James Napoli discusses what to do – and what not do to – when setting scenes in your screenplay.EXT. STREET – DAYA car is parked at the curb. Inside, a group of screenwriters wait at the corner of nothing and nowhere, failing to...

Will your script be another Hollywood casualty or does it have a chance at life beyond the page?The screenplay is not a completed work even after the writer types the final “FADE OUT.” For the writer’s vision to be fully realized,...

Art Holcomb's tips for successful collaboration with a writing partner.What do these people have in common?Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The Farrelly Brothers. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Joel and Ethan Coen.All are...

Literary Manager and producer Alexander Robb from Insignia Entertainment discusses the convoluted path of screenwriters getting a manager.I’m gonna take this from another angle. Some folks out there have a misconception of Hollywood as a...

Carla Iacovetti explores the importance of good characterization, and discusses the issue with award-winning scriptwriter Glenn Benest.“Structure is very important to a story, but you’re really missing the boat if you think structure is...

Come on. Screenwriters aren’t always as motivated and focused on their screenplays as they should be. Although it’s fine to take an occasional leave of absence from your keyboard, Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s Katie Porter...

How Art Holcomb's process can make your writing more efficient.'I do think the challenge, in a way for me, is to write a narrative film and when you finish watching it you feel like it’s a collage. You tell the narrative, you tell...

From the Over Describer to the Compulsive Recapper: Eight Screenwriting Screw-ups to Avoid:Many of the most common mistakes found in screenplays are also easy to rectify. So if you are working on a screenplay of your own, make sure that you do not...

Why are some writers able to achieve careers while most aren’t?After three decades of research into what separates those who are able to achieve creative success from those who aren’t, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck believes the...

So what’s this thing called marketability and do I need to worry about it as I write?As a script consultant this is a question I’ve been asked by writers many times and it’s a good one. The answer is yes, and um, well, no. How’s that for...

Screenwriting guru Michael Hauge on the balancing act all commercial screenwriters must perform.Films follow patterns. TV shows have arcs. Narratives have structure. No matter the medium, stories seem to repeat the same beats, framework and through...

How fairy tale morality leads to a near-universal rule of screenwriting.“I can’t beat him… I’ve been out there walking around, thinking. I mean, who am I kidding? I’m not even in the guy’s league.” –...

The students who enter my screenwriting classroom at Portland State University bring with them considerable language habits. Some write well, some not so well, but all of them have been taught the principles of “good writing.” It’s a shock,...

When asked what my guilty pleasure is in movies, I often respond that I like Galaxy Quest. In my mind, it does a lot of things right, and we screenwriters can learn a thing or two from this fun film.A strong and creative conceptWhat if has-been...

In the dramatic arts, Thespis of Icaria was the first known person to embody a character from a written play before a crowd, thus introducing the protagonist to the world.The protagonist is the main character of the story. They are the central...

We're only in the second week of the new year and we're already so impressed by what our community of writers has been able to accomplish. If you're looking for success in 2021, don't be discouraged. The below writers didn't find success overnight....

Screenplays are our babies and criticism can feel like you're being told your newborn is ugly. Well... maybe it isAlright, so we are still deep into the quarantine I am unshaven, unshowered, living in my boxers and writing my tail off. Suffice it to...

Voice-over gets a bad rap. To the point of being derided as kryptonite to your screenplay. Use it at your own risk!One of the most exhausted pieces of advice to be spread in Intro to Screenwriting classes everywhere is to never, ever use...

Cheers to 2021! A new year means new opportunities :) We are so excited to see where this new year takes the ISA Community and what amazing things together we will accomplish. Even though 2020 was a challenging year (that's an understatement),...

ISA's Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2021 list has only been live for 72 hours and wow, are we BLOWN away by the responses and industry requests coming our way! Here are a few exciting things that have happened just over the weekend alone: A...