Go Into The Story

30 Days of Screenplays — Day 1: “The Sixth Sense”

Read 30 movie scripts in 30 days.

The Business of Screenwriting: Everyone is here because of us

It is late spring 1988. I am in San Diego where K-9 is being shot. It’s my first day on a movie set. Ever. The scene the crew is shooting…

Daily Dialogue — February 1, 2018

“You’re playing a dangerous game here. If you’re trying to blackmail me… it’s not going to work.”

Reader Question: What to do when a manager responds, “I liked the writing but…”

Get ready for some cold, harsh truth about Hollywood passes.

Script Analysis: “Coco” — Part 3: Characters

Read the script for the hit Pixar movie and analyze it all this week.

Dialogue-Writing Exercises [2018]

Here are prompts for the 4th annual GITS Dialogue-Writing Challenge. Use these to improve your dialogue writing chops.

Script To Screen: “The Deer Hunter”

The end scene in the 1978 movie The Deer Hunter.

Daily Dialogue —January 31, 2018

“People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than…

The script to Coco is a master class in how one can write a story with a classic Hero’s Journey…

We will get more into this in the Plot and Theme posts, but Coco is Pixar hitting on all creative cylinders, great to see after a few…

The Definitive Spec Script Deals List [1991–2017]

Details on over 2,000 reported spec script deals over the last quarter century.

Script Analysis: “Coco” — Part 2: Plot

Read the script for the hit Pixar movie and analyze it all this week.

2018 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 20

A chance for you to work on your dialogue chops and win free prizes!

Screenwriting 101: Ben Jacoby

“A lot of scripts are minimalist now, they have a lot of white space on the page. And that can be great. But I’d rather have a few extra…

Daily Dialogue — January 30, 2018

“The horror. The horror.”

Keys to Handling Exposition

Take my 1-week online class to learn ways to make exposition entertaining.

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

Read the script for the hit Pixar movie and analyze it all this week.

2018 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 19

A chance for you to work on your dialogue chops and win free prizes!

On Writing

“First draft: Let it run. Turn all the knobs up to 11. Second draft: Hell. Cut it down and cut it into shape. Third draft: Comb its nose…

Daily Dialogue — January 29, 2018

“There’s nothing else. Just us. And the cameras. And those wonderful people out there in the dark.”

Videos: Academy Originals Screenwriter Interviews

Featuring John August, Ava DuVernay, Eric Roth, Aline Brosh McKenna, David Seidler, Dustin Lance Black, and more.

2017 Spec Script Deals

Comprehensive analysis of all the reported spec script deals in 2017.

2018 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Week 4

Writing prompts #14–18. Practice writing dialogue. Win a free class with me.

Interview (Audio): Rian Johnson

A deep dive into the writing and making of ‘The Last Jedi’.

Daily Dialogue — January 28, 2018

“What’s in the box?”

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Whisper

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,544 consecutive days and counting.