The original Twilight Zone series is an excellent source of inspiration for filmmaking for multiple reasons. First, the series ran on a limited budget so they had to constantly focus on stories that could be filmed at a low cost. Screenwriters often let their imagination run wild without thinking about how easily and inexpensively someone […]
For many writers, Act II is the longest and hardest part to write. However, one trick is to break Act II into two equal halves so in a 120-minute movie, each Act takes up roughly 30 minutes such as: Act I – 0-30 minutes Act IIa – 30-60 minutes Act IIb – 60-90 minutes Act […]
One common mistake novices make in writing a screenplay is that they try to tell a story. That usually means dumping information as exposition on to the audience as quickly and often as possible. This information dump can’t help but create a dull and boring story. Your goal as a screenwriter is never to tell […]
In every story, there are three problems the story can solve: External problems Internal problems Philosophical problems Bad stories simply focus on external problems such as showing the hero mowing down an army of bad guys with a machine gun. There’s little more to care about than gunfire, explosions, and special effects, but the action […]
Novice screenwriters are often timid and tame. They write scenes that lack emotional intensity. To be an effective dramatist, you must be a masochist to your heroes. That means making them suffer as much as possible before letting them win out in the end. When writing any scene, focus on the worst possible situation that […]
Every hero must have a goal. What makes a goal fascinating to watch isn’t just the struggle to get the goal, but when the hero is stuck between two equally unappealing choices and must constantly juggle both choices until finally making a decision. Dilemmas constantly keep the story moving forward because we want to see […]
Every tory is about change. In most stories, the hero goes from an unhappy, dead end life to a happier life by the end. In tragedies, the hero goes from a happy situation to an unhappy situation by the end. Whatever happens to your hero, you don’t have a story unless you have change. Typically […]
Here’s a quick way to identify whether a story is complete: Look at the beginning and the end. Beginnings and endings are inherently related. That means if the beginning doesn’t match the ending, there’s a huge chance the story isn’t complete. One way the beginning and ending can match is through the beginning foreshadowing the […]