowns

Go Into The Story followers are contributing breakdowns of contemporary screenplays to an ongoing script analysis series.

Script Analysis: “First Cow” — Part 6: Takeaways

A week-long analysis of the script for the lauded indie movie by writer-director Kelly Reichardt. Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday:

Script To Screen: “Little Miss Sunshine”

The climax of the 2006 movie Little Miss Sunshine, written by Michael Arndt.

Interview (Video): Paul Schrader

A one-hour master class with the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. Host: Scott Myers

Page One: “Little Women” (2019)

Written for the screen by Greta Gerwig, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott

Consider these sides of dialogue:

King-Lu: I see something in this land I haven't seen before. Pretty much everywhere has been touched by now. But this is still new, more…

Go Into The Story Resource: So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’

A comprehensive series on the most significant of the supposed screenwriting ‘rules,’ hopefully to put things into proper perspective…

Script Analysis: “First Cow” — Part 5: Dialogue

A week-long analysis of the script for the lauded indie movie by writer-director Kelly Reichardt. Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday:

Screenwriting Meta View: Five Stages of Screenplay Structure

In writing a screenplay, we go into the story. That’s critical in order to connect with the characters and immerse ourselves in the story…

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

Part 3: “Every storytelling exercise should begin by asking: Who is my audience and what is the message I want to share with them? Each…

Page One: “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)

Screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, based on the Marvel comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

As I've mentioned in previous posts, two themes which strike me: Friendship. Greed.

The friendship between Cookie and King-Lu is a genuine one. The first step is the trust Cookie has in this stranger he discovers, naked in…

Go Into The Story Resource: Script Reading & Analysis Series

Movie scripts analyzed to depth including Scene-By-Scene Breakdown, Plot, Characters, Themes, Dialogue.

Script Analysis: “First Cow” — Part 4: Themes

A week-long analysis of the script for the lauded indie movie by writer-director Kelly Reichardt. Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday:

Spec Script Deal: “Valor”

Amazon Studios acquires action-adventure spec script “Valor” written by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer. Via Deadline: