Go Into The Story

On Writing

“I sit in the dark and wait for a little flame to appear at the end of my pencil.”

Scene Description Spotlight: “Raging Bull”

Sports movie are tough to write for many reasons. Here’s one of them: How to describe athletic action without being too specific and…

Page One: “The Karate Kid Part III” (1989)

Written by Robert Mark Kamen, characters created by Robert Mark Kamen

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 21

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

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 5: “We like to be engaged and entertained by what transpires in the plot, but more important we want to find meaning in the…

4 Sure-Fire Ways to Stimulate Creativity

Sadly, bourbon is not one of them.

Page One: “The Karate Kid Part II” (1986)

Written by Robert Mark Kamen, characters created by Robert Mark Kamen

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 20

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

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 4: What Is / What Could Be / What Is / What Could Be / What Is…

Great Scene: “Rachel Getting Married”

A wedding toast gone awkwardly, painfully awry.

Page One: “The Karate Kid” (1984)

Written by Robert Mark Kamen

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 3: “Every storytelling exercise should begin by asking: Who is my audience and what is the message I want to share with them? Each…

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 19

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

Update: 2025 London Screenwriters’ Festival

More information on my appearance at this year’s event: April 24–27.

Page One: “K-PAX” (2001)

Screenplay by Charles Leavitt, novel by Gene Brewer

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 18

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

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 2: The intriguing thing here is that while we, as writers, are thinking about emotions and psychology, much of it apparently boils…

Screenwriting 101: Stan Chervin

“I always try to bang out a first, rough draft as fast as I can. There’s a story of George Abbott, the theatre director, coming into the…

Page One: “Just Mercy” (2019)

Written by Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham, based on the book by Bryan Stevenson

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 17

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

Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling

Part 1: Something about your story, most particularly involving your Protagonist, must resonate with a reader. What that boils down to is…

On Writing

“Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you’re a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff’s…

Page One: “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997)

Screenplay by David Koepp, novel by Michael Crichton

2025 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 16

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

Go Into The Story Interview: Charmaine Colina

My interview with the 2024 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.