Go Into The Story

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Script Diary

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

Interview (Part 4): James Acker

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

The Business of Screenwriting: They will pigeonhole you (and why this can be a good thing)

The co-star of K-9 was a dog named Jerry Lee.

Page One: ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ (1957)

Screenplay by Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson (originally uncredited), novel by Pierre Boulle

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — Index Cards!

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

Interview (Part 3): James Acker

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Three Keys to Writing in a Distracting World

I become fully engaged in my writing when I am fully engaged with my characters.

Page One: ‘Bridesmaids’ (2011)

Written by Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Story Prep — “What if…”

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

Interview (Part 2): James Acker

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Screenwriting 101: Nancy Meyers

“I think it’s a mistake to write something you think people will like, or a combination idea, or this year’s version of last year’s movie…

Page One: ‘Breaking Away’ (1979)

Written by Steve Tesich

First off, congratulations on your writing success.

As your comments suggest, established working screenwriters don’t have to worry about this. Great! Indeed, maybe that attitude is drifting…

Character Development Keys

Starting March 1, my 1-week online class not only immerses you in five key archetypes, you also use them to workshop one of your stories.

Interview (Part 1): James Acker

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

On Writing

“I think it’s important to talk about the reality of being a writer. The glossy author photos don’t really speak to that. To the…

Page One: ‘Brazil’ (1985)

Screenplay by Terry Gilliam & Tom Stoppard & Charles McKeown

Rose, you cap off a week's worth of great analysis with an excellent one.

As you note, viewers have expectations, so going *against* convention can actually contribute to the entertainment value of the story by…

Update: 2020–2021 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 1 New Script, 40 Total

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

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

The entire 6 part series on the horror mystery from the producer of ‘Get Out.’

THR Screenwriter Roundtable

A conversation with Radha Blank, Emerald Fennell, Sam Levinson, Kemp Powers, and Aaron Sorkin.

Page One: ‘Braveheart’ (1995)

Written by Randall Wallace

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Unplug your Internet!

And if you don’t have the self-control to do it, I’ve got a tip for you!

Script Analysis: ‘Antebellum’ — Part 6: Takeaways

Read the script for this horror mystery from the producer of ‘Get Out.’

Interview (Audio): Andy Siara

A conversation with the screenwriter of Palm Springs.