The Story Factor
30/Jan/11 18:18 Filed in: The Method
Stories are often used to influence others. By reading a book like “The Story Factor” by Annette Simmons, you can better understand how stories work as a persuasion tool. Read More...
Free Movies
29/Jan/11 14:36 Filed in: The Method
Aspiring screenwriters need to watch as many movies as possible. To keep your movie watching habits within your budget, skip the movie theaters and stick to home. Read More...
The Single Hero and Villain
24/Jan/11 21:18 Filed in: The Method
Watch any boxing match and you’ll always see two equally matched opponents. While one may be more skilled than the other, from all physical appearances, the two are nearly equal. That equality is what makes your villain so frightening to your hero and makes it easy to identify who your hero or villain should be. Read More...
The Life Force of Your Hero
23/Jan/11 20:05 Filed in: The Method
The hero of every movie needs a goal. That goal can’t just be any goal, but a goal that’s so important to the hero that it’s literally a life or death situation. Read More...
Giving Your Story Meaning
22/Jan/11 12:25 Filed in: The Method
A story is more than just entertainment. When ancient tribes sat around a campfire, they told stories to explain something in their life whether it was how the leopard got its spots or how to handle difficult situations correctly. When you create your story, make it more than a story and give us something that teaches us about our lives as well. Read More...
"Three of a Kind" stageplay
21/Jan/11 12:31 Filed in: The Method
A stageplay is radically different than a screenplay because a screenplay can rely more on visuals while a stageplay must rely on dialogue and the relatively limited sets available in a theater. To see my effort a a stageplay, you can read my play called “Three of a Kind.”. Read More...
Connecting Emotionally
20/Jan/11 09:49 Filed in: The Method
Ever watch a movie and not really care about what happens to the characters? That’s a hallmark of a bad movie. Therefore if you want to write a good movie, you need to make us care about your hero. Read More...
The Correct Way to Use Character Biographies
19/Jan/11 20:37 Filed in: The Method
In many screenwriting books, they tell you to write a brief character biography of your hero, villain, and supporting characters. The idea is that this information can help you see your character as a fully fleshed out human being. The drawback is that it can distract you from the structure of your story. Read More...
"Flies" short screenplay
18/Jan/11 21:39 Filed in: The Method
Way back in 1982, I wrote a short story and submitted it to The Twilight Zone magazine. The editor liked the story but felt it didn’t fit into the tone of the magazine and ultimately rejected it. I recently dug up the story again and rewrote it as a short screenplay both as an exercise and to learn the differences between the short story format and the screenplay format.. Read More...
Start with Shorts
17/Jan/11 14:35 Filed in: The Method
A big screenplay is nothing more than a single story told through multiple stories. You could start by writing full-length screenplays, but that’s like learning to run by entering a marathon. An easier way is to start with short screenplays, which is like entering short races and training with short runs until you build up your endurance and stamina. Read More...
"Let's Talk" horror short screenplay
17/Jan/11 00:02 Filed in: The Method
Comedy and horror share many traits. Both rely on surprise to work effectively, both require setting up the situation to maximize the emotional payoff. On the Free Stuff page, you can read my short horror screenplay called “Let’s Talk.” Read More...
"The Evolution of a Goldfish" screenplay
16/Jan/11 23:03 Filed in: The Method
You can find plenty of scripts of famous movies online. However, if you’re curious what types of scripts I may have written, I’ll start posting them on the Free Stuff portion of this site. That way you can see that I actively practice screenwriting and share my thoughts with others based on my own experience in dealing with problems and obstacles. Read More...
Discovery and Decisions
16/Jan/11 19:51 Filed in: The Method
Watch a bunch of strangers in a public place like a restaurant or a coffee shop. Why are some people boring and others fascinating to watch? Beyond their surface appearance, it all has to do with change. Read More...
New Movies on Crackle
15/Jan/11 22:02 Filed in: The Business
Aspiring screenwriters need to watch movies to study them and learn what works and what doesn’t work. Renting movies or going to the theater can get expensive, so here’s how to watch movies for free. Read More...
The Collected Blog Postings
14/Jan/11 08:13 Filed in: The Method
For a PDF file that contains much of the blog contents from this site, you can download a PDF file that was generously created and donated by William Martin, a kind reader who was willing to share his work with others to help everyone learn to write their dream screenplay.
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The Importance of a Vision
13/Jan/11 22:40 Filed in: The Business
How can you succeed in show business? It all starts with a vision and your persistence in achieving that vision. Read More...
The Failed Goal
10/Jan/11 20:44 Filed in: The Method
The beginning and ending of a movie is very similar. In both cases, the villain is trying to accomplish something at the start and by the end of the movie, the villain is about to achieve a goal defined in the beginning. To make your story feel complete, your villain needs to initiate a goal in Act I and complete it in Act III. Read More...
Less is More
09/Jan/11 07:45 Filed in: The Method
The quickest way to dilute a story is to fill it with too many characters and subplots that don’t support each other. This is why less can be more when telling a story. Read More...
The Elements of a Lousy Movie
08/Jan/11 13:48 Filed in: The Method
Just as there are elements that every successful movie tends to use, so there are the same elements that every lousy movie tends to use. Avoid these tendencies of a lousy movie and you can avoid writing a lousy movie yourself. Read More...
Tron Legacy -- an Exercise in Exposition
07/Jan/11 22:11 Filed in: The Method
Every story needs exposition so the audience knows who the story is about, what the hero wants, where the story takes place, and what’s happening. That’s easy to do in modern day films, but put that in the past or the future and you have big exposition problems. Read More...
Script searching on iTunes
03/Jan/11 14:02 Filed in: The Business
Technology has made script writing much easier with script formatting word processors, story outliners, and storyboard software. However, iTunes may soon have a new script searching feature. Read More...
Substance vs. Style
02/Jan/11 07:24 Filed in: The Method
Too many people focus on creating a dazzling plot loaded with action, special effects, gunfire, and explosions. Yet that’s not always the formula for success. Read More...
