Go Into The Story

On Writing

“Plot, or evolution, is life responding to environment; and not only is this response always in terms of conflict, but the really great…

Page One: “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” (2003)

Written by Quentin Tarantino

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 23

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

Screenwriting 101: Lisa Cholodenko

“I think the most important thing I learned [from editing] is that you start with this huge bear of a film which really has no pacing or no…

Screenplays are stories, not formulas

“If you go in with formula, you come out with formula.”

Page One: “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003)

Written by Quentin Tarantino

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 22

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

On Writing

“I sit in the dark and wait for a little flame to appear at the end of my pencil.”

Scene Description Spotlight: “Raging Bull”

Sports movie are tough to write for many reasons. Here’s one of them: How to describe athletic action without being too specific and…

Page One: “The Karate Kid Part III” (1989)

Written by Robert Mark Kamen, characters created by Robert Mark Kamen

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 21

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

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 5: “We like to be engaged and entertained by what transpires in the plot, but more important we want to find meaning in the…

4 Sure-Fire Ways to Stimulate Creativity

Sadly, bourbon is not one of them.

Page One: “The Karate Kid Part II” (1986)

Written by Robert Mark Kamen, characters created by Robert Mark Kamen

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 20

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

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 4: What Is / What Could Be / What Is / What Could Be / What Is…

Great Scene: “Rachel Getting Married”

A wedding toast gone awkwardly, painfully awry.

Page One: “The Karate Kid” (1984)

Written by Robert Mark Kamen

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 3: “Every storytelling exercise should begin by asking: Who is my audience and what is the message I want to share with them? Each…

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 19

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

Update: 2025 London Screenwriters’ Festival

More information on my appearance at this year’s event: April 24–27.

Page One: “K-PAX” (2001)

Screenplay by Charles Leavitt, novel by Gene Brewer

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 18

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

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 2: The intriguing thing here is that while we, as writers, are thinking about emotions and psychology, much of it apparently boils…

Screenwriting 101: Stan Chervin

“I always try to bang out a first, rough draft as fast as I can. There’s a story of George Abbott, the theatre director, coming into the…