Go Into The Story

The Theology of Cinema: Forgiveness

“When someone does something wrong to us, it hurts, but the longer we live in that space, it becomes more like a prison, chained to the…

Script To Screen: “The Crying Game”

The escape attempt in The Crying Game (1992), written by Neil Jordan.

Page One: “The Player” (1992)

Written by Michael Tolkin

How to Use Go Into The Story

Blog resources to support your growth as a screenwriter in five areas: Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages. Study the Craft. Learn the…

Studies in Voice-Over Narration: “Fight Club”

Part 3 of a five-part series on movies where voice-over narration works.

Spec Script Deal: “The Bee Keeper”

Miramax acquires action thriller spec script “The Bee Keeper” written by Kurt Wimmer. Via Deadline:

Interview (Written): Jordan Peele

A conversation with the writer-director-producer on the cultural relevance of horror movies.

Page One: “The Master” (2012)

Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Dan Harmon, The Hero’s Journey, and the Circle Theory of Story

“To this day, Harmon still studies each film and TV show he watches, searching for his algorithm underneath, checking to see if the theory…

“The Story We Know”

Reflections on a poem by Martha Collins.

Writing and the Creative Life: Trust the Process

In 1978, I was in my final year of a Masters of Divinity program at Yale. Going there was part of the plan I had formulated as an…

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs

Links to all twenty articles in the series.

Page One: “The Martian” (2015)

Screenplay by Drew Goddard, based on the novel by Andy Weir

Reader Question: Do characters “own” a scene?

Ownership is less important than underlying conflict between characters.

“Go Into Yourself”

Words of wisdom from Rainer Maria Rilke in his Letters to a Young Poet.

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs

Part 20: The value of a spec script… if it does sell…

Movie Story Types: Biopic

“Adapting a real person’s life into a movie story is one of the trickiest writing jobs around. The wealth of historical anecdotes and…

Page One: “The Lobster” (2015)

Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou

Analysis: Annual Black Lists (2013–2021)

A Go Into The Story deep dive into every annual Black List since 2013.

Writing and the Creative Life: Make More Writing Time by Organizing Work Time

Five tips to work smarter and create more time for your writing life.

Great Scene: “Almost Famous”

Sometimes it’s a great idea to put your story’s characters together in a situation that ‘rattles their cages’ — and that’s certainly what…

How to Handle Blocks of Scene Description

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

Page One: “The Lighthouse” (2019)

Written by Robert Eggers & Max Eggers

“Earn this.”

When it comes to a scene where a character makes a critical choice, it’s imperative that you — as the writer — have earned that moment.

The Commuting Writer

If your commute to work is a half-hour or longer, there is every reason in the world you should use that time on your writing projects.