Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — June 1, 2018

Sal: Sonny, they said on the TV, two homosexuals in the bank, right on TV. Did you hear what they said? Sonny: They can say anything they…

Anne, thanks for the kind words.

Finishing one script is a monumental achievement. It’s the difference between saying, “I want to finish a script” and “I have finished a…

The Path of Least Resistance to Get Representation in Hollywood

Write 3 scripts. Same genre. $5–20M budgets. Strong story concepts.

Interview (Part 4): Amy Berg

My Q&A with a top Hollywood TV showrunner.

Go Into The Story Resource: Great Scenes

When you boil it down, screenwriting is scene-writing. Hone your scene-writing ability by studying these scenes.

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs

Part 17: Write What They’re Buying.

Daily Dialogue — May 31, 2018

“Take your time. Breathe.”

Free Online Writer Resources

A few of my favorite websites and online communities for writers.

Interview (Part 3): Amy Berg

My Q&A with a top Hollywood TV showrunner.

Go Into The Story Resource: Screenwriting 101

Hundreds of observations about the craft of screenwriting from professional writers.

Script To Screen: “A Few Good Men”

A scene from the 1992 movie A Few Good Men, screenplay by Aaron Sorkin based on his play.

Daily Dialogue — May 30, 2018

Margot Robbie: [In a bubble bath with a glass of champagne] Basically, Lewis Ranieri’s mortgage bonds were amazingly profitable for the big…

Reader Question: How to handle a character who changes names?

When in doubt, check out actual movie scripts to see how the pros handle it — and we do with the screenplay for Tootsie.

Interview (Part 2): Amy Berg

My Q&A with a top Hollywood TV showrunner.

Go Into The Story Resource: The Story Behind Script Coverage

Script readers are Hollywood’s threshold guardians, so it behooves writers to try to understand their mindset.

Screenwriting 101: Liz Hannah

“Read everything you can. Read every script you can bad, good. Read Paddy Chayefsky’s collected works. That’s probably the best place to…

Daily Dialogue — May 29, 2018

Mr. Potter: [on the telephone] George, there is a rumor around town that you closed your doors. Is that true? [pause] Oh, well, I’m very…

Pound Out That First Draft!

Go from FADE IN to FADE OUT in my upcoming online writing workshop. Starts June 11th!

Interview (Part 1): Amy Berg

My Q&A with a top Hollywood TV showrunner.

Go Into The Story Resource: The Spirit of the Spec

Creativity meets Productivity in the 5 stages of writing a spec script.

On Writing

“Think of your main characters as dinner guests. Would your friends want to spend ten hours with the characters you’ve created? Your…

Daily Dialogue — May 28, 2018

Grumpy: That’s a lot of money. If this Joker guy was so smart, he’d have had us bring a bigger car. [promptly draws his gun and points it a…

Mark, people who do NOT analyze scripts and movies to depth do themselves a disservice when it…

So you, Dave, and others who take the time to do script and movie breakdowns, then reflect on the story’s inner working, that’s a leg up…

Screenwriting News (May 21-May 27, 2018)

The week’s writing deals and movie project news.

Go Into The Story Movie Analysis: “The Silence of the Lambs”

The entire 6 part series delving into this critically acclaimed movie.