Nothing should ever come easy to anyone, but obstacles need to be foreshadowed ahead of time or else they’ll seem fake and unreal. In most bad horror movies, a woman is running away from a killer and after taking a huge lead where she looks like she’s going to get away with no problem, this […]
Act I is the most important part of your screenplay because it introduces the hero, states the hero’s problem, opens with an Inciting Incident that gets the story going, and ends with a bang. Act I consists of two 15 minute segments. The first segment establishes the hero, states the hero’s problem, and (hopefully) makes […]
Act II is typically the hardest part of a screenplay to write. You have 60 minutes of time, so to make writing easier, divide Act II into halves where the first half leads the hero to a False Victory and the second half leads the hero to total despair and isolation. Perhaps the hardest part […]
Screenplays are a visual medium. Novels let you peek inside the thoughts of others while stage plays tell a story through dialogue. Knowing the strength of each medium can help you craft your story for the right medium. I’ve never read a Harry Potter book. After hearing all the hype surrounding Harry Potter, I thought […]
“Blood Simple” is an simple, yet amazing movie that packs enough twists and dark humor to keep you entertained, fascinated, and on the edge of your seat. This is how it fits in with the 15 Minute Movie Method. I have no idea why I was at this particular movie theater late one night in […]
Writer’s Block, discouragement, whatever you want to call it, some days nothing will seem to be going your way. Now what are you going to do about it? Everyone gets discouraged. If you have a dream of being a screenwriter, there’s a good chance it won’t come easy. Nobody is going to spot you in […]
What you see in a movie usually isn’t what the story is really about. What you see is the method that the hero uses to achieve his or her goals. What you don’t see is the real story for why the hero wants to achieve a particular goal. In every movie, there are usually two […]
The second half of Act II is where the hero starts losing and the villain starts winning. By knowing the purpose of this second half of Act II, you’ll understand how to bridge the gap between Act I and Act III. By the end of the first half of Act II (which I call Act […]