Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — April 1, 2019

“I can’t remember the last time I asked the waiter to give my compliments to the chef. And now I find myself in the extraordinary position…

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 31

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

“Know your genre”

If you want to write in a genre, you’re wise to immerse yourself in it.

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 384th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…

Go Into The Story Interview: Grace Sherman

My interview with the 2018 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Interview (Video): Jordan Peele

Conversation with the writer-director of the horror movie Us.

Daily Dialogue — March 31, 2019

“Uh uh. I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost…

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 30

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Flashback

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,971 consecutive days and counting.

Great Scene: “Repo Man”

The cult classic Repo Man (1984), written and directed by Alex Cos, has many memorable scenes. I want to feature the final scene in the…

Interview (Part 6): Grace Sherman

My interview with the 2018 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Interview: Neil Gaiman

Nearly 100 minute conversation with award-winning author of such books as American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Books.

Daily Dialogue — March 30, 2019

Jack: I have to warn you, I’ve heard relationships based on intense experiences never work. Annie: OK. We’ll have to base it on sex then…

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 29

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Conscious Goal, Unconscious Goal

A deeper examination of a character’s Want and Need.

There are no screenwriting rules

There are guidelines, conventional wisdom, patterns, and principles… but no rules.

Interview (Part 5): Grace Sherman

My interview with the 2018 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Writing and the Creative Life: Dark Places

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

Daily Dialogue — March 29, 2019

Lou: You alright there, Margie? Marge Gunderson: Oh, I just think I’m gonna barf… Marge Gunderson: [standing up again after a moment] ……

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 28

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Ways To Write: Email

How writer-director Judd Apatow emailed himself notes which became the foundation for the movie Knocked Up.

Tweetstorm: Daniel Kunka on the one thing a Hollywood writer can control

“What I have excelled at (and what keeps me from having to find a real job) is doing the one thing that you have total control over —…

Interview (Part 4): Grace Sherman

My interview with the 2018 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

The Business of Screenwriting: Trailer Moments, Set Pieces, and Bits Of Business

You may have read countless screenwriting books. Attended seminars. Taken courses. But I doubt if you have stumbled across these three…

Daily Dialogue — March 28, 2019

Axel Foley: What? Y’all the second team? Detective McCabe: We’re the first team. Detective Foster: Yeah, and we’re not gonna fall for a…