Story and Plot Screenwriting
A weekly screenwriting lesson from a professional screenwriter of 28 years who has been teaching the subject for almost as long.
Always find the truth of the moment.
If you like The Story and Plot Weekly Email... You will LOVE the Story and Plot courses. While the Weekly Email is designed to help your screenwriting, the courses are designed to transform it. Here is a personal recommendation for [COPY_NAME GOES HERE]: Thanks for being a member of Story and Plot Pro. I'm here to support you. Jump into the community, or email me and let me know what you need help with. I love those coaching in public videos! I want more of 'em! And make sure you take...
The quick pitch (to yourself)
This week's email is brought to you by the Story and Plot flagship course: Mastering Structure. The quick pitch (to yourself) The quick pitch is something I perform in the outline phase of a new project. I learned to do this early on because I often found myself settling on story points. For example, if I could point to something that could be called a midpoint, that would be enough for me. I wouldn’t necessarily push myself to have a GREAT midpoint. And I would always pay the price later, in...
Scene work: One moment generates the next.
This week's email is brought to you by the Story and Plot flagship course: Mastering Structure. Scene work: One moment generates the next. The best screenwriting class I ever took was Jose Quintero’s acting class at the University of Houston. Quintero was a titan of American Theatre. A Tony-winning director, largely credited with bringing Eugene O’Neill back to Broadway, he was also co-founder of the Circle in the Square Theatre. This is in addition to the spring, when I had Edward Albee...
Does your screenplay need a promise?
If you like The Story and Plot Weekly Email... You will LOVE the Story and Plot courses. While the Weekly Email is designed to help your screenwriting, the courses are designed to transform it. Here is a personal recommendation for [COPY_NAME GOES HERE]: Does your screenplay need a promise? I have a general guideline within a relationship structure that the audience should see the true potential of the relationship sometime before the midpoint. Maybe during the midpoint at the latest. The...
How do you want the audience to feel at the end?
Live Workshop this Wednesday! One last reminder about the "Rewriting The Scene" Symposium in collaboration with Pipeline Artist this Wednesday evening. On Zoom | 7 pm EDT / 4 pm PDT | $35 Learn more here. How do you want the audience to feel at the end? “Begin with the end in mind” is the second of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I’ve discussed this approach before from a business standpoint, and knowing what would define success for your project before you start. This week,...
The “right” script vs the phenomenal script.
If you like The Story and Plot Weekly Email... You will LOVE the Story and Plot courses. While the Weekly Email is designed to help your screenwriting, the courses are designed to transform it. Here is a personal recommendation for [COPY_NAME GOES HERE]: Thanks for being a member of Story and Plot Pro. I'm here to support you. Jump into the community, or email me and let me know what you need help with. I love those coaching in public videos! I want more of 'em! And make sure you take...
Yes, your page count matters.
The "Rewriting The Scene" Symposium is in Two Weeks. I am collaborating with our friends at Pipeline Artists again for another live symposium on September 17th, 2025. This online session is focused on "Rewriting The Scene." This presentation will cover: The purpose of the scene. Who wants what? Point-of-view. Emotion and tactics. The game. The ultimate litmus test. Checklist for every scene Over 200 people attended our last one, and I think this session will offer even more immediately...
How changes can affect narrative momentum.
To read online click here. How changes can affect narrative momentum. This week is some real inside baseball stuff on screenwriting. I am going to dive into a challenge I encountered and the solution I came up with. That said, the real lesson here is not so much the solution, but the challenge, and how it needs more attention than most give it. It is the challenge of narrative momentum from scene to scene. There are two primary ways to keep narrative momentum going. A dramatic question. This...
The three wants of a character.
To read online click here. Story and Plot Pro Hey, [COPY_NAME GOES HERE]! There are three spots remaining for the August live sessions of Story and Plot Pro. One spot remains for Tuesday nights. Two spots left for Saturday afternoons. The processes within Story and Plot Pro have given me the single most significant jump-start to my productivity in 20 years. Seriously. They have absolutely shifted the creative direction of my year and I couldn't be happier about it. You are fully eligible for...
What is the audience rooting for?
To read this online click HERE. What is the audience rooting for? A member of the Story and Plot Pro community was stuck this week on choosing a midpoint for their story. They had two ideas, one a victory and the other a defeat. It's a story of a woman who leaves her old life, hoping for something more satisfying. The two possible midpoints were: A victory, where she really falls in love with her new life. A defeat, where her old life invades her new life, and she swears she will never go...
A weekly screenwriting lesson from a professional screenwriter of 28 years who has been teaching the subject for almost as long.