Go Into The Story

On Writing

“Creation is not a moment of inspiration but a lifetime of endurance. The drawers of the world are full of things begun. Unfinished…

Daily Dialogue — May 20, 2019

Walter Burns: You can get married all you want, Hildy, but you can’t quit the newspaper business. Hildy Johnson: Well, why not? Walter…

Screenwriting News (May 13-May 19, 2019)

The week’s writing deals and movie project news.

“Aristotle”: A poem

This poem by Billy Collins conveys how three-act structure can take a story… anywhere.

Scene Description Spotlight: “Up”

Pixar filmmakers are masters at setups and payoffs as in the script for Up.

Go Into The Story Resource: Script To Screen

Over 100 excerpts from scripts compared to the their movie versions.

Interview (Video): Orson Welles

The famous 1960 Paris conversation is back online!

Daily Dialogue — May 19, 2019

“If Tom had learned anything… it was that you can’t ascribe great cosmic significance to a simple earthly event. Coincidence, that’s all…

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 391st installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…

Advice to a former student

“Do it. Or don’t do it. But you know. You know.”

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Character On The Screen [Part 4]

“Character development means a change in character taking place during the story… Any change of character during the story is legitimate…

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Journalist

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,020 consecutive days and counting.

Interview (Video): Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

The Season 9 episode of the PBS series “On Story” with the originators, co-writers, and producers of the smash hit movie A Quiet Place.

Daily Dialogue — May 18, 2019

“Excuse me, lady, but that upon which you sit is mine.”

Reader Question: How to approach writing a story with multiple main characters?

Exploring three keys to writing multilinear screenplays.

Go Into The Story Interview: Scott Derrickson

My interview with the co-writer and director of the hit Marvel movie Doctor Strange as well as horror movies The Exorcism of Emily Rose and…

Go Into The Story Resource: Movie Script Scene-By-Scene Breakdowns

Go Into The Story followers are contributing breakdowns of contemporary screenplays to an ongoing script analysis series.

The Power of Conflict in Storytelling

We have all heard the old saying, “You can’t have drama without conflict.” Yet the power of conflict in storytelling extends beyond merely…

Writing and the Creative Life: Mind Wandering

“What no [spouse] of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he’s staring out of the window.”

Daily Dialogue — May 17, 2019

“Sam… It’s nice to meet you.”

Happy Birthday, Go Into The Story!

Launched on May 16, 2008, here we are 4,018 consecutive days of blogging later… but what does it all mean?

Video: How They Wrote ‘Breaking Bad’

A 12-minute video delves into the creative process behind the hit TV series.

Agency Campaign Update: Issues Affecting Screenwriters

Update from Writers’ Guild of America West Board Members John August and Michele Mulroney about the WGA — ATA dispute.

Writing as a Protagonist’s journey

Most stories involve a Protagonist going on a journey. Whether it’s physical, spiritual, geographical, symbolic or all of the above, a…

The Business of Screenwriting: Who do I have to **** to get off this project?

This may be a Hollywood urban legend. I first came across it back in the late 80s with the specific name of a screenwriter about a specific…