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 [...]
I’m late night gorging on trash TV instead of reading a script, watching a movie or even catching up on sleep. Hulu is apparently determined to keep me awake, no matter how repetitive the commercials. Because just below the video is written, “What are you thinking?” Haunting. Those very same words have been running through [...]
I recently worked with a writer who was beside himself with despair. He has been writing for years. He has been writing in every genre. He has been writing in every form: poetry, novels, short stories, narrative nonfiction, screenplay, play, automatic writing, everything. He has tried writing partners, writing alone, following a schedule, writing at [...]
What does it take to make a sci fi world real? As a science fiction fan, I love to be transported into new and fantastical worlds. As a sci fi screenwriter, I’m fascinated by understanding what it takes to make that happen, and happen well? It’s not just a pretty gadget Part of the appeal [...]
Back in 2009, when I had just begun studying screenwriting, I went to a one-day workshop on the basics of filmmaking that was geared toward first-time directors. I wasn’t attending because I thought I could ever direct a film – that seemed like a mythical goal well out of my reach – but instead I [...]
Recently, I was teaching a workshop on premise line development. In that class I defined the terms “character,” “plot,” and “story” (as I use them; a bit differently than many). The resulting chaos this caused among the writer-students was startling. Okay, I have developed my own interpretation of these classical terms d’art, and this alone [...]
I was indoctrinated into the world of sci fi by my father at the tender age of nine, when he handed me my first sci fi book, The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke. Right around the same time, I saw Star Wars. I was hooked. Together, they changed my life. No longer [...]
Not long ago, my mom went back to school to become a Medical Assistant. It wasn’t her first career, she worked in magazine marketing when I was growing up, but being part of the medical field had always been her dream. That dream solidified when she was just a teenager and would watch the evening [...]
What do you call the guy from the 7th Cavalry regiment who, at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, said, “General Custer, reinforcements are on the way”? An optimist. I admit that when it comes to assessing another type of seemingly “hopeless” situation– a new writer’s chances of selling his script– I’m an optimist too. [...]
