Video: 10 Screenwriting Tips from Christopher Nolan

The writer-director of Memento, The Dark Knight, Inception, Dunkirk, and Tenet shares 10 screenwriting tips.

The outfit Outstanding Screenplays put together this terrific compendium of film clips from several interviews with writer-director Christopher Nolan.

The 10 tips:

Tip 1–0:42 — Do something you believe in, rather than what other people want.

Tip 2–2:25 — Figure out what is interesting to you and present it in a way that it will be interesting to the audience.

Tip 3–3:08 — Add multiple layers.

Tip 4–4:17 — Approach structure mathematically with diagrams.

Tip 5–5:54 — Start by yourself as soon as you can, grow your projects and never stop.

Tip 6–6:46 — Make a film you would want to see yourself.

Tip 7–7:13 — Learn a little bit of all aspects of filmmaking.

Tip 8–9:18 — Write about what inspires you.

Tip 9–10:12 — Have a new project ready for when you are asked what you want to do next.

Tip 10–11:14 — Take your favorite genre, bring new elements to it and turn it on its head.

Extra Tip — 12:18 — Don’t be afraid and write the most exciting, the most unexpected story you can think of.

Some sage advice including this down-to-earth one: Have a new project ready for when you are asked what you want to do next. If you have a meeting in Hollywood based on a script you’ve written, the first words out of their mouth are, “Loved it!” The second thing they say: “What else you got?”

If you don’t have another project ready to go… that will be a very short meeting.

For more Outstanding Screenplays videos, go here.

For 100s more interviews with screenwriters, filmmakers, storytellers, and industry insiders, go here.