It is perfectly reasonable to have a damn talky first draft. You don’t know everything about your story or your characters yet, but you’re sketching in scenes in the order and direction of the plot. So you take a shortcut and have your characters sit down and talk about what you know is important to…
Read moreA Leg Up #2
It seems like a natural fit to have a big move on page 20, which is your slingshot into Act Two. It’s not a good use of your pages, however, to spend 20 pages developing a world that your character is going to abandon. If this is your story, be extra diligent to set up…
Read morevintagegal: Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951) Readers
Read moreWhy dialogue is a last resort.
Read moreFonts
You know what the font is. Use it. It is as disorienting to read a script outside of good old Courier 12 as it is watch a Lord of the Rings movie from the very front row. I am not kidding about this. It’s not standing out, it’s causing a migraine.
Read moreHi new followers!
I love you. And just for you, according to the most recent 220 scripts I have read, photos play a giant part in revealing backstory. It’s an epidemic. First, it’s a technical nightmare. Even huge budgets can’t create a good looking set of composite old photos from scratch. Second, it’s not necessary. Work your writer…
Read moreSo You Want to Write a Spec Historical Drama
There is nothing wrong with a spec historical drama, except that it’s too expensive and unless it’s a war picture about the jaw-dropping bravery of soldiers that A-list actors can play, no one knows how to market it. There are notable exceptions that follow these rules designed to give your thirst for history impact on…
Read moreTHIS ONE OR THAT ONE #1
The time has come to introduce a shady character. Do you… Use someone else’s dialogue to explain how this shady character is shady? or… Conceive a scene in which this character behaves in a shady way that foreshadows his role in the final conflict? This one or that one?
Read moreA Leg Up
This blog is not an all-purpose screenwriting blog. It is specifically for getting your spec script through the first tiers of vetting readers in competitions. Anyone with a script and an entry fee is up for the same consideration as you are in the first round. You can game this situation for better results for…
Read morepemberley-state-of-mind: “This is about sex, this place, as well. That it’s about her discovering sensuality. The sculptures made me think that we could bring something more sensual to that, and that the house could give Elizabeth a deeper understanding of who Darcy is in terms of the culture. That she’s not just admiring Darcy’s wealth,…
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