Choosing Your Next Screenplay

Scriptwriters should always be working on multiple screenwriting ideas. Hopefully not all at once. You’d be amazed at how you can come  up with story ideas for one screenplay while working on another. This is the beauty of being a screenwriter. Having many projects in development. At some point we need to decide which screenplay…

How To Determine WGA Screenwriting Credits

Are you a screenwriter unsure how the WGA screenwriting credit system works? Screenwriting credits for theatrical motion pictures are designed by the WGA to give screenwriters due credit for their work. It may sound simple, but a lot of time (and often argument) goes into completing the term “written by”. Writing credits, in the presence of…

When Is It Time To Pass On A Screenplay?

A PASS grade on a screenplay is not like a pass grade in school. Screenwriters want a RECOMMEND. Or at least a CONSIDER. 1) YOU CAN’T FIGURE OUT THE TYPE OF STORY IT IS Oftentimes these appear as a series of loosely connected scenes or ideas without a clear through line. The genre, tone, premise…

Writing For Video Games

Do video games need writers as well as programmers? Traditionally, video games have been a linear experience based on skill and entertainment rather than storytelling. They are  firmly steeped in the realm of fantasy and were once a simple matter of killing gremlins or shooting things before they killed you. Video games are becoming increasingly more…

Story Templates

According to Pilar Alessandra, most successful stories have for key building blocks. We generally call them plot points, act breaks or story beats. They tend to fall in these major categories. Act 1 Trauma – This sets the stage until the point where an event disrupts the character’s world forcing them to act. Act 2A…

Why You Should Write Your Antagonist Before Your Protagonist

Most screenwriters construct their stories from the protagonist’s (hero) point of view, and consequently write them first. Villains (antagonists) represent evil, while your hero represents goodness in screenwriting. Your audience will sympathise with your protagonist to a greater extent if they have an equally (or more) powerful antagonist to battle. This represents the darkness and…

The Types Of Fear In Horror Films

Fear is a negative emotional response precipitated by an actual or perceived danger.  It often manifests as anxiety or an  increased awareness of harm. It is an primal survival mechanism designed to remove us from an imminent threat.  On a deeper level, it helps us tackle the negative situations we experience in life. It is…

The Dual Protagonists

There is a long held mantra of screenwriting that there can only be one protagonist in each story. It is the character that undergoes the most change.  By definition, the protagonist should occupy the most screen time. More recently, such character structure is becoming skewed to allow for dual protagonists. That is, two characters, occupying…

The 10 Screenwriting Sales Commandments

From the Gospel of Marvin Acuna. 1) THOU SHALT SMILE AND BE PASSIONATE  Sales is a transference of energy. So if you are passionate and believe in your material, then your passion will be contagious. But if your pitch is a snoozer, then don’t expect Hollywood Professionals to embrace your material. And remember to smile. 2) THOU SHALT…

The Changing TV Business

If there was ever a TVmageddon in the works, this is it. What was, is no longer. What will be, unfolds. What is destroyed will be rebuilt.  Nothing is permanent. Everything is fluid. What does this mean for TV writers? Decades ago, in a time far far away, there were three or four terrestrial networks…

Secrets Of Writing Better Scenes

Bill Martel discusses ways to improve your scenes. Scenes are the the building blocks of screenplays. Each one functions as a self contained dramatic unit and should contain a beginning, middle and an end. Feature films usually have between 50 and 60 scenes, which averages to just under two pages per scene. Make sure all your…

Why We Love Evil Characters In Film

WHAT ARE EVIL CHARACTERS? Many iconic film & TV screen characters such as The Godfather, Scarface, Hannibal Lector, Tony Soprano and Walter White are not simply bad, mischievous, or distasteful. They are evil. Pure evil. They are the dark lords we’ve always been taught to avoid. Just before their demise they are selfish, destructive and will annihilate…