Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — January 18, 2018

“As soon as you realize that the random events in your life are God… you will live a much better life. You spend your life believing that…

My theory is that The Big Sick is actually THREE love stories and as it so happens, David Joyner a…

A story: Kumail and Emily

Haikal, if that’s your first attempt at breaking down the plot structure of a script, you did a…

Notice how each plotline point — with the exception of the first woo-hoo beat — has a strong emotional focus. Events just don’t happen in…

That’s a great take, David, and precisely aligns with my take that the movie is really about three…

Again, excellent take!

Kc, I’ll be interested to see what you think of the movie. I think it’s terrific.

Re your curiosity about how the movie handles Emily’s ‘absence’ while in a coma, the filmmakers do a deft job ‘including’ her in the story…

Script Analysis: “The Big Sick” — Part 3: Characters

Read the script for the hit romantic comedy and analyze it all this week.

2018 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 12

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

Script To Screen: “The Day The Earth Stood Still” (1951)

One of the most memorable science fiction movies of all time, The Day The Earth Stood Still, screenplay by Edmund H. North, story by Harry…

Daily Dialogue — January 17, 2018

“Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, chief. It was comin’ back, from the island of Tinian to Laytee, just delivered the…

Reader Question: How insane is it for a 46 year-old to try to start a Hollywood writing career?

It’s crazy, but then it’s crazy for ANYONE to expect to break into Hollywood.

Script Analysis: “The Big Sick” — Part 2: Plot

Read the script for the hit romantic comedy and analyze it all this week.

2018 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 11

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

Screenwriting 101: Carter Blanchard

“Writing a script is like running a marathon…”

Daily Dialogue — January 16, 2018

“Michael. Dear Michael. Of course it’s you, who else could they send, who else could be trusted? I… I know it’s a long way and you’re ready…

A few things to kick off our discussion.

Moreover, how long can the Protagonist (Kumail) spend with Emily in a coma: The entirety of Act II? That’s too long to have Emily as an…

Story Summaries: From Loglines to Beat Sheets

Learn six different types and how to use them to develop your stories.

Script Analysis: “The Big Sick” — Part 1: Scene By Scene Breakdown

Read the script for the hit romantic comedy and analyze it all this week.

2018 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Day 10

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

On Writing

“You’ve got to have characters you can identify with, and there’d better be trouble brewing somewhere. Whatever these people’s lives have…

Daily Dialogue — January 15, 2018

“I believe in the church of baseball. I’ve tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I’ve worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma…

The next Go Into The Story Reading and Analysis Script: “The Big Sick”

Read the script for the hit drama-comedy and analyze it next week.

Go Into The Story Interview: Liz Hannah

Entire series with screenwriter of ‘The Post’.

2018 Dialogue-Writing Challenge: Week 2

Writing prompts #5–9. Practice writing dialogue. Win a free class with me.

Interview (Video): Paddy Chayefsky

Rare video of the three-time Oscar winner from January 1969.

Daily Dialogue — January 14, 2018

“Sometimes, I guess there just aren’t enough rocks.”