If you follow the advice of screenwriting guru Robert McKee, almost anything can be made into a great story — even, say, Slashdot, the site run by Rob Malda (aka CmdrTaco). 1. Create a protagonist. CmdrTaco lives on Netopia, where his people, an enslaved race called the Bots, are forced to feed information into the Read MoreRead More
by Jennifer van Sijll The Case of The Sixth Sense One has to wonder what Freud would have said, seated in a modern day Cineplex while watching the final credits of M. Night Shyamalan’s extraordinary film, The Sixth Sense. It’s hard to imagine a greater homage to Freud’s concept of the unconscious than its deft Read MoreRead More
Of all the great articles on the Wordplay site this one by Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott is my favorite. It gives great insight into building momentum into your story. Reversals, exposition, and creating a compelling world. …It hit me in the middle of watching the network premier of SCHINDLER’S LIST on NBC… when I Read MoreRead More
Here you’ll find twenty plots discussed and analyzed –plots that recur through all fiction, no matter what the genre. You’ll learn how a successful plot integrates all elements of a story, and how to use these plots effectively in your own work. But, as Ronald B. Tobias says, “Plot isn’t an accessory that conveniently organizes Read MoreRead More
by Michael Hauge Selling a screenplay or a novel is simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. First: write a great story. Then: get lots and lots of people to read it. You can have the greatest, most commercial, most brilliantly written screenplay or manuscript since The Godfather, but if you don’t get dozens of Read MoreRead More
by David Trottier There has been a lot of talk lately about the new spec formatting style. Throughout the 1990s, there has been a movement toward ‘lean and clean’ screenwriting: Shorter screenplays, shorter paragraphs, shorter speeches, more white space and the omission of technical instructions. It should come as no surprise that this gradual evolution Read MoreRead More
Here’s a checklist similar to what many studio readers use when assessing the quality of your screenplay. Does your script pass the test? …We all scoff at the idea of rules, knowing quite correctly that great art — even great commercial art — often enjoys its success precisely for the reason of breaking the rules. Read MoreRead More
by Jeffrey Schechter Q: Our reader Sara asks: As a new writer trying to get a handle on what is SEEN ONLY, I find getting my character’s feelings and objectives across … challenging. How much latitude can be taken in such descriptions? What about adjectives and adverbs? I realize one shouldn’t use ‘Kelly’s playful entrance Read MoreRead More
by David Trottier Q: A Reader’s Script Formatting Question: How does a writer denote in a spec screenplay the fact that a character has a double identity and is known to individual characters under two separate identities? Example: a character is known as ‘BILL’ to one set of characters, but ‘JIM’ to another — do Read MoreRead More
by Dina Appleton & Daniel Yankelevits Q: I am interested in writing a sequel to someone else’s movie. I was wondering, do I need permission from the original filmmakers, or can I just write the screenplay and market it as one of my own spec scripts? Margaret C., Far Hills, NJ A: Dina Appleton & Read MoreRead More
