Go Into The Story

What is the conflict in the scene?

Fact: There is almost nothing less entertaining than a scene with zero conflict and the characters all in agreement with each other.

Reader Question: What are three good “how to” scripts to read?

Three essential scripts for learning the craft.

On Writing

“It’s funny, I teach writing, and before I taught I never would have guessed the thing I say most often is: ‘Please stop thinking.’ But…

Page One: “Love Actually” (2003)

Written by Richard Curtis, edited by Emma Freud

Go Into The Story Resource: Reader Questions

Nearly 300 questions on virtually any subject related to screenwriting with my responses and feedback from Go Into The Story readers.

Sundays with Sidney Lumet’s “Making Movies”

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

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “Spencer”

A week-long analysis of the British royalty biopic drama script and movie.

Interview (Video): Julia Cho

A conversation with the co-writer of the Pixar movie Turning Red.

Page One: “The Lost Weekend” (1945)

Screen play by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, novel by Charles R. Jackson

Script Analysis: “Spencer” — Part 6: Takeaways

A week-long analysis of the British royalty biopic drama script and movie. Download. Read. Discuss.

There is this exchange between Charles and Diana which really sums up what Dianai is up against:

CHARLES (CONT'D)

It's pretty obvious that the central theme has to do with freedom vs.

As in Shawshank, institutionalization looms like a ticking clock, each tick forward moving the individual further away from their humanity…

I have this theory that there is something going on in terms of character archetypes in stories.

The Protagonist represents a forward-moving dynamic, a character or characters most often driven by a conscious goal.

With this analysis, I'm going to riff off an anecdote associated with filmmaker Joel Coen: "All…

Case in point: Spencer. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy begins at home (Kansas), departs to Oz, then returns home (Kansas). By story's end…

I have not seen the movie, but having read the script, my sense is that this is not a biopic, not…

At its core, the story is about a Protagonist (Princess Diana) who is deep into a state of disunity. Trapped in a complicated, loveless…

Go Into The Story Resource: Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs

A 20 part series, essential reading for anyone who is writing and hoping to sell a spec script.

Screenplays Are Stories, Not Formulas

“If you go in with formula, you come out with formula.”

Video: 10 Screenwriting Tips from Charlie Kaufman

Reflections on the craft from the writer of Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York…

Page One: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)

Screenplay by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, novel by J.R.R. Tolkien

Go Into The Story Resource: Conversations With Billy Wilder

A 28-part journey through the wonderful book “Conversations with Billy Wilder” focusing on the master filmmaker’s take on screenwriting and…

Script Analysis: “Spencer” — Part 5: Dialogue

A week-long analysis of the British royalty biopic drama script and movie. Download. Read. Discuss.

Carl Jung on the structure of dreams

Subconscious stories revealed in our sleep in four acts.

Writing and the Creative Life: Flow

We revel in it when we have it and curse it when we don’t.

Page One: “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002)

Screenplay by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Stephen Sinclair & Peter Jackson, novel by J.R.R. Tolkien

Go Into The Story Resource: Interviews

Over the years, I have interviewed nearly 200 screenwriters, filmmakers, and industry insiders.