Go Into The Story

Page One: “The Holiday” (2006)

Written by Nancy Meyers

Writing Goals: 2025 [Part 1] — Looking Back

Over the next two weeks, a 10-part series for writers to consider what we did in 2024 and will do in 2025.

On Writing

“Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own. Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality.”

Page One: “The Hole” (2009)

Written by Mark L. Smith

Story and the Question of Self-Identity

Every story inevitably raises this question about the Protagonist: “Who are you?”

Why You Should Write Three Pages of Garbage Every Morning

“Freewriting forces you to keep moving forward, keep creating, without a thought given to quality.”

Page One: “Hold the Dark” (2018)

Screenplay by Macon Blair, based on a book by William Giraldi

Video: 10 Writing and Directing Tips from Michael Mann

Advice from the writer-director of Heat, The Insider, Ali, and many other films and TV series.

2024 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 8 New Scripts, 21 Total

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season.

Page One: “Maria” (2024)

Written by Steven Knight

Screenplays are stories, not formulas

William Goldman has famously written, “Screenplays are structure.” That is true in a tangible sense because at some point, a script becomes…

2011 Go Into The Story Screenwriters Roundtable

A conversation with Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam

Page One: “Deadpool & Wolverine” (2024)

Written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy

Video: Why “We’re Not So Very Different, You And I”

Another in the excellent screenwriting series Raising the Stakes.

Something is Better Than Nothing

“No matter what you write, good or bad, it’s an improvement to a blank page.”

Page One: “Red One” (2024)

Screenplay by Chris Morgan, story by Hiram Garcia

To Write, Stop Thinking

Think character. Think plot. Think theme. But when you sit down to write, don’t think… feel.

2024 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 3 New Scripts, 13 Total

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season.

Page One: “His Three Daughters” (2023)

Written by Azazel Jacobs

Screenwriting 101: Jeffrey Boam

“Ultimately, plot is of little importance, more of a mechanical contrivance against which characters come to life. Plot tries to engage…

Scene Description Spotlight: Express Your Voice

On December 9th, I’ll be offering an important one-week online class. It’s called Scene Description Spotlight which sounds super practical…

Page One: “Hocus Pocus” (1993)

Screenplay by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, story by David Kirschner and Mick Garris

2024 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 2 New Scripts, 10 Total

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season.

On Writing

“If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.”

Page One: “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (2013)

Screenplay by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, novel by J.R.R. Tolkien