Go Into The Story

2018 Scene-Writing Challenge: Week 1

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

Go Into The Story Interview: Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz

My in-depth interview with the co-writers of the movie BlacKkKlansman.

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Gambling

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,740 consecutive days and counting.

Great Scene: “Jaws”

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

Daily Dialogue — August 11, 2018

“I don’t normally do this, but I felt compelled to tell you something. You have an absolutely breath-taking… heiney. I mean, that thing’s…

Reader Question: Are there any script rules that really shouldn’t be broken?

Or this: “How can you break screenwriting rules if there are none?”

Interview (Part 5): Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz

My conversation with the co-writers of the movie BlacKkKlansman.

2018 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 5

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 10, 2018

“I’m gonna miss this place that proves I was right.”

Reader Question: Is it useful to read a bad script to see what not to do?

Can we learn something from slogging through bad screenplays?

Interview (Part 4): Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz

My conversation with the co-writers of the movie BlacKkKlansman.

2018 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 4

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

The Business of Screenwriting: Hurry up and wait

The bane of a screenwriter’s existence: They want the script NOW… then they make you WAIT… and wait… and wait…

Daily Dialogue — August 9, 2018

“Yes, this is Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California. It’s about 5 0'clock in the morning. That’s the homicide squad, complete with…

Reader Question: Where to start when developing a story?

As always, my advice is: Begin with your story’s characters.

Interview (Part 3): Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz

My conversation with the co-writers of the movie BlacKkKlansman.

2018 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 3

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Script To Screen: “The Insider”

For you Michael Mann fans, a dialogue-driven scene which crackles with life from this 1999 movie.

Daily Dialogue — August 8, 2018

Climbing out of the pool at the Biswangers, suddenly noticing a colorfully decorated hot dog cart.

Reader Question: How to indicate a ‘jump cut’ in a screenplay?

A jump cut is a transition to suggest a time ellipsis, a jump in time, hence the term.

Interview (Part 2): Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz

My conversation with the co-writers of the movie BlacKkKlansman.

2018 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 2

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Screenwriting 101: Tze Chun

“When I was out of college I just wrote from page one. I’d just start writing a script, having a vague idea of where things were going…

Daily Dialogue — August 7, 2018

“I figured… how much could possibly go wrong in three months?”