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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.

Writing with a partner.

Thank you! Black Friday is a LOT. You hung in there with me. Thank you! I remember the first time taking a course on email sales, and I was like, "You want me to send how many emails?" It took me a long time to adjust and accept what they were telling me, "You are offering something you genuinely believe in. The people who enroll in a course or just read it weekly are the people who really love and appreciate what you do." So THANK YOU. I work hard on the Weekly Email. I care deeply about its...

The moment must work emotionally first.

The Black Friday Sale Starts Tomorrow! You bet I have a Black Friday sale! I started doing it a couple years ago, and it was such a hit and so much damn fun, I keep doing it. I don't offer a crazy a discount. I never thought that was fair to those have already enrolled. But I do offer a TON of free bonuses. Like, a TON, ton. And tomorrow, I’m going to send you a pretty amazing offer for Mastering Structure with a "holy cow!" amount of extra bonuses. Don’t enroll today. Wait. The offer...

Do you really have to pick a genre?

The Story and Plot Weekly Email is just the start. While the Weekly Email is designed to help your screenwriting, the Story and Plot 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 advantage of some writing...

ALIEN and the magic of sequence throughlines.

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...

When it is time to attach actors.

Garrick Dion is joining Story and Plot! I have been recommending my friend Garrick Dion as a reader for years. He has been around as long as I have, and his resume speaks for itself. Professional Screenplay Develepment. You now have two options for development I will often discourage people from hiring me to read their screenplay and consult. I am expensive, and while I am worth it, I am not always the best fit for everyone. In those cases, I would always recommend Garrick Dion. Garrick has...

Keep the writing simple.

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...

Choosing the next step when writing.

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...

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...

A weekly screenwriting lesson from a professional screenwriter of 28 years who has been teaching the subject for almost as long.