Types Of Inciting Incidents

Inciting incidents set the trajectory of a story. They are major events in the main character’s life which forces them to action. Such a moment generally comes at around page 12 of a traditional length screenplay. It consists of a big new problem, challenge, or conflict, which the main character will have to spend the…

Phrases To Kill A Pitch Meeting

Stephanie Palmer, author of  “Good In A Room” gives some pointers on separating the professionals from the amateurs in a pitching environment. 1) HIGH CONCEPT  If your idea is high concept, it’s obvious. If it’s not, saying it it won’t help. 2) WE’VE HAD A LOT OF INTEREST  To a decision-maker, this is code for,…

Types Of TV Procedurals

Procedurals are defined as television shows where main characters follow a preset path or procedure to attain a goal such as solving a crime or treating a patient. They generally fall into the crime/mystery/ thriller and hospital genres. They have been a staple of television for decades. Audiences love them because they enjoy solving problems,…

Intuitive Screenwriting

Anne Norda has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to harnessing your creativity. One of her exercises is to break routine. During her classes she makes all her students write their first drafts in a notebook. The theory being that once we are unshackled from our computers with its perfect font and page layout,…

Questions To Create Character Backstory

Anita Riggio asks how much about your characters do you really know? Small details might seem superfluous even irrelevant to the story you intend to write, but the smallest detail informs the bigger picture. The more you know about your characters, the better you’ll create believable characters who live and breathe on the page and…

Ten Commandments Of Microbudget Screenwriting

Screenwriter, Paul Peditto has neatly summarized the makings of the perfect micro budget film. “The ideal low-budget movie is set in the present. few shots, lots of interiors, a couple of speaking actors (unknowns), no major optical effects, no horses to feed. bunch of not-in-the-guild teens running around an old house with a dude in…

Types of Monster Movies

Emmy award winning writer Sandy Frank claims the Monster story is one of the favorite types of Myth Archetype: the main character goes through an Outer Story, and that Outer Story symbolizes an Inner Story of emotional change. Monster stories have been popular for centuries. Initially, a monster of some kind menaces the hero and…

The Ticking Time Bomb

Daniel Manus, script consultant of No Bullscript (you read that correctly) expands on this plot device to create tension, excitement, pace and interest in your story. No matter the genre, using the device of a time clock in your story – a deadline, a ticking clock, a moment that must be met, etc – is…

Five Tools To Make An Impact In The Film Industry

Nat Mundel, CEO of Voyage Media lists several tools screenwriters can use to amplify their impact on the film industry. STRATEGY You have to start with your dream. And a great way to ensure that you’re truly passionate about your dream is to write it down and then multiply it times 100 – that’s your…

Writing Effective Loglines

Here is more advice by Christopher Lockhart, Story Analyst at William Morris Endeavor Agency. It’s a lengthy article packed with useful information on constructing loglines, so take the time to read it thoroughly. A common tool utilized by both writers and executives is the LOGLINE. A logline conveys the dramatic story of a screenplay in…

The Virgin Versus The Hero

Kim Hudson has developed a story structure that is an alternative to the Hero’s journey in her book, The Virgin’s Promise: Writing Stories of Feminine Creative, Spiritual and Sexual Awakening. In the interior world of a character there are two drives: one away from fear (the Hero) and the other towards pleasure (the Virgin). These…

Adapting Stories in The Australian Film Market

Here is an article by Sam Dallas from Independent Film maker Magazine. While adaptations are popular in Hollywood – with franchises such as Harry Potter and The Twilight Saga constantly taking huge box office dollars – they aren’t so common in Australia. According to Matthew Hancock’s Mitigating Risk research paper (published in 2010 through AFTRS’…