Go Into The Story

Page One: “Popeye” (1980)

Screenplay by Jules Feiffer, based on characters by E.C. Segar

Jeff, so great to hear from you!

Consider how much joy you’ve experienced in your writing. Cannot quantify the personal value of those moments of creative inspiration.

This tweestorm by screenwriter Justin Marks is about as good a thing on this very subject as I've…

https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/tweetstorm-justin-marks-on-exposition-26caf4ad2d6b

Michelle, I highly recommend A Year With Rilke.

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/a-year-with-rilke-anita-barrowsjoanna-macy?variant=32207475572770

How to Break Into the Film Industry Without Any Connections

The screenwriters of the smash hit movie A Quiet Place share the ins and outs of their journey to Hollywood.

Go Into The Story Interview: Murder Ink

My interview with Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, and Jana Savage, the writing team behind the 2021 Black List script “Homecoming.”

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.”

Page One: “Precious” (2009)

Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher, novel by Sapphire

On Writing

“I think humans are the most interesting thing I know about. They’re inexhaustibly interesting. And I think one of the great beauties of…

Sundays with Sidney Lumet’s “Making Movies”

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

Interview (Part 6): Murder Ink

My interview with Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, and Jana Savage, the writing team behind the 2021 Black List script “Homecoming.”

Great scene: “The Usual Suspects”

The ‘big twist!’ Is there any movie ending more satisfying than a scene sequence where you realize the writer has totally played you, set…

Interview: Alli Haapasalo

A conversation with the director of Girl Picture, winner of the Audience Award for World Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film…

Page One: “Poltergeist” (1982)

Screenplay by Steven Spielberg & Michael Grais & Mark Victor, story by Steven Spielberg

The Protagonist’s Journey: “We are not prisoners of that room”

A reflection on Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet”

Interview (Part 5): Murder Ink

My interview with Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, and Jana Savage, the writing team behind the 2021 Black List script “Homecoming.”

Reader Question: What are some keys to a great opening scene?

Or how to grab the attention of a script reader right away?

Video: “Breaking Suture”

Another in the excellent screenwriting series Raising the Stakes.

Page One: “Planet of the Apes” (1968)

Screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, based on the novel by Pierre Boulle

There you go, Rochelle.

Good for you and good luck with your novel as well as all your writing projects!

Carol, I agree 100%.

I tell my students: “Bottom line, if you really want to be a writer … you’ll do what you need to do to be a writer. You’ll do it … or you…

Lucy, agreed.

Thanks and good luck!

Ways To Write (Part 4): Writing Weekend

For 48 hours, nothing but writing. No Internet. No phone calls. No TV. Just you. And your story.

Interview (Part 4): Murder Ink

My interview with Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, and Jana Savage, the writing team behind the 2021 Black List script “Homecoming.”

The Thing With Coincidences in Screenplays…

The difference between Fate… and Writer’s Convenience.