Go Into The Story

Page One: “Heavy Metal” (1981)

Screenplay by Daniel Goldberg & Len Blum

Video: “What is subtext?”

Another in the excellent screenwriting series Raising the Stakes.

30 Things About Screenwriting: “The only way out is through”

Imagine the process of writing a story as being a journey. Perhaps as you embark on your adventure, you have a map — an outline or beat…

Page One: “Heaven Can Wait” (1978)

Screenplay by Elaine May and Warren Beatty, based upon a play by Harry Segal

30 Things About Screenwriting: The Spirit of the Spec

The creative empowerment of writing a spec script.

Screenwriting 101: Carter Blanchard

“Writing a script is like running a marathon. But it’s also about training for that marathon. Research, plotting, character work…”

Page One: “The Hate U Give” (2018)

Screenplay by Audrey Wells, based upon the novel by Angie Thomas

30 Things About Screenwriting: Minimum Words, Maximum Impact

I know the source of this mantra. It was one of my online screenwriting students. During a weekly live-chat session. I was going on and on…

On Writing

“There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. Almost everything has…

Page One: “Harriet” (2019)

Screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard and Kasi Lemmons, story by Gregory Allen Howard

30 Things About Screenwriting: Test Your Story Concept

Five questions to ask about a story idea to assess its viability as a scripted project.

Spec Script Deal: “Test Drive”

Twentieth Century Studios acquires action spec script “Test Drive” written by Matt Venne. Via Deadline:

Page One: “Harlem Nights” (1989)

Written by Eddie Murphy

30 Things About Screenwriting: Set-up and Payoffs

One of the most important narrative elements screenwriters have available to us is set-ups and payoffs. The basic idea is this: We…

“Fear”

A poem by Khalil Gibran describes both the Protagonist’s journey … and the writer’s journey.

Page One: “The Happy Prince” (2018)

Written by Rupert Everett

30 Things About Screenwriting: 1, 2, 7, 14

Here is a simple formula about three things — Read Scripts. Watch Movies. Write Pages. — you need to do to expand and deepen your…

Screenwriting 101: Carter Blanchard

“I might have been generous before, saying that they’re going to read the first act. I would hope most of them do, and I’m sure no one’s…

Page One: “Hackers” (1995)

Written by Rafael Moreu

30 Things About Screenwriting: Story as Psychological Journey

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

On Writing

“A character has to be ignorant of the future, unsure about the past, and not at all sure what he’s supposed to be doing.”

Page One: “Gunpowder Milkshake” (2021)

Written by Navot Papushado & Ehud Lavski

30 Things About Screenwriting: “Movies don’t owe anybody a living”

The original quote is about music, but it pertains to all entertainment.

“How can I possibly find the time to write?” Try this approach.

You can write 2 feature spec scripts per year … by writing 1 page per day.

Page One: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (2022)

Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Patrick McHale, screen story by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins, based on the book “Pinocchio”…