Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — May 30, 2015

Anna: (phone rings) It’s my mom. She’s probably checking on the date. This’ll just take a minute. (on phone) Hello. Yes, I’m with him right now. No, not very attractive. No, doesn’t make much money. It’s all right though, seems nice, kinda funny. A

The benefits of reading your script aloud

I’m teaching a 1-week online class called Scene Description Spotlight: Express Your Voice. It’s been great as we’ve really drilled down into one of the most basic aspects of what we do as screenwriters and TV writers: Write scene description that is not only effective and

Interview (Part 5): Tess Morris (“Man Up”)

Tess Morris wrote the screenplay for the movie Man Up, a romantic comedy starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, directed by Ben Palmer. Generating strong reviews, the movie opens this weekend in the United Kingdom, and has been picked up for distribution in North America by Saban Films. I recently

Reader Question: How do you handle one character with different names?

Via Twitter: I’ve never encountered this situation in any of the stories I’ve written, but I have with other writers and their scripts. There’s no rule about this, but your concern is duly noted: You do not want to confuse a reader. And thinking long term, you

Classic 50s Movie: “Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from John Nilsson Acosta. Movie Title: Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe Year: 1953 Writers: Ronald Davidson and Barry Shipman Lead Actors: Judd Holdren, Aline Towne, Gregory Gaye, Richard Crane, William Schallert, Gloria Pall Directors: Harry Keller, Franklin

Daily Dialogue — May 29, 2015

Sergeant Sarah Brown: You want to take me to dinner in Havana, Cuba? Sky Masterson: Well, they eat in Cuba the same as we do. — Guys and Dolls (1955), screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on a play by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, story by Damon Runyon http://static.

Break your story in prep

Have you ever started a script and not finished it? Has it ever taken you 6 months, 1 year, or more to finish a script? Have you ever gotten so lost when writing a story, you became incredibly frustrated, and gave up? Chances are you did not do enough story

Interview (Part 4): Tess Morris (“Man Up”)

Tess Morris wrote the screenplay for the movie Man Up, a romantic comedy starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, directed by Ben Palmer. Generating strong reviews, the movie opens this weekend in the United Kingdom, and has been picked up for distribution in North America by Saban Films. I recently

Classic 50s Movie: “12 Angry Men”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Ipsita Barik. Movie Title: 12 Angry Men Year: 1957 Writer: Reginald Rose Lead Actors: Henry Fonda, Lee J Cobb, E.G.Marshall Director: Sidney Lumet IMDb Plot Summary: A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 9]

Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year I interviewed a top

Daily Dialogue — May 28, 2015

Allan: That’s quite a lovely Jackson Pollock, isn’t it? Museum Girl: Yes, it is. Allan: What does it say to you? Museum Girl: It restates the negativeness of the universe. The hideous lonely emptiness of existence. Nothingness. The predicament of Man forced to live in a barren, Godless

Interview (Part 3): Tess Morris (“Man Up”)

Tess Morris wrote the screenplay for the movie Man Up, a romantic comedy starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, directed by Ben Palmer. Generating strong reviews, the movie opens this weekend in the United Kingdom, and has been picked up for distribution in North America by Saban Films. I recently

Classic 50s Movie: “Tokyo Story”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Jeff Messerman. Movie Title: Tokyo Story Year: 1953 Writers: Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu Lead Actors: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, and So Yamamura Director: Yasujiro Ozu Synopsis: An elderly couple leave their small fishing

Daily Dialogue — May 27, 2015

Tom: Um. Smells delicious. Summer: Oh, honey, that’s because it is delicious. [sets invisible food in front of Tom] I made it myself. Tom: Bald eagle. Summer: Your favorite. — (500) Days of Summer (2009), written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber The Daily Dialogue theme for the week:

Reader Question: What is the best way to make sure readers love my characters?

Characters are the major conduits for a reader into the story’s emotional life. Reader question via @Sylent_steel from my recent #scriptchat session: I love my characters! What is the best way to make sure readers will too? Seems like you’re off to a good start in that

Interview (Part 2): Tess Morris (“Man Up”)

Tess Morris wrote the screenplay for the movie Man Up, a romantic comedy starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, directed by Ben Palmer. Generating strong reviews, the movie opens this weekend in the United Kingdom, and has been picked up for distribution in North America by Saban Films. I recently

Should a writer ever ‘wear’ a producer’s hat?

Being a military brat, I like schedules. That extends to Twitter. So for the last few months at 9:15AM Eastern, I have taken to tweeting short musings about the craft of screenwriting. Here are a few of them: There are no screenwriting rules. There are conventions, patterns, paradigms. Know

Screenwriting 101: Colin Higgins

“The job of the screenwriter is to run the film in the reader’s imagination. And nothing should get in the way of that. Good prose is the only way to have a reader envision an exciting film. For example, I can’t believe it when I find a sentence

Daily Dialogue — May 26, 2015

Claire Foster: If I’m gonna get whacked off, I at least deserve to understand why it’s happening… What are you smiling about? Phil Foster: Honey, we’re not going to get whacked off. We may get bumped off, or we may get whacked. — Date Night (2010), written by

Coming in June: Another Scene-Writing Challenge!

Back for the third year in a row, it’s our annual Scene-Writing Challenge! In June, every Monday-Friday at noon Eastern / 9AM Pacific, I will upload a post with a prompt for writing a script scene. Each day, write a scene per those guidelines. If you really want

Interview (Part 1): Tess Morris (“Man Up”)

Tess Morris wrote the screenplay for the movie Man Up, a romantic comedy starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, directed by Ben Palmer. Generating strong reviews, the movie opens this weekend in the United Kingdom, and has been picked up for distribution in North America by Saban Films. I recently

“Everything is a Remix” — Billy Wilder style

On Sundays, I’ve been taking a leisurely tour through the wonderful book “Conversations with Wilder” which captures a series of talks between filmmaker Cameron Crowe (Say Anything, Singles, Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) and writer-director Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Ace in the Hole, Stalag 17, Witness for

“How to Write a Romcom”

Tess Morris, screenwriter of the movie Man Up, starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, offers up some insight in a recent first-person essay in the Telegraph. Here are the first three of 10 things Tess advises for rom-com writers: Four years ago I sat down to write the

On Writing

“People think a creative career is about luck. A creative career is about showing up and doing the work. That’s how you maximize your luck.” — Chuck Wendig

Daily Dialogue — May 25, 2015

Alvy and Annie are seeing their therapists at the same time on a split screen. Annie Hall: That day in Brooklyn was the last day I remember really having a good time. Alvy Singer: We never have any laughs anymore is the problem. Annie Hall: I’ve been moody and