If you start writing a screenplay without knowing your characters, you’ll most likely create generic dialogue that could be spoken by anybody. That crates bland, dull, boring characters. What you need to do is identify who your characters are before you start writing. The traditional way writers get to know their characters is to write […]
In a novel, you can learn about characters by getting into their thoughts. You can’t do that in a movie, which is why some novels translate poorly into film. To reveal characters in a movie, you have to rely on a handful of visual and auditory techniques: What the character does How other characters react […]
Every major character needs to change. The hero’s change is the main story, but the mentor and ally also need to change to help reinforce the story’s theme. If you divide a screenplay into four Acts, you can see how the hero changes within each Act in four separate stages. The easiest way to define […]
A memorable screenplay means that every scene and every character must be memorable from page one to the final fade out. So when writing your scenes, focus on characters and location. The characters are the people in a scene, but they must exist in a specific location and have a reason to be at that […]
Here’s what too many novices do. They come up with a good idea and then they start writing. After about 30 – 60 pages, they’ve run out of ideas. The problem is simple. Don’t rush into the problem right away. Instead, spend the first half of your screenplay masking the true nature of your story […]
A logline briefly summarizes your story in one or two sentences. If you can’t create an interesting, compelling logline, chances are good you won’t be able to create an interesting, compelling screenplay. The purpose of a logline is to condense your story while still making it appealing to others. That way when someone asks what […]
At one time, actors would get their start in television and then move on to movies. That was when television actors had lower status than movie actors. Nowadays, many movie actors are gravitating towards television shows because television is where the action is, especially with movie theaters shut down during the current pandemic. There’s a […]