Go Into The Story

Great Scene: “Annie Hall”

The movie Annie Hall (1977) has a scene that is perhaps the best pedagogical tool to convey what subtext is.

Page One: “The Woman King” (2022)

Screenplay by Dana Stevens, story by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens

2023 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 3

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Best Writing Approach: Routine or Ritual?

I am fascinated by creativity, in particular how creativity manifests itself in the wide variety of people I meet or learn about. That has…

How to Use Go Into The Story: Watch Movies, Read Scripts, Write Pages, Study the Craft, Study the…

A five-part series to help you navigate through 30,000 blog articles.

Great Scene: “A Few Good Men”

A classic Sorkin moment marked by crackling dialogue and raw emotion.

Page One: “Woman in Gold” (2015)

Written by Alexi Kaye Campbell

2023 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 2

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Learn a Character-Driven Approach to Screenplay Structure

My upcoming one-week online Core: Plot class begins Monday, January 16.

Great Scene: “A Clockwork Orange”

Some great scenes stick with us, seared into our memories, despite — or because of — the fact that they prove difficult to watch. Such is…

Screenwriting 101: Tony Gilroy

“I like to build out small. I like to start with small things in big environments, and then just molecularly follow them out. You set these…

Page One: “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012)

Written by Mark Boal

2023 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 1

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Update: 2022–2023 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 31 Total, 4 New Scripts

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

Great Scene: “(500) Days of Summer”

Tom’s best day ever plays out as a music video accompanied by Hall & Oates.

On Writing

“For me, writing a book is not about knowing something and then conveying it. It’s certainly not about getting away with something. It’s a…

Page One: “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971)

Screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his book

How to Use Go Into The Story (Part 5): Learn the Business

Some end of the year advice for blog readers.

Writers on Characters

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

Sundays with Ray Bradbury

The entire series of articles featuring the writing wisdom of one of the truly great authors of our time.

Video: 10 Screenwriting Tips from Christopher Nolan

The writer-director of Memento, The Dark Knight, Inception, Dunkirk, and Tenet shares 10 screenwriting tips.

Page One: “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)

Screenplay by Noel Langley & Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, adaptation by Noel Langley, from the book by L. Frank Baum

More Movies Like This, Please: 2022 List

I started something in 2012. Whenever I saw a new movie I liked, I would jump onto Twitter, identify the movie, then simply tweet: “More…

30 Days of Screenplays, Day 30: “The Great Gatsby”

Why read 30 screenplays in 30 days?

Writing Mantra: On the other hand…

One of the best ways for writers to combat the dreaded Voices Of Negativity.