Go Into The Story

Being and Writing in the Moment

Time is a mystery, especially in a screenplay. As writers, we can leap through decades from one scene to the next. Or we can stretch a…

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 7

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

On Writing

“A script is to a movie as a blueprint is to a building. So many of the things that will later be major, visceral aspects of the…

Daily Dialogue — August 18, 2019

“All right, you proved your point. You broke into my vault. Congratulations, you’re a dead man.”

Great Scene: “To Kill A Mockingbird”

“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The State has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the…

How to Write a Logline

“Always remember this: It’s a logline, not a longline. It’s job is to sell the story, not tell the story.”

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “The Social Network”

The entire 11-part series on the award-winning movie script.

Daily Dialogue — August 11, 2019

“Joe. Say it ain’t so, Joe. Say it ain’t so.”

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Cutting The Picture [Part 3]

“Another factor in cutting is “tempo.” The author should decide the relative length of scenes.”

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Las Vegas

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,104 consecutive days and counting.

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Week 1

Here are all of Week 1’s prompts for this year’s Scene-Writing Challenge.

Daily Dialogue — August 10, 2019

Pop Fisher: You know my mama wanted me to be a farmer. Roy Hobbs: My dad wanted me to be a baseball player. Pop Fisher: Well you’re better…

Great Scene: “Up”

Carl gets the house to the top of Paradise Falls, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory.

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 6

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Writing and the Creative Life: “The Power of Structured Procrastination”

“The beauty of the structured procrastination method is that it recognizes the extreme challenge in changing that pro-tomorrow vein, and…

Daily Dialogue — August 9, 2019

“Vaughan into the wind-up in his first offering. [pitch sails outside, past the catcher, and to the backstop] Juuuusst a bit outside.”

What Type of Scene Is It?

“It is important to understand what type of scene you’re dealing with because each requires a slightly different approach when you write…

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 5

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

The Business of Screenwriting: Anatomy of a Deal (Part 4)

“A majority of studio projects do not get made. Is it considered a strike against a writer if their project dies on the vine? Not…

Daily Dialogue — August 8, 2019

Billy Beane: It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball. This kind of thing, it’s fun for the fans. It sells tickets and hot dogs…

The Low-Down on High Concept

A high concept movie must have a clean, simple, and basic idea.

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 4

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Script To Screen: “V For Vendetta”

Here is The Speech from the 2005 movie V For Vendetta, screenplay by the Wachowskis.

Daily Dialogue — August 7, 2019

“Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure…

Action Writing in a Screenplay

“More and more, we see an embrace of action writing where the writer in effect directs the action through lines and paragraphs.”