ALL Guides
The Craft of Writing for Film and TV with 2-Time Oscar Nominee
A lively conversation with two time Oscar nominee Pen Densham about his experiences and the insights he's gained from working in the entertainment industry as a writer, director and producer. We also talk about the craft of writing for film and TV and take listener questions about Pen's career and about his book, Riding the Alligator: Strateg....
The Craft: A Sidenote for the TV Writer, with Max Timm
I'm taking a little break from the regular sequence to sequence episode structure here - it helps to keep things fresh and a little different, and to offer some insights on other aspects of the writing process beyond just the structural make-up. So I'll be releasing episodes called "The Sidenote" from time to time, and probably at....
The Craft: Agents & Managers
I'm back! It's been far too long since I released a solo podcast, but I'm excited to bring The Craft back. I hope you enjoy these episodes as much as I enjoy recording them. My plan is to release short, quick, and easy to listen to recordings on topics that I feel all writers should know, but also based on questions I get all the time.
This episod....
The Craft: Hook, Emotion, & Why You Write
Let’s get back to some very basic elements of story since the past few chapters have been a little head-spinning, deep, and oddly esoteric. Whether you’re writing a pilot, a feature, an epic fantasy novel or a small YA title with some juicy romance, or even if you’re sitting around a campfire enjoying the last few days of warm wea....
The Craft: How and Why a Pitch Works
Unique and fresh. Let's dig in to why those two words are so important where a pitch is concerned. First, you all know what a logline is, yeah? I assume so, but if you don't, you're in the right place. A logline is basically a written form of a pitch. It's a way for a producer to read a short and quick version of your project's summary within one s....
The Craft: Knowing Your Budget
As part of Max Timm's ongoing solo podcast, The Craft, this week's recording is all about being the authority over your work, and that includes being knowledgeable about how much your script might cost, why, and how.Here is a little snippet from the podcast:"The best answer to this question is pretty simple, though. Do your research. That is b....
The Craft: Reverse Engineer - Script To Book Adaptation
Hi everyone, and welcome back to another episode of The Craft. It's an interesting episode since I'm technically going beyond my initial plan for this podcast. When I first launched this thing, I had the idea to talk about the 12 sequences in a screenplay, but it's kind of grown into something a little bigger...so now I have the fun yet....
The Craft: Sequence 1, We Need A Hero, with Max Timm
Hello! Max Timm here, from the ISA. Most of you know me from the Curious About Screenwriting podcasts that I host for the International Screenwriters' Association. As you can tell from the name of this little podcast series, I am launching my first solo podcast mission. While I usually bring on a writer, producer, executive, or some kind of ent....
The Craft: Sequence 2, Setting It All Up, with Max Timm
Sequence 2, the Set-Up Event. The Set-Up is kind of like the first impression on a date. It all hinges on how you present yourself right out of the gates. If I were to start babbling on about witchcraft and black magic on a first date, I would assume the girl would probably motion for the waiter to bring the check. But let's think about th....
The Craft: Sequence 3, The Unsung Hero, with Max Timm
Today's topic - sequence three - is a big one. It marks the end of your first act, propels the reader on the journey and gets the main character prepped for the 2nd Act...and most importantly introduces the secondary character, or as I sometimes refer to as the Dynamic Character. The sidekick. The mentor. The best friend. The guy behind the guy....
The Craft: Sequence 4, The Promise of the Premise, with Max Timm
Proving the promise of your premise - fun and games - trials and tests: Imagine that I'm planning a trip. I'm headed to a place like London, or Paris, or Edinburgh (all places that I would love to visit, by the way). I select the dates, I pack accordingly, I have a hotel reserved, the flight is taken care of. The usual stuff we do when....
The Craft: Sequence 5, Success, Failure & the Villain, with Max Timm
So you're rumbling along on a road trip with your girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, whatever. Let's just set that stage for a second. You've been on the road for a few hours. The high and excitement of hitting the open road has kind of dwindled, though there is still some eagerness there...but you're starting to get annoyed by your gir....
The Craft: Sequence 6, The Mid-Point Complication, with Max Timm
Here's the perfect way to summarize the mid-point of any story. "Shit just got real". And really, I could just stop the episode there because if you break down the meaning of "shit just got real" and apply it to the moment in your story where it does, officially, get real for the main character, then you've found your mi....
