Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — October 23, 2015

Forrest Gump: (V.O.) I ran and ran, just like Jenny told me to. I ran so far and so fast that pretty soon I was all by myself which was a bad thing. Forrest Gump: Bubba. Forrest Gump: (V.O.) Bubba was my best, good friend, I had to

Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep — Character Development

T minus 9 days. On November 1, the Zero Draft Thirty challenge kicks off! Zero Draft is what some writers call the vomit draft… or muscle draft… the just-get-the-damn-thing-done draft. And thirty is… well… the number 30 which is… oh, yeah… the number of days

Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 4 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. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. UPDATE: Current total of 2015 scripts for download: 13. Newly added scripts (4)

Script Analysis: “The Wolf of Wall Street” — Part 4: Themes

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Themes. I have

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 15

Part 15 of a 16 part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

Writing and the Creative Life: Writing as Pilgrimage

I am a pilgrim and a stranger Traveling through this wearisome land I’ve got a home in that yonder city, good Lord And it’s not, not made by hand — Music and lyrics by Merle Travis Perhaps because I am a military brat, having been transferred so often from

Daily Dialogue — October 22, 2015

During this scene Mary has come up behind the counter. Suddenly, as the people once more start moving toward the door, she holds up a roll of bills and calls out MARY: How much do you need? George jumps over the counter and takes the money from Mary. GEORGE: Hey!

Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep Fun With Index Cards!

Here I thought I was crazy committing to write an entire first draft of an original comedy in November — FADE IN to FADE OUT in 30 days — especially how freakin’ busy I am. But as it turns out… THERE’S WHOLE CRAPLOAD OF WHACKO WRITERS WANDERING AROUND THE INTERNET! Go

Script Analysis: “The Wolf of Wall Street” — Part 3: Characters

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Characters. Characters are

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 14

Part 14 of a 16 part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

Great Scene: “Annie Hall”

The movie Annie Hall (1977) has a scene that is perhaps the best pedagogical tool to convey what subtext is. Alvy Singer is having a drink with Annie Hall. This is basically their first time alone together and there are definitely some undercurrents going on in with what they’re

Daily Dialogue — October 21, 2015

GUNMAN 1: Sheriff, we ran into some trouble on the road. Al here’s hurt. His horse threw him. Your deputy said we could find a doctor. CHANCE: Around the corner, about three or four doors to the right. GUNMAN 1: Stay away from that rifle, Sheriff. You can see

Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep

Writers continue to step up to the Zero Draft Thirty challenge: In November, write a draft of an original movie or TV script. Some are jumping in to rewrite a screenplay. Others to generate story ideas. Whatever you choose to do, the point is to use the period of November

Reader Question: Is it possible to have a screenplay without a specific Antagonist character?

Does a movie NEED an actual Nemesis character? A question from Eve Montana: I’m having trouble locating my antagonist and character goal in my character-driven movie. In “Juno”, her goal is to find suitable parents for her unborn baby, but who is the antagonist? And coincidentally a similar

Script Analysis: “The Wolf of Wall Street” — Part 2: Major Plot Points

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Major Plot Points.

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 13

Part 13 of a 16 part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

Screenwriting 101: Robin Swicord

“You have to understand how the business works. Sometimes, I’m so mystified I can’t believe this is a business. You have to understand the tide comes in, and the tide goes out. There’s a constant shift of personalities. Some studios are more stable than others, and you

Daily Dialogue — October 20, 2015

Vincenzo: You know, Sicilians are great liars. Best in the world. I’m Sicilian. My father was the world heavyweight of Sicilian liars. From growing up with him I learned the pantomime. There are 17 different things a guy can do to give himself away. A woman’s got 20,

The Value of a Writing Workshop

Many writers benefit from the structure of a writing workshop to encourage them through their story-crafting process. Plus you receive the benefit of feedback and support from your peers and the instructor. Finally, you not only work your way through your story, you also learn proven principles and practices

Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge

Last week, I posted this: You may be aware of NANOWRIMO. Each November, people commit to write a first draft of a novel. Start November 1st. End November 30th. Fantastic motivator to get people off their asses, onto their keyboards, then work their way from “Once upon a time” to

Script Analysis: “The Wolf of Wall Street” — Part 1: Scene By Scene Breakdown

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Scene-By-Scene

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 12

Part 12 of a 16 part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

On Writing

“Every scene should be able to answer three questions: Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don’t get it? Why now?” — David Mamet

Daily Dialogue — October 19, 2015

FLYNN: Clu! Remember what you came for. SAM: Dad! CLU: You knew I’d beat you. Instead, you did all this for him. Clu takes Flynn’s disc, then discovers he’s been duped. CLU: No! No. Why? FLYNN: He’s my son. — Tron Legacy (2010), screenplay by Edward Kitsis

Screenwriting News (October 12-October 18, 2015)

Nick Cassavetes writing-directing remake of “Road House” for MGM with Ronda Rousey to star. Neil Cross writing remake of “Escape From New York” for 20th Century Fox. Gary Dauberman writing sequel “Annabelle 2” for New Line Cinema. Ava Dellaria adapting novel “Obsidian” for Sierra/Affinity and Mr. Mudd. Brian