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…

Creating The Perfect Non-Traditional Network TV Show

Scripted TV is heading into edgy mainstream territory. Indie commercial. Conservative radical. As with every industry of the day, DISRUPTION is the current industry paradigm. With a mature TV marketplace, audiences are growing tired of rehashed stories, characters and situations. They are less inclined to accept the status quo, but not quite ready to embrace the…

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…

Writing For Comics And Graphic Novels

Comic books and graphic novels have spawned a plethora of material adaptable to screenplays. Despite their similarities with screenplays, they have marked differences in story and writing conventions. The relative explosion of comic book creations is related to their low cost in relation to film and TV. Their distribution mechanism ranges from print to online media,…

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 Key Rules For Writing For TV

According to the crew at Raindance: 1) CHARACTER CAST SIZE Consider how many characters you will feature. Typically 4 or 5 with a stronger ‘lead’ character seems to work. Pick a handful of shows and check for yourself. 2) CHARACTERS IN CONFLICT Create characters that will constantly create their own conflict, even if just locked…

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…

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…

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…