Screenwriting 101: Justin Rhodes

“For me, writing is like a journey through complexity to get back to simplicity. Ultimately, you want to say, ‘It’s about a guy who experiences this, and now feels this way.’ Just understanding that that’s what it’s about. Everything that follows needs to stem from this simple emotional idea. Sometimes when you’re buried in a pitch, or you’re looking at a sprawling book adaptation, or something that has some level of complexity, something that’s kind of wide and sweeping, it’s easy to get lost. For me, the secret to turning your narrative payload into something you can deliver is to ask yourself ‘What is the simple emotional journey that grounds everything?’ That gives me a compass point, and permission to jettison what isn’t going to help me get to where I’m going.”

— Justin Rhodes [GITS interview, February 4, 2013]