Go Into The Story

Akila, as to your specific question, if a writer chooses to use Word and has the patience to…

However, here's my question: Why not use software? If the issue is cost, the amount of time and hassle using Word as compared to a program…

Screenwriting Meta View: Initiation

“Initiation, no matter how big or small, is a powerful experience. It lies at the heart of a Protagonist’s metamorphosis.”

Songwriters on Songwriting: Donovan

“You love a song and you play it, and you love it and you keep playing it. Then absentmindedly you discover a new little note that you want…

Script Analysis: “Knives Out” — Part 3: Characters

Read and analyze the script for the hit crime comedy starring an all-star cast including Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, and…

Great Scene: “Witness”

Oscar-winning project has been called a B-movie with A-movie performances.

Daily Dialogue — June 10, 2020

“Special delivery. Were you expecting one?”

Word. Demystify the process.

You’re right. Sells books. “Doesn’t yield interesting screen stories.”

Screenwriting Meta View: Separation

“Whether it’s geographical, psychological, or symbolic, the Protagonist leaves the Old World behind and enters the New World.”

Songwriters On Songwriting: Willie Dixon

“How often do you write songs? / Well, whenever the various facts come to your mind that you think are interesting, it can do somebody…

Script Analysis: “Knives Out” — Part 2: Plot

Read and analyze the script for the hit crime comedy starring an all-star cast including Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, and…

Screenwriting 101: Michele Atkins

“Write what you love. Write with what you can align with, and feel good about. Whether it’s a success or it’s not a success, at least you…

Daily Dialogue — June 9, 2020

“Guys like you don’t die on toilets.”

Laura, is the TV series a well-known one?

Frustrating, I know. I’ve had several story concepts and even two scripts, one completed, the other partial which got squashed by projects…

Screenwriting Meta View: Life before FADE IN

In writing a screenplay, we go into the story. That’s critical in order to connect with the characters and immerse ourselves in the story…

Songwriters On Songwriting: Leonard Cohen

“I am a working stiff. It takes me months and months of full employment to break the code of the song. To find out if there can be a song…

Script Analysis: “Knives Out” — Part 1: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Read and analyze the script for the hit crime comedy starring an all-star cast including Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, and…

On Writing

“It’s a job. It’s not a hobby. You don’t write the way you build a model airplane. You have to sit down and work, to schedule your time and…

Daily Dialogue — June 8, 2020

Doolittle: Hello, Bomb? Are you with me? Bomb #20: Of course. Doolittle: Are you willing to entertain a few concepts? Bomb #20: I am always…

Writing a Story = Wrangling Magic

The very fact writers create something out of seemingly nothing is a special kind of magic.

Great Scene: “North by Northwest”

It was one of the scenes which inspired Hitchcock to make the movie.

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

The entire 6 part series delving into the hit horror mystery which features a breakthrough performance by actress Florence Pugh.

Interview (Video): Virgil Williams

From Season 10 of the PBS series “On Story”.

Daily Dialogue — June 7, 2020

“Look at me. Jerking off in the shower. This will be the high point of my day.”

Laura, there's also this: By having a couple of academics along researching a potential…

Indeed, the fact there are outsiders coming in does the same thing throughout. But the two academics allow for an even deeper dive into the…

An Argument Against Screenplay Formulas

Christopher Hampton: “I don’t believe in rules for writing screenplays. What that gives you is formula, and the result will be formulaic.”