Go Into The Story

On Writing

“I try to base my revision on a re-reading of what I’ve done so far, imitating, so far as it’s possible, a first-time reader. That is, I…

Daily Dialogue — January 20, 2020

“You ever find yourself being completely smothered by somebody?”

The Theology of Cinema: Incarnation

“If the theological precept of incarnation is ‘God become Man,’ the movie metaphorical view may be this: The Protagonist goes on a journey…

Go Into The Story Interview: Walker McKnight

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

2020 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Week 3

Writing prompts #9–13. Practice writing dialogue. Win a free class with me.

Rian Johnson’s outline for ‘Knives Out’

The writer-director of the smash hit movie tweeted the image this week.

Daily Dialogue — January 19, 2020

Ellie Andrews: I’ll stop a car, and I won’t use my thumb! Peter Warne: What’re you gonna do? Ellie Andrews: It’s a system all my own.

Switch Protagonist = Story Concept

How many different ways can The Wizard of Oz be told?

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Radio

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,265 consecutive days and counting.

Interview (Part 6): Walker McKnight

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Daily Dialogue — January 18, 2020

Roland Turner: What’s the “N” stand for? Lou N. Davis? Llewyn Davis: Llewyn. Llewyn, L-L-E-W-Y-N. It’s Welsh. Roland Turner: Well, it would…

“Do it. Or don’t do it. But you know. You. Know.”

The story behind the best advice for anyone considering a writing career.

Interview (Part 5): Walker McKnight

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

2020 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 13

A chance for you to work on your dialogue chops and win free prizes!

Writing and the Creative Life: The Mundane and the Marvelous

“Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous.”

Daily Dialogue — January 17, 2020

“Excuse me, ma’am. May I ask which direction you’re heading? See, I’m trying to get back to school and my ride fell through and, well, I’m…

Go Into The Story: Screenwriting 101

The entire 90+ minute Film Courage interview with yours truly.

Interview (Part 4): Walker McKnight

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

2020 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 12

A chance for you to work on your dialogue chops and win free prizes!

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs [Part 16]

“When a studio has a strong interest in a spec script or other type of literary material, and they want to avoid getting into a bidding war…

Daily Dialogue — January 16, 2020

Hitchhiker: You heard of this thing, the 8-Minute Abs? Ted: Yeah, sure, 8-Minute Abs. Yeah, the excercise video. Hitchhiker: Yeah, this is…

Empathy: A Writer’s Superpower

As writers, when we empathize with our characters and plunge ourselves into their lives, we can do something no one else can…

Interview (Part 3): Walker McNight

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

2020 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 11

A chance for you to work on your dialogue chops and win free prizes!

Download 2020 Oscar Nominated Screenplays

9 of the 10 nominated scripts are available as PDFs — for free!