Go Into The Story

Black List writers on the craft: Story Concepts (Part 2)

“I devour information like crazy, and I’m always running across interesting ideas. Being open and being curious brings so many great ideas…

Screenwriting 101: John Swetnam

“Here’s the problem with most aspiring writers and I had this same issue. We think we’re ready before we are. If you think you’re ready to…

Daily Dialogue — June 25, 2019

“Yeah? All right.”

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: “Get Off Your Ass”

Sitting. Typing. Sitting. Thinking. Sitting. Stressing. Sitting. Sitting. Sitting…

Subplots: Part 1

A series on a critical narrative element in any screenplay.

The Psychological Subtext of the Call To Adventure

At the beginning of the story, the Protagonist is just making do. Then something happens which jumbles their life… and their journey…

Black List writers on the craft: Story Concepts (Part 1)

“It hits me. I don’t go looking for them, they come looking for me.”

On Writing

“Your characters…are like children. You give birth to these children but you have to send them into the world and then they have to live…

Daily Dialogue — June 24, 2019

“Hello? Hello, Dimitri? Listen, I can’t hear too well, do you suppose you could turn the music down just a little? Oh, that’s much better…

Screenwriting News (June 17-June 23, 2019)

The week’s writing deals and movie project news.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek”

Wisdom on creativity from Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung.

Script to Screen: “Three Kings”

From the 1999 movie Three Kings, screenplay by David O. Russell, story by John Ridley.

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: The Kinds Of Stories That Sell [Part 4]

“Few people like to cry, but every one likes to laugh. Therefore, the story with many laughs has a hundred fold better chance than the one…

Video: Deconstructing Billy Wilder

In this Season 7 episode of the PBS series “On Story,” movie and TV writers reflect on the great writer-director of such classic movies as…

Daily Dialogue — June 23, 2019

“Tomorrow, we goes into battle. So Lordy, let me fight with the rifle in one hand, and the Good Book in the other. So that if I may die at…

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: The Kinds Of Stories That Sell [Part 3]

“The exhibitor wants the sort of story that can be exploited from the box office point of view, for a photoplay that does not lend itself…

What role does formal education have toward working as a screenwriter?

How important is college or film school for a writer trying to break into Hollywood?

Black List writers on the craft: Theme

“Every writer has their own life experiences, their own point of view, so the way they see the world often dictates the theme.”

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Telephone Call

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,055 consecutive days and counting.

Interview (Video): Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis

A conversation with the screenwriter and director of the new movie Yesterday.

Daily Dialogue — June 22, 2019

“What have I done?”

What is the conflict in the scene?

Fact: There is almost nothing less entertaining than a scene with zero conflict and the characters all in agreement with each other.

Writing a Logline for a Character Driven Drama

“Who’s your Protagonist? What is the distinctive issue they’re confronting, the source of their conflict? What is at the emotional core of…

Black List writers on the craft: Theme (Part 5)

“The good news is that, in talented writers, I think theme comes out organically. It’s not something you have to force. But it is something…

Script To Screen: “There’s Something About Mary”

One of the most memorable scenes from the 1998 comedy There’s Something About Mary [screenplay by Ed Decter & John J. Strauss and Peter…