> Today I’d like to talk about emotions. Seasoned screenwriters know how to trigger emotional responses, and intuitive newbies quickly learn to tug at the heartstrings. It is without question a skill you need to master. As in everything, however, there’s a catch. > > You need to generate the right emotions. > > If…
> Script Coverage Chronicles — December 2014 Three Thoughts On Writing For TV > style=”text-align: left;”> I talk about movie scripts a lot, but I’ve given feedback on many TV scripts as well. Based on my experiences as a writer, a screenplay consultant and a competition judge, here are three thoughts on writing for TV: style=”text-align: left;”>…
style=”font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;”> New writers often think the industry is biased against them. style=”font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;”> style=”font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;”> In some ways that’s true. Film executives are risk averse and love the comfort of banking on a scribe who already has a hit at the box office….
style=”text-align: center;”> I’ve read hundreds of first drafts, and I see the same characterization mistakes again and again. Here are three of them: 1. The Many-Sided Monster style=”text-align: center;”> style=”text-align: center;”> I’ll start with a controversial statement. You need to write one-dimensional characters. Yes. You heard me right. Your characters should have one dimension. Let…
style=”text-align: left;”> I was at the Austin Film Festival pitching a script to an agent at one of the top agencies. The script I was pitching was my baby, a screenplay I’d worked really hard on. I pitched it with energy and heart. I had a feeling I’d nailed it! > > And then she…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> I recently took on a small but very interesting assignment for a production company I’d worked with before. The assignment was to write the trailer for a movie BEFORE the screenplay was written. The idea was to produce the trailer in order to convince a particular studio to make…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> When creating a TV series, one of the things you need to decide is how “formulaic” you want the show to be. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> When a show is new and still largely unformed, it can feel good to carefully…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> Today I’d like to talk about relationships. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> Not real life ones. You’re on your own with those. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> I’m talking about relationships between the characters in…
style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;”> Screenwriting can be frustrating, no doubt. Rejections. Blown deals. Inexplicable heartbreak. It’s all part of it. But don’t take it all so personally, because there’s something I’ve learned along the way: So many decisions about your precious career have nothing to do with you at all. style=”mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination:…