There are plenty of software programs on the market to help you write stories and screenplays. While all of these products work, don’t make the mistake in thinking that these software programs will make you a better writer. You have to become a better writer by practicing the craft of screenwriting first. For example, the […]
Watch good movies and you’ll notice they often have one common element: the hero deceives others. Remember, a story is about a hero who changes. That means the hero goes through four main stages that correspond to each Act: Act I — The hero is stuck in a dead end life Act IIa — The […]
When writing a screenplay, you must create a story and then tell that story. Where most novices go wrong is that they try to tell a story before they know what’s going on, which is a recipe for failure since you’ll likely run out of ideas long before you even reach the halfway point of […]
Scenes act like building blocks that move your story forward. However, a scene is more than just dialogue. A scene should also incorporate some visual action to make the scene more cinematic. if a scene can take place anywhere, then your scene probably needs to be rewritten so that it can only take place in […]
A story is about a hero who changes emotionally by pursuing a physical goal. In many cases, the hero has an emotional dream but no idea how to achieve it. In “Titanic,” Rose wants to escape her dead end life but has no idea how. It’s not until Jack comes into her life that Rose […]
Every movie starts off with an intriguing question and then ends by answering that question. In “Star Wars,” the big question is whether Darth Vader will succeed in destroying the rebel base. In the end, he fails. In “WALL-E,” the big question is whether the Earth will ever support life again and in the end, […]
If you only watch great movies, it’s easy to get discouraged. If you watch bad movies, you can be inspired to know you could do better. However, if you watch m mediocre movies, you can see what works and what does not work. One of the latest mediocre movies is Tom Hank’s “Greyhound,” which is […]
Imagine a story where you could take the exact same characters, move them to another city, and the story would be exactly the same. If that’s how your screenplay would work, then you need to give your setting more of a personality. A story’s setting should be unique to that story in such a way […]
One of the hardest parts about writing a screenplay is not only coming up with a plot, but also coming up with characters and a unique setting. So make it easy on yourself and just borrow a plot from an existing story. If this sounds like stealing, it’s not. Plagiarism is when you copy another […]
To sell a screenplay in Hollywood, you need a great idea, one that grabs someone’s attention and makes them think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” When you can consistently get people to say that about your story idea, then you’ll know you have a great idea. One of the hardest story genres to pitch […]