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...

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),...

Writers know it’s not easy to launch and sustain a career. The odds aren’t necessarily stacked in your favor. But what exactly are your chances of making it?  The answer might surprise you.The first thing we need to know is the size...

“Follow Your Inner Compass” Richard Tanne on ‘Chemical Hearts’ & ‘Southside With You’:“I’m one of those lifelong film geeks,” joked writer/director Richard Tanne. “I was one of those kids with a lot of creative energy, but...

Ever since Stephen King became a best-selling author in the 1970s, Hollywood has been eager to adapt his works for the big and small screen. With such a long history, not every adaptation is going to be great, but more have been terrific than one...

As a script consultant, determining the theme of a script is one of the areas I often focus on with writers. Figuring out what your story is really about is essential to the success of your piece. Without a clear central idea, the script can easily...

A white feather floats through the air, drifting high in the afternoon sky. As it drops, fluttering through clouds, “Paramount Pictures Presents” fades in with opening titles—“A Steve Tish/Wendy Finerman...

We previously discussed why symbols are used in screenwriting. In this follow-up article, Kevin Nelson discusses how to apply your knowledge of symbols to your screenplay.1) GenreGenres rely on conventional narrative elements that invite...

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...

“The idea of a star being born is bushwa. A star is created, carefully and cold-bloodily, built from nothing, from nobody. Age, beauty, talent, least of all talent, has nothing to do with it. We could make silk purses out of sows’ ears every day...

Everyone gets lost sometimes. In order to find our way back from our wanderings, we search for familiar markers, signs, or symbols to guide us where we need to go, whether in our lives or stories.So let’s not search blindly through the forest...

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a doozy for everyone, so we're excited for a fresh start in 2021! In anticipation of the new year and the Top 25 of 2021 being announced tomorrow, we're taking a look back at some of our past...

“Take Risks And Do Not Try To Replicate Others’ Styles” ROAR Manager Jay Glazer Advises Screenwriters: Jay Glazer is a manager/producer who represents creatives in film, television, & theatre. He worked at Brillstein...

There are screenwriters who make it and screenwriters who don’t. Even aspiring screenwriters who toil for years perfecting their craft aren’t guaranteed a produced credit. Assuming that most writers who have been trying to break in for...

Contained films are restrained stories that have traditionally been limited to the horror/ thriller genre. They are characterized by having few characters (often three to five, sometimes as few as one), no more than one or two main locations...

Wow! Another Pitch Panel & Pitch Challenge in the books! We were blown away by the submissions this round and it was hard to narrow down our top picks, but first...   One Important Thing Executives Look for in a Pitch:The...