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.
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...
The what and when of screenplay coverage.
The Weekly Email is brought to you by the Story and Plot Courses. If you have found the Weekly Email helpful, you will find the courses and one-on-one coaching absolutely transformational. Here is my personalized recommendation for [COPY_NAME GOES HERE]: You're in Pro! Make sure you join us for a writing sprint this week! The what and when of screenplay coverage. It is tempting to give screenplay coverage more validity than it deserves. After all, someone read your script and wrote their...
Quit fiddling with what's working.
Thank you for being a part of Story and Plot Pro. We have TWO office hours this week. We have one Wednesday night and one Thursday afternoon. RSVP for at least one. Come join us. This is part Office Hours and part State of the Community, and what we can do to make the most of it. Now, this week's email: Quit fiddling with what's working. One of the primary things we do inside the Writers Lab of Story and Plot Pro is develop detailed, professional-level outlines before we go to treatments and...
A weekly screenwriting lesson from a professional screenwriter of 29 years who has been teaching the subject for almost as long.