Question: What is the proper use of parentheticals? They are to be enclosed in parenthesis, non-capitalized and used very sparingly and pertain only to the character speaking. Their right margin is 3 inches in from the right side and their left margin is 3 inches from the left side of the paper. Keep them short and sweet, no [...]
From family TV to teaching web series writing… Ross Brown wrote for some of the biggest family sitcoms of the eighties and nineties, including creating a show that would be the launching pad for Halle Berry‘s career. Click image to play video; more details are below. Few of us have more humble beginnings… Ross Brown [...]
First, please allow me to introduce myself: I’m Julie Keck – screenwriter, filmmaker, baker, and one-half of King is a Fink Productions. Second, I’d like to thank ScriptMag and my new boss Jeanne Veillette Bowerman (oh, lord, what have I gotten myself into?) for the opportunity to share my experiences. I prefer fiction, but I’ll [...]
My Balls of Steel column is just over a year old. I’ve taken you on my bumpy ride from pursuing an adaption of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name (SBAN), all the way to Sundance. While SBAN is still going strong, I now have a different, more immediate quest – to write and [...]
John Vorhaus is best known as the author of The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not. This seminal book on writing comedy for television and film is now available in four languages, and continues to be a definitive source of information and inspiration for writers from Santa Monica to Scandinavia. Click [...]
A while back, I received a rewrite of a script by an aspiring screenwriter that I have been working with for a while now. The first draft was based on a very cool idea and had some terrific elements in it with an enormous amount of potential, but the overall piece had some tremendous problems [...]
When it comes to screenwriting, what’s going on right now in the industry is just an exaggerated version of what’s always been true when it comes to selling a script and making a career out of it. I’m not telling you anything new when I say the best chance you have of selling a script [...]
READER’S QUESTION We know that long before a script becomes a movie it is first a reading experience, and that we should avoid camera directions because that’s the director’s job. But there is a definite feel I wish to communicate in my first page. Here it is. EXT. HIGHWAY 27 – DAY – AERIAL VIEW [...]
Each Wednesday, The Writers Store offers a different LIVE screenwriting webinar to learn more about the craft and business of screenwriting. This week’s feature: Based on a True Story: How to Secure, Write and Sell Non-Fiction Screenplays and Book Proposals. At a Glance: How to option life rights, book and film rights, or an exclusive [...]
