Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — November 17, 2018

Chinese Food Intercom: And then? Jesse: And then… [laughs nervously] I’m gonna come in there and I’m gonna put my foot in your ass if you…

Reader Question: How to write if you have a long commute behind the wheel?

“Talk out your story. Record your words. Transfer to your computer. You can get a LOT done that way.”

Tweetstorm: Melissa Hilfers on dealing with ego, pride, and script notes

“Pride needs to be balanced with humility. You may know what you want to say, but sometimes others have a helpful perspective that can make…

Songwriters On Songwriting: Van Dyke Parks

“I think a good melody can be evocative. It can remind you of someplace that you’ve been. And if a melody jars memory, I think it serves a…

Writing and the Creative Life: Why Creativity Thrives in the Dark

Some scientific props for all you fellow night writers out there!

Daily Dialogue — November 16, 2018

“Let me try to recap the order. A cruller, two sugar pucks, a Stanley Cup, a large coffee with cream, a raspberry jelly donut, orange…

“Why is it three act structure? The cycle of life.”

Story structure and the stock market? Read on.

Living and writing in L.A.

Should you live here to be a writer? Do you HAVE to live here?

Songwriters on Songwriting: Paul Simon

“I’m interested in discovering where my mind wants to go.”

The Business of Screenwriting: Selling Scripts and Shooting Scripts

Here are two key stages in the life of a screenplay: There is the selling script and the shooting script.

Daily Dialogue — November 15, 2018

“Get out! There’s no one in the truck!”

Reader Question: What’s the scoop on writer’s residuals?

Residuals! We LOVE residuals! It’s like free money!

Stacking projects

One key to the craft: Learning how to manage several projects at once.

Songwriters on Songwriting: Janis Ian

“Every professional songwriter I know — people who do it 100% for their living — is terrified every time they sit down to write.”

Great Scene: “North by Northwest”

It was one of the scenes which inspired Hitchcock to make the movie.

Daily Dialogue — November 14, 2018

“Would you like to try our new beef and cheese pot pie on a stick, just a dollar ninety-nine for a limited time only?”

From ‘BlacKkKlansman’ to ‘Vice’: 12 Top Producers Talk Making the Impossible Possible

Tales from the front line for movies including BlacKkKlansman, First Man, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Vice.

Know your genre

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

Songwriters on Songwriting: PJ Harvey

“Nothing fascinates me more than putting words together, and seeing how a collection of words can produce quite a profound effect.”

Screenwriting 101: Charlie Wachtel

“You’ve got to have a strong concept. It’s a necessity. You could be an incredible writer, but, if you pick the wrong concept… The goal is…

Daily Dialogue — November 13, 2018

“Ding-dong! May I interject for a second? As a Burger Shack employee for the past three years, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that…

Theme = Meaning

More than just the moral or premise of the story, theme can best be understood to be about what a story MEANS.

Variety Announces 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2018

Read Go Into The Story interviews with 6 of the writers.

Songwriters on Songwriting: Mose Allison

“One of my formulas in life is ‘Ambivalence plus interdependence equals contrariety.’ All day long we’re being pulled in one way and pushed…

On Writing

“Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out.”