First Draft

  • First Draft

First Draft: Make the World Stand Still Even As It’s Moving Fast By Using Logarithmic Time in Your Screenplay (Video)

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. In a new video series,…

7 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Start and End With a Bang When Writing Your Screenplay’s First and Last Visuals

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Why the First and Last…

7 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Want Hollywood’s Attention? Write a Showcase Short

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. It’s how Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas…

7 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Give Your Characters Well-Defined Paths and Choices and Your Audience Can Believe Anything

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Ripples I recently read a…

7 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Living In the Past With Flashbacks and Monologues

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Flashbacks Nothing provokes a more…

7 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Knowing the Difference Between Fact and Truth When Adapting a True Story

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Taking the 1994 film Quiz Show…

7 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Know Your Place, Write Better Single Locations

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Every screenplay should be set…

7 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: When Is It OK For Your Script to Use On-the-Nose Dialogue?

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Near the end of…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Build Your Rewriting Chops With This Case Study From The Hateful Eight

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Learn Techniques of Story Progression From Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Comparing two drafts of a…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Understand The Humility Arc To Allow Your Story’s Heroes To Succeed

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. What quality makes a hero?…

8 years ago
  • Movie News

ICYMI: The Best of October 2016 on Moviemaker.com

Take a break from crafting that last-second DIY costume to revisit the best articles of October 2016 on moviemaker.com. We've picked out…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: What are Plot Patterns, and Why Should You Identify Them in Movies?

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. What if I told you…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Crafting Supervillains by Pushing Your Antagonists Over the Edge

In partnership with the blog ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. The importance…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: How to Develop and Nurse a Theme Throughout Your Narrative

In partnership with the blog ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. From academics…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: The Most Common Mistake in Spec Scripts (And Four Ways to Avoid Making It)

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, "First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Finding the right concept to…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: How To Create Moments For Your Characters To Shine

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, "First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Moments: They’re what the audience remembers…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: How Screenwriters Can Fix the Broken Hollywood System

In partnership with the blog ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Hollywood development…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Five Surefire Steps to Nailing Your Screenplay’s Theme

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, "First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. A script can have wonderful…

8 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Revealing The Wounds of Your Screenplay’s Hero

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, "First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. At the beginning of your…

8 years ago
  • Screenwriting

First Draft: Quick Ideas for Naming Characters in a Screenplay

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, "First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Naming the characters in your…

8 years ago
  • Screenwriting

First Draft: A New Alternative to Three-Act Story Structure

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, we present “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. New articles,…

8 years ago
  • Screenwriting

First Draft: How to Use the Rule of Three in Action Sequences

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, "First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Three is a very satisfying…

8 years ago
  • Screenwriting

First Draft: Lessons in Screenplay Plants and Payoffs from Chinatown and The Orphanage

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, "First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. “Bad for glass,” says private eye…

8 years ago