Go Into The Story

Movie Analysis: “The Silence of the Lambs” — Part 5: Dialogue

Watch this critically acclaimed movie and analyze it all week.

Writing and the Creative Life: Structure and Freedom

Words of creative wisdom the great 20th century composer Igor Stravinsky.

Daily Dialogue — May 25, 2018

“My mother may be a troubled woman but what’s your excuse? That’s why I’m not impressed with your story, Dad. It’s that you knew and you…

Thomas, you and I are in sync about how the story is very much about The Self and one’s True Nature.

Central Theme: To silence the nightmare of the past, one must confront it.

Go Into The Story Resource: Writing Mantras

Some writing inspiration I have picked up along the way.

Movie Analysis: “The Silence of the Lambs” — Part 4: Themes

Watch this critically acclaimed movie and analyze it all week.

Spec Script Deal: “The Oberlin Incident”

Paramount acquires horror thriller spec script “The Oberlin Incident” written by Cory Goodman. Via Deadline:

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs

Part 16: Preemptive Purchase.

Daily Dialogue — May 24, 2018

Galloway: [refering to Jessup] You put him on the stand and you get it from him! Kaffee: [sarcastically, referring to Jessup in his…

Buffalo Bill as Protagonist: P: BB

N: Clarice

Okay, my own take on the characters:

Protagonist: Clarice

Two quick things to start thingsoff:

I envision Catherine to be a projection of Clarice’s youthful self — The Victim — that 10 year-old part of who she is who lost her father…

2017 Spec Script Market Analysis: With Charts and Graphs

Detailed analysis of all 62 reported spec script deals for the year.

Go Into The Story Resource: 10 Screenwriting Skills and Traits You Need

Develop your expertise in 10 areas to maximize your screenwriting potential.

Movie Analysis: “The Silence of the Lambs” — Part 3: Characters

Watch this critically acclaimed movie and analyze it all week.

Script To Screen: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

A scene from the wonderful 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, written and directed by John Hughes.

Daily Dialogue — May 23, 2018

Jed: The question is, do I have a God complex. Riley: Dr. Kessler says yes. Jed: …which makes me wonder if this “lawyer” has any idea what…

Dave, I don’t know if there is such a thing as typical when it comes to screenplays.

Here’s my breakdown of the plot per the script:

Some Thoughts on the Rewrite Process

In a guest post, screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon) offers some reflections on the adage: Writing is rewriting.

Go Into The Story Resource: Writing and the Creative Life

Dozens of articles about creativity, what it is, how to nurture it, and steer our writing into the center of our creative soul.

Movie Analysis: “The Silence of the Lambs” — Part 2: Plot

Watch this critically acclaimed movie and analyze it all week.

Screenwriting 101: Scott Frank

“The first paragraph of a screenplay can tell you if they can write. The first five pages can tell you if they have a voice.”

Daily Dialogue — May 22, 2018

“For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about…

Kim, I agree with you: This is the top of the tops for a psychological thriller and it definitely…

First of all, I just thought it was so smart, so literary and knowing, and not just in a technological, police-procedural, serial-killing…

One thing the scene-by-scene breakdown makes abundantly clear is how the pace of the story hits…

This is the way it should be in most, if not all movies, an escalation of stakes and pace to build toward the climax of the story.