HOW DOES TENSION WORK?

Like this. As long as its central question stays unresolved, it is tension. It’s the only thing that makes readers turn pages. Amplify these moments in your script. Set them up and draw them out. You need to build one in each scene, a bigger one for each sequence and the ultimate one that stretches…

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HOW YOUR SPEC SCRIPT IS LIKE OKCUPID

After reading this blog yesterday, a ringing indictment of the messages received by okcupid users, it occurred to me that online dating is very much like going through a pile of spec scripts. After the 500th “Hi, tell me about yourself.” message, you just check out.  If you want to get a reply to your…

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LIE YOUR WAY TO BETTER DIALOGUE

Think about when you tell the truth. The circumstances under which you wouldn’t bother to polish it up even a little bit. Think about when you lie. The reasons you lie. The person you’re lying to. You can ramp up your dialogue by finding the relative drama on a sliding scale of truth in a…

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footybedsheets: “40% of Afghanistan’s skateboarders are female.100 % of those are tough as nails. ” Source: @Skateistan Here is that awesome plot you were looking for.

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COUNT YOUR WAY TO A BETTER DRAFT

Get your notebook Watch a movie Make a hashmark for every thing that HAPPENS Open your screenplay Repeat step 3 Compare Define HAPPENS? An action that pushes the story forward. Pro tip: Look for verbs. Examples? Emily asks for a divorce Molly smashes a photo of Cal and Emily, Jessica smiles at it Hannah discovers…

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Most of what you think you are conditioned to think. Follow that money trail for revelatory story.

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Most of what you think you are conditioned to think. Follow that money trail for revelatory story.

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