In any pitch, the buyer wants to know two seemingly contradictory elements of your novel or screenplay: its familiarity and its originality. If you’ve written a story that bears little… read more →
Q: Can you describe some of the things writers need to think about in writing a salable story? A: Since my entire career has been built on answering this question for… read more →
The causes and effects of one’s identity are brilliantly illustrated in Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s award-winning screenplay Good Will Hunting. It’s a wonderful example of a hero living an emotionally safe existence and how he gradually finds the courage to abandon that identity to achieve real fulfillment.
Your job as a screenwriter is to create a movie in the mind of your readers. You must draw us into your story by providing a clear picture of what… read more →
Q: What is your best advice for overcoming writer’s block? A: Writer’s block grows out of fear – of never finishing, of your work not being good enough, of leaving your comfort… read more →
Back in the Dark Ages, when I was just a movie lover fresh from Oregon with Hollywood dreams, I attended Sherwood Oaks Experimental College. Until then I had given very… read more →
One of the most frequent criticisms of novel and screenplay dialogue is that it’s on the nose. Anything on the nose is too obvious – it’s dialogue where characters say… read more →
Stories are built on a foundation of desire and conflict. To create an emotionally involving and commercially successful screenplay, you must give your hero some compelling desire he or she… read more →
Q: I came across your website and read your interesting article “Movies Aren’t Novels”. Reading #10, “When it comes to writing style, a screenwriter’s goal must be to create a movie… read more →
In your romantic comedy, don’t have the hero and romance character jump into bed right away, just because you want something sexy to move the story along. They have to earn the… read more →
