March, 2022 - The 15 Minute Movie Method

Create the Same Thing – Only Different

March 31, 2022

Become a student of movies and you’ll find that there’s rarely a completely original idea that hasn’t already been done before. “Alien” is about a...

Shape the Ending to Maximize Emotional Impact with an Emotional Dream

March 27, 2022

All stories are about a hero pursuing a physical goal. In weak stories, that’s all the hero does. In better stories, the physical goal is...

Watch a Bad Movie to Learn What Not to Do

March 23, 2022

Every bad movie starts out with a good idea. The problem is that the story often fails to follow through on that good idea and...

Shape the Middle of Your Story to Maintain Momentum and Tension

March 19, 2022

It’s often easy for screenwriters to create the beginning and end of their story. What’s often the hardest part is creating the middle that connects...

Storyboard Your Scenes Before Writing

March 15, 2022

Here’s another mistake and bad habit that novice screenwriters often embrace. They try to write their screenplay and make up their story as they go...

Identify the Motivation of Every Character in a Scene

March 11, 2022

Here’s what too many novice screenwriters do wrong. They rite a scene filled with characters who have no purpose, goal, or direction in that particular...

Avoid the Number One Mistake of Novice Screenwriters

March 7, 2022

If you learn nothing else from this blog, avoid the number one mistake screenwriters make all the time. Don’t tell a story. It’s that simple....

Structure a Compelling Story Using the Hero’s Beliefs

March 3, 2022

Every hero has a self-defeating belief that drives that drives that character’s actions. Since this self-defeating belief is holding the hero stuck in a dead...

The 15 Minute Movie Method

March 2022