Go Into The Story

The Nemesis as the Protagonist’s ‘Shadow’

Want drama? Ask your Protagonist: What do you fear the most? Then put them in a story where they have to confront that fear: Their Nemesis.

Spec Script Deal: “Intruders”

Paramount Pictures acquires science fiction thriller spec script “Intruders” written by James V. Simpson. From Deadline:

Script Analysis: “Mudbound” — Part 4: Themes

Read the script for the critically acclaimed indie film and analyze it all this week.

2018 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 29

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

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 8]

Part 8: Attaching talent.

Daily Dialogue — March 29, 2018

“It looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of your momma’s ass and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress!”

Spec Script Deal: “You Should Have Left”

Blumhouse Productions acquires supernatural thriller spec script “You Should Have Left” adapted by David Koepp from novel of the same name…

Script Analysis: “Mudbound” — Part 3: Characters

Read the script for the critically acclaimed indie film and analyze it all this week.

2018 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 28

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

Script To Screen: “The Elephant Man”

A scene from the 1980 movie The Elephant Man, screenplay by Christopher De Vore & Eric Bergren & David Lynch.

Daily Dialogue — March 28, 2018

“You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a…

Reader Question: How do I ‘find’ the characters in my stories?

A twist on the old saying, “Seeing is believing.”

Script Analysis: “Mudbound” — Part 2: Plot

Read the script for the critically acclaimed indie film and analyze it all this week.

2018 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 27

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

Screenwriting 101: Seth Lochhead

“I think story concept is important to the commercial viability of a screenplay because we all say it is — that’s the culture of Hollywood…

Daily Dialogue — March 27, 2018

“You dirt-eating piece of slime, you scum-sucking pig, you son of a motherless goat!”

Let me kick this off by saying the challenge of adapting this novel as a screenplay was really hard.

If you haven’t seen the movie, check it out on Netflix. And, of course, read the script.

Write a Worthy Nemesis

Workshop your story’s antagonist character in my 1-week online course. Begins Monday, April 2nd.

Script Analysis: “Mudbound” — Part 1: Scene By Scene Breakdown

Read the script for the critically acclaimed indie film and analyze it all this week.

2018 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 26

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

On Writing

“There are no hard and fast rules for writing, and no secret tricks, because what works for one person doesn’t always work for another…

Daily Dialogue — March 26, 2018

“You pompous, stuck-up, snot-nosed, English, giant, twerp, scumbag, fuck-face, dickhead, asshole.”

Go Into The Story Interview: Kristen Gray-Rockmaker

My interview with the 2017 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Screenwriting News (March 19-March 25, 2018)

The week’s writing deals and movie project news.

2018 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 25

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