Midpoints are a fork in the road. One path offers a false solution, one path offers a true solution. Has your protag grown enough to make a different decision here than he would have made at the beginning? For some awesome, less nutshelly thoughts on midpoints, check out this link. [x]
Read moreWRITING WITHOUT A BEAT SHEET
When you get a great idea and start without developing the bones of the story, you will probably get about thirty pages in before the wheels come off. Which is fine. You can put down your pages and do your outline then. But you still need one, because screenplays are incredibly intricate. Every scene you…
Read moreTHE BIGGER PLAN
There are characters you can’t bear to hurt when they start to wimp out on their destiny and sell you the idea that maybe they can skate a little. The plan is bigger than they are. I ruined a really good script and missed the cut at NIcholls by a hair because my protag got…
Read moreCAN MY PROTAG BE PASSIVE IF THE POINT IS THAT HE’S A PASSIVE GUY?
GIANT BLOCKS OF TEXT ON PAGE ONE
“WE SEE”
Some people hate it, including me, and some people could care less. BUT NOBODY LIKES IT. “We see” is weak because it’s a given. Of course we see it. What’s our other choice? “We see Kate on her knees in the flowerbed.” is ten times less interesting to read than “Kate yanks weeds like an…
Read moreA Cautionary Tale: 3 Writing Rules that Can Derail Your Story
A Cautionary Tale: 3 Writing Rules that Can Derail Your Story kent-dufault: Last year I had occasion to read a batch of ten page manuscript submissions in a hurry, one right after the other. What I noticed was startling in its consistency. All of the writers had clearly sp… This is well worth your reading…
Read moreHOW LONG SHOULD A SPEC BE?
Ideal competition length is no more than 99 pages. If your story starts fast and reads fast and you NEED them, 115 is fine. How can you tell if you need 115 pages? I’ll give you $1,000 for every word you can cut by tomorrow.
Read moreGRATUITOUS RACISM/SEXISM/HOMOPHOBIA IN YOUR SCRIPT
IS YOUR PROTAG A DOUCHE?
Shit hot protags are unsympathetic and very boring. You may have idealized your protag if: He has a quippy comeback for everything. He comes out on top in every confrontation. His game is solid gold. He has First World Problems. But cocky doucheness is very popular in heroes! Women go crazy for them. Men want…
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