The Art Of Writing Better Scene Description To Really Rock Your Screenwriting

Film making is a visual medium. Screenwriters are always told that less dialogue is more. Does this axiom also apply to scene description too? Well… kinda sorta… Dialog constitutes the primary colors of your film or TV script. The scene description is the shading. It is more than simply describing physical action. It needs to…

Levels Of Character Arc To Improve Your Screenwriting

How can screenwriters elevate their characters? Most movies are about the positive transformation of your main character from a lower egocentric self to an elevated spiritual state. There are a number of such states ranging from the conscious to the unconscious common in screenwriting. The more types of changes your main character experiences during the course of their…

Are You The Kind Of Screenplay Reader Screenwriters Love (or Hate)?

There are script notes and there are script notes in the screenwriting world. The same goes for the people that write them. Few appreciate the difficulty of deep story analysis. Screenplays contain elements of mythology, sociology and anthropology. They help define what makes us human. What kind of script reader are you? When a story is…

Inter Connecting Your Characters

Nothing exists in a vacuum in the universe. Everything is inter connected with each other. Everything is inter dependent. If not, the universe expels it. This mantra also applies to efficient storytelling. Every story element (characters, plot, dialogue and action) should bear some relationship to the main story narrative. Each element must either be a cause or…

10 Super Scary Steps To Writing A Horror Screenplay

A  horror movie has certain rules. If you break too many the audience will be disappointed according to Henrik Holmberg. Here is a template that any horror screenwriter can use. 1) THE HOOK Start with a bang. Step right into a suspense scene. “Scream” opens with a terrifying sequence with Drew Barrymore on the phone…

Why Do Some Screenplays End Up On The Pass Pile?

Why Isn’t Your Screenplay In The Recommend Stack? 1) THE STORY IS TOO WORTHY Just because you’re covering sensitive, timely, important material, you still need to worry about  the dramatic elements of your script. Audiences don’t like being preached to. Let them discover the message on their own. 2) PASSIVE PROTAGONIST The main character just hangs…

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…

Types Of Change In Your Screenplay

In the global scheme of the universe, life is based on a transference of energy. Storytelling, which seeks to explain life, is about change. Nothing is ever stagnant, even if the rate of change is slow. A change can be of state, attitude, belief, physicality or situation. Main characters typically undergo internal and external changes;…

Writing The Super Spec Movie Script

Screenplays that get made often contain three key elements: a strong concept and hook, bankable cast and an appropriate budget. As a screenwriter, you only have control over the first element. A strong concept that is easily pitched will take your script higher up the pile. A good concept will eclipse technical issues with your script…

Types Of Antagonism

Robert McKee describes antagonist’s actions on a continuum ranging from positive to negative outcome. The four values below describe the degree of action an antagonist must take to create the most compelling and emotionally satisfying protagonist. POSITIVE This refers to what the main character ultimately desires, both internally and externally. These outcomes include love, justice,…

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…