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Horror at the Oscars: On "The Substance" and Crafting Your Own Nightmare

When we think of the Oscars, we don't immediately think of horror movies. But it happens. This year, we've got The Substance with five nominations and Nosferatu with four. Alien: Romulus can claim one nomination. Academy-lauded horror films of the past include The Sixth Sense, Get Out, Misery, The Exorcist, and Best Picture-winn...
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The Relentless Road to “Back to the Future”

There’s one trait every successful screenwriter must have, and it’s not just talent. It’s not even just hard work. It’s persistence. Grit. The ability to keep pushing forward when every door slams shut in your face. I was thinking last night about how to talk to emerging screenwriters about the necessity of more than just hard w...
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The Art of Selling Without Selling Your Soul

Today is all about pitching. I worked with one of my coaching clients last week and he needed help with his pitch. It prompted me to really dive in and get into the nitty-gritty of how a pitch should be written and developed. You’ll notice that the process of developing a pitch is quite similar to the process of developing a sto...
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ISA 2024 in Review

  • January 23, 2025
As we look forward into 2025, we want to highlight some outstanding changes and achievements that occurred in the last year, both for the ISA and for our writers. By looking back at how far we've come, we can see the potential for ourselves and for the industry as a whole in the future. We are so grateful for this talented commu...
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9 Components Of The Perfect Logline (Part 2)

  • James "Doc" Mason
  • .January 16, 2025
This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series "Logline."4) Triggering EventIn the logline, a triggering event describes the change in circumstances that creates the conflict to be resolved in the climax. Some call it the inciting incident or inciting event, others call it a catalyst. Whether a specific event, or the final straw in a s...
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Showrunner Tia Napolitano Offers Tips On Getting Your Next TV Writing Job

  • Staff Writer
  • .January 9, 2025
There’s an ongoing fiery debate regarding ways newer TV writers can most effectively break into writing for television or securing their next writing job. More specifically, whether they should write a spec script for an existing TV show or an original sample.“I think an original sample is what people are looking for and have be...
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Which Screenplay Should You Write Next? (Part 1)

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series What To Write.Perhaps the most important decision any writer makes is what to write. There’s a lot to consider including the market, trends, your strengths, etc. When I started my career I had in mind to create good sci-fi material. It was what I read and loved and I couldn’t think of anyt...
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What Is A Story Hook?

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 series with some juicy romance, or even if you’re sitting around a campfire enjoying the last few days of warm...
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I Hate to Break It to You, But Your Logline Isn't Working

(Be like Hermione…study, read, practice, be smart.)I am going to vent a little bit in today’s post, but it’s because you all need to hear it. I’ll hold myself back as much as I can. Please remember that I am coming to you with love and positive intention here, I swear.Your logline sucks.OK, so maybe I didn’t hold myself back. I ...
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7 Steps to a Perfect Pitch

In previous posts I talked about theme and how you can use your protagonist’s arc to clarify what your story is about. You can also use this arc as the spine for pitching your story.Knowing how to pitch your script can be a challenge particularly deciding what’s essential information and what you can leave out. Everyone is diffe...
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Creating Effective Pitch Decks (Part 2)

This entry is part of 2 in the series Pitch Deck:QUOTES/EXCERPTS: One page.Some dialog or narrative selections to give the reader a sense of the writing style works really well especially if the dialogue is superb. Comedies especially benefit from this because funny is funny in context or isolated.If I was pitching the TV show W...
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Creating Effective Pitch Decks (Part 1)

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Pitch Deck:Pitch Decks (Pitch Documents) are one of those marketing tools that although viable have limited use for writers. But they are an important part of the total marketing package every writer should put together along with a logline and synopsis.So what are they exactly and why do ...
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The 5 Traits of Successful Writers

  • Gordy Hoffman
  • .December 27, 2023
Writers want success, but how do you define it? Is it writing enough to pay your bills? Is it writing to find an audience, regardless if you make enough money or not? Maybe you want to be famous or win an Emmy or Oscar. Any writer would probably welcome all of these things. But how does a writer attain these levels of success? W...
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The 7 Elements of a Viable Story

  • Erik Bork
  • .July 10, 2023
(REPOST) In my experience as a professional screenwriter on projects like Band of Brothers -- and in the years I've been teaching and consulting -- one thing has become abundantly clear: projects live or die mostly based on their central idea. Yes, they need to also be really well-executed, but it's the decisions writers make be...
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How To Turn Your Logline Into A Pitch

  • May 8, 2023
Many writers struggle with coming up with that perfect logline for their project - let alone writing one, and then it's time to take that and turn it into a pitch. Well, it can all become pretty intimidating rather quickly! Luckily for you, our fab guest post today is written by TV writer (Hollyoaks) Drew Hubbard - where he shar...
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How To Prepare Your Pitch

  • Bob Schultz
  • .December 19, 2022
I say “Pitching,” and writers groan. I’m no different. As a writer myself, my instinct is to say, “If I could tell you my story in 90 seconds, why would I have told it to you in 90 pages?” But pitching is a necessary evil. There are two sure-fire ways to assure your script never gets made: Don’t write it, and never tell anyone a...
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Let Your Story Lead the Way: Another Successful Season of Pitching 

The latest season of our TV Pilot Pitch Challenge, sponsored by Final Draft, has come to a successful end! Earlier this year, we set out to discover exciting new TV concepts and the unique writers behind them to showcase to our panel of industry pros at the Pitch Panel. Our three winners and two current Fast Track Fellows, Emma ...
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Marketability

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 confusing? I’ll try to clarify…Marketability (or commerciality) is a term used to describe a...
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How to Write a Logline Producers Won’t Pass On

  • AJ Unitas
  • .October 10, 2022
How to Write a Logline Producers Won’t Pass On [with Logline Examples]:Before a screenplay is crafted by underpaid writers, it starts as a logline. At any stage of a production, a logline is a tool used to sell your idea. Since movie loglines are so short, it’s easy to write out twenty in under twenty minutes. Writing one that s...
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“We Prefer Stories Relatable To Our World Today”

  • Janet Jeffries
  • .July 28, 2022
“We Prefer Stories Relatable To Our World Today” Says Lawrence Bender Productions Creative Executive, Janet Jeffries:Janet Jeffries is a Development and Production executive working in both features and television for Lawrence Bender Productions / Bender Brown TV Productions. Recent films include Greta directed by Neil Jordan an...

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