How To Come Up With Catchy Screenplay Ideas

You think you have writers block? Creative juices running as slow as molasses? Do you have a million concepts floating around in your head but no real story? Welcome to Brainstorming 101 for screenwriters. Your screenwriting is not doomed. Here are some steps you can take to harness your creative energy: 1) Create a table…

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…

How Should Your Story End?

Barri Evans discusses the importance of an appropriately crafted ending to your story. The last scene of a movie should stay in your mind. The final moment, the final exchange, should be thought of as the last note of a song. Some of the great scripts/movies actually build to a final scene that takes your…

Writing Tighter Screenplays

Jeanne Veilette Bowerman from Script Magazine gives some advice on writing better screenplays. TAKE THE RISK If you ever get the opportunity to learn from someone with more experience than you, do not hesitate. Do whatever it takes to make it happen, even traveling the globe. It is better than any screenwriting course you’ll take. No…

Personal Aspects Of Pitching

Jacob Krueger, writer for Script Magazine discuss the planning and purpose of pitch meetings, rather than actual mechanics. 1) TARGET THE RIGHT PRODUCERS  It’s astounding how many writers disregard this vital principal. In fact, Hollywood is clogged with half-baked pitches, flung haphazardly and repeatedly at any producer willing to listen, without any thought about what…

Why Backstory Is Critical To Your Screenplay

Ernest Hemingway is famously quoted as saying “people are like icebergs: only 10% is visible; 90% lies under the water”. It is essential that you know the most important and darkest aspects of your characters before you write them. Backstory is defined as everything that shapes your characters up to the point your story begins….

Establish Healthy Writing Patterns

Jenna Avery from Script Magazine offers some new approaches to managing your writing sessions. 1) USE A TIMER FOR YOUR WRITING SESSIONS If you’re working on a script, setting a time goal for writing, whether that’s brainstorming, editing, outlining, or writing new words, makes it much easier to be and feel successful. When the timer…

Why You Should Stop Writing Even When You’re In The Flow

Jenna Avery from Script Magazine expounds on the importance of goal setting and being kind to yourself when you achieve those goals. She delves into the psychology of productivity via task and reward. One of the biggest myths about writing is that we should keep going when we get in the flow or on a…

Creating Dynamic Dialogue

Pilar Alessandra, script consultant, gives a few tips on removing the flatness from your dialogue. COME IN LATE, LEAVE EARLY Begin on a conflict and end on a question, cliffhanger or strong out line. REDUCE MONOLOGUES Screenwriting isn’t speech writing. Can you cut down your dialogue to one line that encapsulates its meaning? PLAY VERBAL…

Nine Elements Of Great Films

According to John Truby: 1) They tend to have strong single through line – with one overriding problem or goal for the hero – to give the story drive, momentum, and a sense of priorities, or in the extreme, a sense of the first cause. 2) They occasionally digress from that strong line to allow…

Deep Structure Of Hollywood Movies

John Truby discusses various secrets of blockbuster movies. Writing for Hollywood requires more than a good premise and strong storytelling ability. If the buyers don’t think your script will appeal to a massive worldwide audience, they won’t buy it. DESIRE LINE One element essential to good storytelling is a strong desire line (goal). The main…