Go Into The Story

Scene Description Spotlight: Express Your Voice

On September 4th, I’ll be offering a terrific one-week online class. It’s called Scene Description Spotlight which sounds super practical…

Page One: “How Green Was My Valley” (1941)

Screen play by Philip Dunne, based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn

Deadline’s Strike Talk Podcast

Episode 17: Billy Ray in conversation with two labor union leaders.

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 3: Plot Emerges From Character

No matter what paradigm or theory you use to craft your screenplay’s plot, the single most important thing you can do is this: Start with…

Interview (Part 1): Tim Ware-Hill

My interview with the 2022 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

On Writing

“Behind the complicated details of the world stand the simplicities: God is good, the grown-up man or woman knows the answer to every…

Page One: “How to Train Your Dragon 2” (2014)

Written by Dean DeBlois, based upon the “How to Train Your Dragon” book series by Cressida Cowell

Another AMPTP PR Debacle

A NYT puff piece on the outfit’s President Carol Lombardini immediately lambasted by supporters of the writers and actors strike.

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 2: The Protagonist’s Arc

Transformation lies at the heart of the character’s arc.

Page One: “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010)

Screenplay by William Davies and Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders, based on the book by Cressida Cowell

AMPTP Hires New Crisis PR Firm as Strikes Go On

CEOs: “The issue isn’t financial differences with the Guild. The real problem is how people perceive us.”

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 1: Writing Scenes

With every scene, you should ask yourself this question: What is the scene’s Beginning, Middle, and End?

Page One: “The Horse Whisperer” (1998)

Screenplay by Eric Roth and Richard LaGravenese, novel by Nicholas Evans

The Hollywood Strike Forces A Reckoning For The Trades

“What purpose do the trades serve if, at the end of all of this, actors and writers don’t trust them? And if they aren’t useful propaganda…

Writing Tip: 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.”

Script Analysis: “Glass Onion” — Part 5: Dialogue

A week-long analysis of the Oscar-nominated screenplay. Download. Read. Discuss.

Writing and the Creative Life: “Come to the edge”

Going beyond the edge of the Old World into the New World can be a terrifying experience, but a necessary one for the transformation…

Page One: “Hope and Glory” (1987)

Written by John Boorman

The Great Backfiring: Did This Move Just Add Weeks to the Strike?

The studios released their proposals into the wild. The writers are crying foul.

Screenwriting Tip: How to Handle Blocks of Scene Description

Think of each paragraph as a camera shot… with a catch.

Script Analysis: “Glass Onion” — Part 4: Themes

A week-long analysis of the Oscar-nominated screenplay. Download. Read. Discuss.

Writers on Character

Quotes from professional writers about the importance of characters in the story-writing process.

Page One: “The Hitcher” (1986)

Written by Eric Red

Why Protecting the Writers Room Is Good for Studios’ Bottom Line

“I’ve heard showrunners give me the same advice over and over: when you’re in this seat, you got to learn to delegate. But that only works…

Writing Tip: The Commuting Writer

If your commute to work is a half-hour or longer, get in the habit of using that time on your writing projects.