Go Into The Story

Interview (Part 1): Grace Sherman

My interview with the 2018 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Write what they’re buying or sell them your dream

There are many writing paths. Here are two of them.

On Writing

“Young writers often confuse dialogue with conversation, under the assumption that the closer you get to reality, the more convincing you…

Daily Dialogue — March 25, 2019

“All right, Popeye’s here! Get your hands on your heads, get off the bar, and get on the wall!”

Daily Dialogue — March 25, 2019

“All right, Popeye’s here! Get your hands on your heads, get off the bar, and get on the wall!”

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 24

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

Facing the odds

How to sustain creativity in the face of considerable odds against success.

Script To Screen: “Psycho”

The famous “truth about mother” scenes from the classic 1960 movie Psycho, screenplay by Joseph Stefano, based on a novel by Robert Bloch.

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “First Reformed”

The entire 6 part series delving into the Oscar-nominated screenplay.

Daily Dialogue — March 24, 2019

“C’mon, dish it out!”

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 23

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

Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages.

I came up with this screenwriting mantra nine years ago. Still works.

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Police

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,964 consecutive days and counting.

Script Analysis: “First Reformed” — Part 6: Takeaways

Read the Oscar-nominated screenplay and analyze it this week.

Daily Dialogue — March 23, 2019

“Bombed last night and bombed the night before,  Going to get bombed tonight if we never get bombed any more.  When we’re bombed we’re…

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 22

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

Learn the Craft

Being a screenwriter is much more than just writing a script.

Script Analysis: “First Reformed” — Part 5: Dialogue

Read the Oscar-nominated screenplay and analyze it this week.

Writing and the Creative Life: The Curse of Shiny Object Syndrome

“It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the…

Daily Dialogue — March 22, 2019

“No prisoners! No prisoners!”

2019 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 21

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

“Screenplays are stories, not formulas”

William Goldman has famously written, “Screenplays are structure.” That is true in a tangible sense because at some point, a script…

Script Analysis: “First Reformed” — Part 4: Themes

Read the Oscar-nominated screenplay and analyze it this week.

The Business of Screenwriting: The Value of Three Scripts

You write, you learn. And three scripts is a minimum for knowing the craft.

Daily Dialogue — March 21, 2019

Steve Trevor: This is no man’s land, Diana! It means no man can cross it, alright? This battalion has been here for nearly a year and…