Go Into The Story

The Business of Screenwriting: Celebrate your victories

Based on my experiences as a screenwriter in Hollywood, there are many things I can advise you to do that are not particularly enjoyable…

Daily Dialogue — August 15, 2019

Rusty Martin: Can you help me, please? Lucky Jackson: Can we help you? Yes, ma’am. Rusty Martin: I’d like you to check my motor. It…

Talismans

“Any physical object which takes on symbolic meaning to a character or characters.”

Where Does the Creation of a Great Story Begin?

A 10-minute video excerpt featuring… me.

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 9

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Daily Dialogue — August 14, 2019

“Ah, devil ether. It makes you behave like the village drunkard in some early Irish novel. Total loss of all basic motor skills. Blurred…

Writing Realistic Dialogue

Using Idioms, Slang, Contractions, and Declinations.

Spec Script Deal: “Don’t Worry Darling”

New Line Cinema acquires psychological thriller spec script “Don’t Worry Darling” written by Shane Van Dyke and Carey Van Dyke. Via…

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 8

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

Screenwriting 101: Stan Chervin

“If your goal as a screenwriter is to make a lot of money, you’re doomed to fail. If your goal as a screenwriter is to produce the best…

Daily Dialogue — August 13, 2019

Jack Singer: We’re gonna jump out of one plane? Roy Bacon: At 3,000 feet. Jack Singer: And these chutes are fool-proof, right? Roy Bacon…

Mark, that moment *always* chokes me up.

Thanks for your observations. I especially like the idea that the folks in the balcony are akin to angels. Lovely image.

Being and Writing in the Moment

Time is a mystery, especially in a screenplay. As writers, we can leap through decades from one scene to the next. Or we can stretch a…

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 7

Write some scenes. Win a great prize.

On Writing

“A script is to a movie as a blueprint is to a building. So many of the things that will later be major, visceral aspects of the…

Daily Dialogue — August 18, 2019

“All right, you proved your point. You broke into my vault. Congratulations, you’re a dead man.”

Great Scene: “To Kill A Mockingbird”

“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The State has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the…

How to Write a Logline

“Always remember this: It’s a logline, not a longline. It’s job is to sell the story, not tell the story.”

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “The Social Network”

The entire 11-part series on the award-winning movie script.

Daily Dialogue — August 11, 2019

“Joe. Say it ain’t so, Joe. Say it ain’t so.”

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Cutting The Picture [Part 3]

“Another factor in cutting is “tempo.” The author should decide the relative length of scenes.”

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Las Vegas

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,104 consecutive days and counting.

2019 Scene-Writing Challenge: Week 1

Here are all of Week 1’s prompts for this year’s Scene-Writing Challenge.

Daily Dialogue — August 10, 2019

Pop Fisher: You know my mama wanted me to be a farmer. Roy Hobbs: My dad wanted me to be a baseball player. Pop Fisher: Well you’re better…

Great Scene: “Up”

Carl gets the house to the top of Paradise Falls, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory.