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First Draft: Break Tired Screenwriting Conventions By Embracing the Heroine’s – Not Hero’s – Journey
Learn the differences between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey to move your script past stale male-exclusive tropes and…
Want to work better world-building into your screenplay without alienating your audience? Try using one of these methods to avoid…
The first contact that Hollywood has with any screenplay that comes through their e-mail inbox? The title. Work these steps…
Your sharpest dialogue, most inspired imagery and most deftly integrated story beats should be in your midpoint as much as…
The average produced script spends 5-7 years in development. During that time, it must survive rounds and rounds of script…
Knowing when a visual is appropriate is just as important as the description itself. Here are the dos and do…
From the moment you accept it, the experience of writing the script assignment can be a slippery slope. Here are…
Sometimes quality and chronology go hand-in-hand in the screenwriting process. Use this case study of Passengers to improve your script…
What are the best ways to introduce characters' names to the audience? Here are seven answers to this seemingly simple,…
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Plot and character-related exposition in
James Cameron's Avatar holds the key to many structure formats and plot points that will both shape and compliment your…
As the director of The Chase explains, pulling off a high-speed car chase is a high-risk, high-reward situation. Here are…
Learn how to tap into your initial stimulus—the seed of the idea that first captured your imagination—to avoid stunting your…
Watch this video to explore Logarithmic Time, in which your script is eternally approaching the moment where it's too late…
The first and last visuals of your film are almost always the most memorable. Here's how to handle them in…
As you create characters and lead them to choices that will form the roadmap for your story, ask if their…
Sometimes moving your script forward means taking your story backward, into the past. Flashbacks and monologues are two keys to…
Whether a member of an alien tribe, a US Marine or an intern for a fashion icon, each of your…
"Show don’t tell” is a good rule. But if dialogue doesn't ask audiences to take in all-important facts, we deprive…
Through looking at the reimagining of pivotal moments and reveals in The Hateful Eight, we can see how rewriting your…
No matter who the character, or what trials he or she must face, a cinematic protagonist will not find victory…
When it comes to writing your villain, it would be wise to take pointers from what some blockbusters get wrong…
Walk through the process of pre-visualization, shot listing, blocking, shooting and cutting in Three Trembling Cities with writer-director Arthur Vincie.
Is your story strong enough to go the distance? Avoid flaws that may doom your work to failure by taking…