How To Outline A Short Story [Template Included]:When most people decide to write a short story, they usually assume that it’s going to be duck soup.They just grab a pen and paper or their laptop and get straight to it. No outline. No...

A script can have wonderful characters, a terrific plot, great scenes, amazing dialogue and perfect structure, but if there is no theme your script will always feel like “something’s missing”. But what...

From academics in film school to producers in Hollywood, ‘Theme’ is a term that gets tossed around a great deal.I’ve heard it used as a label for any myriad of aspects within the narrative structure; anything from plot structure,...

I had an interesting experience while binge-watching the first two seasons of the beautifully acted and tonally flawless British television series Broadchurch. In an attempt to keep this article spoiler-free, I will simply say that the program,...

I love the film Die Hard. A New York cop’s visit to reconcile with his wife in L.A. is interrupted by a terrorist attack in her company’s building. John McClane, the cop, becomes a one-man wrecking crew in order to save his...

“Be Savvy, But Follow Your Heart” Filmmaker Phil Volken’s Ode To Screenwriters:We spoke to filmmaker (don’t call him a writer-director) about screenplays and what attracts him to a project. If you don’t find a project...

The Neuroscience of Writers Block: Why Your Goals Are Hormonally Causing You To FailEver wished your desire to write was as intense and persistent as a heroin addicts desire to get high??Goal setting is one of the most simple yet effective tools to...

“Unboxed Creatix” Beth Lapides Encourages Writers To Follow Their True Selves Despite The Setbacks:Beth Lapides is a hallmark on the female comedy scene. She has graced our screens and stages as she continues to entertain audience across...

Welcome to the second piece of the pitching pie-that’s-not-in-the-sky.“But I’m still working on the first piece,” you sputter, spraying crumbs.“That’s fine,” I reply, my transparent face-shield in...

This begins a two-part series on various ways you can improve your hitting percentage with pitches. This is not going to be about self-promotion, which is always useful, or how to network successfully within the industry, which may be...

Manager Andrew Kersey’s Advice To Screenwriters: “Develop Your Craft. Develop Your Voice And Your Time Will Come.” Andrew Kersey, who represents screenwriters, shares his insights into how screenwriters should deal with...

It seems like movie villains are a dying art. Most mainstream movies are more interested in spectacle and likable leads than giving us an antagonist we can fear. But in so doing they tend to forget a cardinal rule of storytelling: Your hero is...

Save the Cat practitioners will be familiar with the phrase “the promise of the premise.” Blake Snyder used it to describe the screenplay beat he called “Fun and Games,” in which the crux of the action offered within the...

Since its inception over twenty years ago, the methodology of Blake Synder’s Save the Cat has been as synonymous with storytelling as Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and Syd Field’s Paradigm Worksheet.Many...

The importance of the superhero in today’s cinema is undeniable. Marvel’s movies in particular have been praised for the way they’ve taken comic book characters most cinemagoers hadn’t heard of just ten years ago and built...

Literary Manager John Zaozirny On How Screenwriters Can Build A Viable Screenwriting Career “Take Notes”:We spoke with John Zaozirny, a manager at Bellevue Productions about how screenwriters can attract attention in the business.What...

Diane Drake is one of just four female screenwriters with sole credit who have earned $1 million or more for their screenplays in the United States.Her first produced script, Only You, sold for $1 million and starred Robert Downey, Jr. and...

When I work with writers or evaluate pieces for the Sundance Lab, FIND and Screen Queensland one of the questions I often ask myself is, “What does it all mean?” A lot of the time once I’ve finished a script I can’t answer...

It is a common narrative archetype found in all forms of story, from ancient to modern: a hero journeys to a foreign land, wins the love of a princess by performing certain deeds, and through this romantic union becomes the land’s future...

The true gatekeepers of Hollywood are the script readers. They are the people who read script after script for a living, looking for the next great film – or at least ones that are saleable.They understand the importance of story flow and the...