During my story consults, the current most-discussed topic is the idea of “linking dilemmas” in the TV pilot. A hot trend in story structure is having the series dilemma link to the pilot dilemma. When done correctly, you set up both a closed-ended arc and an ongoing serialized arc for your story. The basic rule [...]
You’re writing on spec and the world’s your oyster. So should you be writing a feature film screenplay or a television show pilot script? One of the not-so-great things about writing on spec is that it’s unpaid, so after all that hard work you may never earn a single cent from it. There’s also the [...]
I’ve nothing against directors. The men and women who make magic with movie cameras have much to offer the civilized world. Skill, talent, vision. Some have an uncanny knack with those sometimes prickly artists we like to call actors. Others are technical wizards who find their primal purpose standing at the center of production chaos. [...]
Based on personal observation, I’ve noticed there is a line of dialogue heard in virtually every movie and TV show I’ve seen recently: “Are you all right?” Sure, there are variations, like, “Are you OK?” or “You alright?” or “Is everything alright?” But, such variations are hardly worth mentioning. The line is irritating not only [...]
When you read scripts for a living as I do, you notice an interesting phenomenon: certain common elements tend to recur in a majority of the scripts that you read in a specific period of time. These common elements can be premises and story concepts (e.g. after never having read a single script about female [...]
Life cannot be fully appreciated in an insular state. Humanity survives by embracing community. So it’s not a mere coincidence that a writer needs to build a writing community not only for their sanity but also to learn and grow in their craft. Many of my readers are aware I have trained in Chung Do [...]
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32 “The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.”– Gloria Steinhem When I was a student in film school, I joined a writing group where the members were committed to providing no-holds-barred, honest feedback to [...]
Recently I was looking over a list of upcoming studio releases and something occurred to me: absolutes in any art form are the beginning of the death throes of creativity. Nowhere is this more obvious than your local movie theater – preparing for the coming summer months filled to the brim with sequels, reboots, remakes, [...]
I attended the Screenwriters World Conference East in NYC last month and had a fabulous time at the event. I met a slew of wonderful writers, attended some truly informative panels and stayed out late every night indulging in too much… well, let’s just call it fun (and let’s just say hangover remedies were involved). [...]
