Go Into The Story

In many respects, the plot of Palm Springs echoes that of Groundhog Day: Character(s) stuck in an…

There is a key difference in how the plot lays out, but it's completely tied to the characters, and I'll get into that in tomorrow's…

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 2

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Script Analysis: ‘Palm Springs’ — Part 2: Plot

Read the script for this indie comedy starring Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, and J.K. Simmons.

Screenwriting 101: Aaron Tracy

“I once had a playwriting teacher who told a fun story about character. She said the director of Midnight Cowboy simply decided that Jon…

Page One: ‘Inception’ (2010)

Written by Christopher Nolan.

Groundhog Day.

How do these projects keep getting produced if they have pretty much the same central conceit? The Edge of Tomorrow is science fiction and…

Okay, M Hart!

Good luck!

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 1

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Script Analysis: ‘Palm Springs’ — Part 1: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Read the script for this indie comedy starring Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, and J.K. Simmons.

On Writing

“All of these declarations of what writing ought to be, which I had myself — though, thank God I had never committed them to paper — I…

Page One: ‘Cloud Atlas’ (2012)

Written for the screen by Lana Wachowski & Tom Tykwer & Lilly Wachowski, novel by David Mitchell

Sundays with Stephen King

A new series featuring reflections on writing from the famed writer.

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Get Your Head On Straight

A series to help prepare writers for next month’s Zero Draft Thirty writing challenge.

Go Into The Story Interview: James Acker

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Update: 2020–2021 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 3 New Scripts, 43 Total

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

Page One: ‘ Captain Phillips’ (2013)

Screenplay by Billy Ray, book by Richard Phillips and Richard Phillips

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Genre Bend

A series to help prepare writers for next month’s Zero Draft Thirty writing challenge.

Interview (Part 6): James Acker

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Spec Script Deal: “Parallel”

Netflix acquires science fiction spec script “Parallel” written by Ben Ripley. Via THR:

Page One: ‘Buried’ (2010)

Written by Chris Sparling

Adverbs = Bad Writing?

A seemingly innocuous Stephen King quote provokes online controversy.

Adverbs = Bad Writing?

A seemingly innocuous Steven King quote provokes online controversy.

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Gender Bend

A series to help prepare writers for next month’s Zero Draft Thirty writing challenge.

Interview (Part 5): James Acker

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Page One: ‘Bring It On’ (2000)

Written by Jessica Bendinger