Go Into The Story

2024 Zero Draft Thirty September Challenge: Day 1

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

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Theme

“Found your story on an original truth of such universal interest that when your climax comes everybody in the audience from stenographer…

Great Scene: “Life of Brian”

Today: The 1979 movie Life of Brian, written by Graham Chapman & John Cleese & Terry Gilliam & Eric Idle & Terry Jones & Michael Palin…

Page One: “End of Watch” (2012)

Written by David Ayer

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Theme

“Found your story on an original truth of such universal interest that when your climax comes everybody in the audience from stenographer…

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 5: Reader Identification

Tap into the Protagonist’s qualities which a reader can connect with.

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Situation

If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the most influential writers in the early stages of American…

Script To Screen: “12 Monkeys”

From the 1995 movie 12 Monkeys, screenplay by David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples.

Page One: “Empire of Light” (2022)

Written by Sam Mendes

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 4: Character = Function

Every character in a screenplay has to be there for a reason. That is their narrative function, who they are and what they do tied to the…

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Crisis and Conflict

“Crisis and conflict are the great essentials of a dramatic story.”

Go Into The Story Interview: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

My 2018 in-depth conversation with the writing duo whose breakout film A Quiet Place turned into a horror franchise, spawning two sequels…

Page One: “Emergency” (2022)

Written by K.D. Dávila

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Getting Ideas

If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. She was one of the most influential writers in the early history of American…

Spec Script Deal: “Minnie Buttons”

Huckleberry Media acquires spec script “Minnie Buttons” written by Adam D. Boyer. Via Deadline:

The Business of Screenwriting: Swag

When you’re a movie star, things like this happen:

Page One: “Emancipation” (2022)

Written by William N. Collage

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 3: Plot Emerges From Character

No matter what paradigm or theory you use to craft your screenplay’s plot, the single most important thing you can do is this: Start with…

“How to Write Photoplays” by John Emerson and Anita Loos

If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the most influential writers in the early history of American…

Screenwriting 101: Ron Bass

“Everything I write is in three acts, and I actually start with three pieces of paper. I have some notion of where each act begins and…

Page One: “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain” (2021)

Screenplay by Simon Stephenson and Will Sharpe, story by Simon Stephenson

The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling

My one-week online class begins Monday, September 2nd.

Screenwriting Back to Basics, Day 2: The Protagonist’s Arc

Transformation lies at the heart of the character’s arc.

Writing Advice from Matt Stone and Trey Parker

A video from over a decade ago resurfaces on social media.

Page One: “The Edge of Seventeen” (2016)

Written by Kelly Fremon Craig