Posted on October 22, 2008 in General Screenwriting | 2 Comments
The most important bit of writing advice for the beginning writer, every scene you write needs to be a situation, no exceptions. You must create interest before you can accomplish anything else, and situations create interest. The two basic ways situations emerge: circumstance and strong character need.
…Talking about drama is not the same as drama…
…The [...]
Posted on August 4, 2008 in General Screenwriting | No Comments
by Pamela Jaye Smith
What is it that lures people over to the Dark Side?
Your audience wants to find out how people and things go bad, so in your story, be sure to reveal some of how the characters become the way they are — not to excuse their behavior but to get us engaged with [...]
Posted on July 14, 2008 in General Screenwriting | No Comments
It’s an age-old question: What makes a movie a domestic box-office draw?
…There is one common denominator in movies that draw crowds and earn big bucks domestically: Motivated characters. Many of the characters have strong motivation, even some who appear in only one scene. The characters in Saw have a strong motivation to escape, or identify [...]
Posted on July 13, 2008 in Story | No Comments
by John Truby
With a good Action script you can write your own ticket. But Action is the most deceptively challenging genre in Hollywood. What may seem simple and straightforward on the movie screen actually requires careful planning and extremely creative solutions from the screenwriter.
Action films are deceptive in a number of ways. Many people think [...]
