Go Into The Story

Writing and the Creative Life: The Virtues of Spacing Out and Goofing Off

Finally, science is good for something! Spacing out rules!

Page One: “Sorcerer” (1977)

Screenplay by Walon Green, novel by Georges Arnaud

Tarantino, Sorkin, and Dialogue as Purpose

Analysis of long dialogue-centric scenes in The Social Network and Pulp Fiction reveals that underneath the entertaining conversations lies…

Reflections on Carl Jung : Psychological Rule as Fate’

Carl Jung’s theory of individuation is directly applicable to the Protagonist’s journey in a screenplay.

Reader Question: What if you fall out of love with a script?

“What about a script you fall out of love with after 2–3 drafts, and just can’t finish? Put it aside for now or just push through?”

The Business of Screenwriting: Withdrawing screen credit and pseudonyms

Let’s begin this post with a quote from arguably the dean of contemporary American screenwriters William Goldman:

Page One: “Somewhere” (2010)

Written by Sofia Coppola

I found this 1978 interview online:

https://www.worldcat.org/title/oral-history-interview-with-harlan-howard-1978-december/oclc/58841227

So-Called Screenwriting Rule: Do not use ‘we see / we hear’

The narrative form we call a screenplay is an organic entity, changing radically over the years. As we have discussed, during the era of…

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Read your dialogue aloud

This is truly one of the easiest things you can do to improve your dialogue writing: When you finish a draft of your script, read aloud…

Reflections on Carl Jung: Make the Darkness Conscious

Carl Jung’s theory of individuation is directly applicable to the Protagonist’s journey in a screenplay.

Don’t stand in water where you should be fishing

I use fishing as a metaphor for one’s approach to screenwriting. Seriously.

Page One: “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952)

Story by Betty Comden and Adolph Green

2022 Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference

I will be back again moderating panels and giving a special presentation.

Reflections on Carl Jung: Make the Unconscious Conscious

Carl Jung’s theory of individuation is directly applicable to the Protagonist’s journey in a screenplay.

Video: 20 Screenwriting Tips from Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Advice from the creator of Fleabag and Killing Eve.

Screenwriting 101: Daniel Hanna

“For me, what I really love is exploring a subculture. A subculture or a world, and then how people who I think are universal in their…

Page One: “Signs” (2002)

Written by M. Night Shyamalan

Or sonata form: Exposition. Development. Recapitulation. You might enjoy this:

https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/aristotle-and-three-act-structure-dbe671abe543

The Protagonist’s Journey Word Cloud Logline Challenge

Write a logline based on the descriptions of movies and television series featured in The Protagonist’s Journey … and win a free…

Reflections on Carl Jung: Are We Related to the Infinite or Not?

The more I study Carl Jung, the more I discover his ideas about psychology have a direct relevance to screenwriting (specifically) and…

60 Second Screenwriter: What are some tips on rewriting a script?

A video series addressing key screenwriting concerns in one minute.

On Writing

“I really like having a community of trusted collaborators who can help me figure out very early whether material is alive and whether I’m…

Page One: “Shoot the Moon” (1982)

Written by Bo Goldman

Sundays with Sidney Lumet’s “Making Movies”

A series featuring reflections on filmmaking by one of the truly great movie directors.