Go Into The Story

Interview (Part 1): Sean Harrigan

My interview with 2023 Black List writer for his script First You Hear Them.

On Writing

“The story must be a conflict, and specifically, a conflict between the forces of good and evil within a single person.”

Page One: “My Policeman” (2022)

Screenplay by Ron Nyswaner, based upon the book by Bethan Roberts

Steven, there are many paths to coming up with a strong story concept.

Re Chasing Amy, at the time, the buzz was about Amy being a lesbian who gets involved romantically with a guy (Ben Affleck). In 1997, that…

Screenwriting Mantra: “The story rules”

The first and last commandment of writing.

Story Type: Chick Flick

“Slang term for a film mainly dealing with love and romance designed to appeal to a female target audience.”

The Business of Screenwriting: Let’s do lunch!

In the Real World, lunch is a meal that people eat to provide their body and mind sustenance for the remainder of their work day. In…

Page One: “The Spy Who Dumped Me” (2018)

Written by Susanna Fogel & David Iserson

Writing and the Creative Life: Look… don’t overlook

As writers in order for us to have any hope of securing a meaningful degree of understanding of a story universe and its characters, we…

Story Type: Chase

There are genres (e.g., Action, Comedy, Drama). Cross genres (e.g., Action-Thriller, Comedy-Science Fiction). Sub-genres (e.g., Romantic…

Screenwriting Mantra: On the other hand…

One of the best ways for writers to combat the dreaded Voices Of Negativity.

Page One: “Mimic” (1997)

Screenplay by Matthew Robbins & Guillermo del Toro, screen story by Matthew Robbins & Guillermo del Toro, based on a short story by Donald…

How They Write A Script: J.F. Lawton

Screenwriter J.F. Lawton has numerous writing credits including Pretty Woman (1990), Under Siege (1992), Blankman (1994), Chain Reaction…

30 Things About Screenwriting: A spec script will not sell unless it has a strong story concept

If you write a spec script based upon the first story idea that comes into your mind, that script likely won’t sell.

Script To Screen: “Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

So many great monologues in the 2014 movie Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), but this one may be the best.

Page One: “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977)

Screenplay by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum, characters by Ian Fleming

Story Type: Briefcase Full Of Cash

There are genres (e.g., Action, Comedy, Drama). Cross genres (e.g., Action-Thriller, Comedy-Science Fiction). Sub-genres (e.g., Romantic…

30 Things About Screenwriting: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages.

You can learn pretty much everything you need to know about screenwriting by doing these three things:

Great Scene: “The Breakfast Club”

The classic John Hughes teen comedy The Breakfast Club was released 39 years ago. That’s right… you’re officially old! In honor of the…

Page One: “The Nun” (2018)

Screenplay by Gary Dauberman, story by James Wan & Gary Dauberman

Screenwriting Mantra: “Go into the story and find the animals”

Writing wisdom from a three year-old boy: My son Luke.

Script To Screen: “The Birds”

A scene from the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Birds, screenplay by Evan Hunter, short story by Daphne Du Maurier.

How They Write A Script: Charlie Kaufman

“When I started screenwriting, I never really knew what I was doing, but I instinctively understood how to do it.”

Page One: “The Last Castle” (2001)

Screenplay by David Scarpa and Graham Yost, story by David Scarpa

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2010–2024)

Over 400 story concepts pulled from news reports free for you to use.