Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — April 21, 2018

ABBY: What can I say, I’m attracted to that bad boy type… no, way! I’m getting hacked!

Or Chris, how about this: The women do manage to find the perfect candidate.

That may be one step too many… then again, maybe not.

Reader Question: How to approach writing jokes in a comedy script?

Be funny, but not at the expense of character.

“Inception”: Carl Jung’s Wet Dream

Either Christopher Nolan has studied Carl Jung or he tapped into the collective unconscious big time with his movie Inception.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 20

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Daily Dialogue — April 20, 2018

“I’ll create a GUI interface using Visual Basic. See if I can track an IP address.”

Reader Question: What are three good ‘how to’ scripts to read?

Three scripts essential for learning the craft.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 19

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Protagonist v. Nemesis: Keys to Conflict

The simplest way to imbue a story with a strong, central conflict is to have your Protagonist confront a Nemesis.

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

Part 11: Slipping a script.

Daily Dialogue — April 19, 2018

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Prime Minister, I must protest, in the strongest possible terms, my profound opposition to a newly instituted…

2017 Spec Script Market Analysis

A free comprehensive guide to all of last year’s verified spec script deals.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 18

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

The Role of the Trickster in ‘The Dark Knight’

In a recent Screenwriting Master Class course, we had an interesting discussion about the role of Coleman Reese in the movie The Dark…

Script To Screen: “Erin Brockovich”

A compelling scene from the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich, written by Susannah Grant.

Daily Dialogue — April 18, 2018

Hacker Man: Wait a minute. Using an RX modulator, I might be able to conduct a mainframe cell layer and hack you into the download. Kung…

Reader Question: What is the connection between the Protagonist and the inciting incident?

“Something. Happens. In my view, that is the essence of an inciting incident.”

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 17

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

My Interviews with 53 Black List Screenwriters

Over the years, I’ve interviewed dozens of writers whose scripts appeared on the annual Black List. Their collective insight into the craft…

Screenwriting 101: Lisa Joy

“I think it’s important to have a story concept that you as the writer are interested and tickled by and that gives you a fun playground to…

Daily Dialogue — April 17, 2018

Anakin: Master, sir, I heard Yoda talking about midichlorians. I’ve been wondering, what are midichlorians? Qui-Gon Jinn: Midichlorians…

Go Into The Story: “Best of the Best” Scriptwriting Website

Named to the 20th Annual Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers list.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 16

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

My Interviews with 30 Nicholl Fellowship Screenwriting Winners

Interviews with every Nicholl winner since 2012.

On Writing

“The rewrites are a struggle right now. Sometimes I wish writing a book could just be easy for me at last. But when I think about it…