Story and Plot Screenwriting
A weekly screenwriting lesson from a professional screenwriter of 29 years who has been teaching the subject for almost as long.
How to know the ending of your screenplay.
Brought to you by Story and Plot Pro. How to know your ending. We started a new Writers Lab this week. A member is working on a new story and the process we went through for her to decide the resolution is a great example of how we put story first and let it dictate our decisions. Now, as always, when I share details of a member's story, for privacy reasons, the details only represent their story. They do not accurately describe it. So let's say this story is about a woman whose husband goes...
How I approach a general meeting.
Brought to you by Story and Plot Pro. How I approach a general meeting. Last week, I came across an email I sent my agents three years ago about a general meeting I had and how much I enjoyed the two people I met that day. My heart kind of sank. Why? Because I have no recollection of that meeting whatsoever. No idea who those people are. Am I getting senile? No. It was simply one more general meeting where I was in the door and out, and I never thought about it again. This is a terrible waste...
Simplify to reduce friction in your writing.
Brought to you by Story and Plot Pro. Simplify the writing and decrease the friction. This week in the Story and Plot Pro community, we broke down the structure of the 2006 thriller FLIGHTPLAN, which relies on an overly complicated master plan from the antagonists. We tend to focus on story structure in these breakdowns (this is a community-wide thing we do inside Pro – it’s fun and very helpful), but there was no joy in finally realizing what the mysterious plan was – and that’s a big reason...
Sometimes your protagonist does need to be likable.
Brought to you by Story and Plot Pro. Sometimes your protagonist does need to be likable. I have been really struggling with Act 1 on my new project. It's an assignment. I don't think I would have written this as a spec for the very reasons this Act 1 has been so challenging. I have written about this many times: More challenging projects need to have corresponding higher payoffs. I want the risk-reward to fit. That is, if it's going to be very hard to write and pull off well, I want either...
The three reasons why anyone reads your screenplay.
Brought to you by Story and Plot Pro. The three reasons anyone reads your screenplay. The movie business has been a bit lethargic the last couple of years. A pessimism has crept in, and it's affected nearly every little corner of the industry. The good news is that there are growing signs that things are changing. This year's box office has got people excited. Companies have adjusted a bit from the strike and the shrinking of the TV business. It will be some time before we're back to where we...
A weekly screenwriting lesson from a professional screenwriter of 29 years who has been teaching the subject for almost as long.