SPOILERS FOR BARBIE AHEAD One of the most troublesome aspects that aspiring screenwriters encounter involves how they employ dialogue. The writer will often use their characters' dialogue to “tell” the viewer what's happening rather than using the character's choices and actions to “show” the story.  This approach to dialogue often falls into one of three categories: Exposition Dumps: The character tells another character (and the viewer) what's happening or how the story world works. On The Nose: The character tells another character (and the viewer) exactly how they feel at ..read more

A recent article on the industry news site /Film examined how three original movies released over Memorial Day weekend all had disappointing box office returns.  The road-trip comedy “The Machine”, the “Meet The Parents”-style comedy “About My Father”, the relationship dramedy “You Hurt My Feelings”, and the action-thriller “Kandahar” made a combined $13.1 million at the weekend box office. These numbers don't even come close to the big release of the weekend: the live-action remake of Disney's “The Little Mermaid”, which made over $95 million. Even after a 66% drop-off from its first w ..read more

Screenwriters who are trying to get into the business could face different outlooks on what a strike from the Writers Guild of America could have on their career prospects. On the positive side, managers and agents may have more time to read scripts from non-union prospects than they typically would. Without the workload from their union-member clients, their readers (often unpaid interns) will have more opportunities to read scripts from non-union writers. On the other side of the coin, most agencies will not be taking those scripts to market while the strike endures. As Eric Jones with The ..read more

As the new year gets underway, many people resolve to eat healthier, work out more, and lose weight. They may look up fad diets, watch exercise videos, or sign up for a gym membership. However, when it comes to losing weight, the most effective advice often comes from medical professionals or experienced trainers who have worked with clients to get the results they need. At the same time, a writer's thoughts often turn to how they can make this year's scripts better than last year's efforts. They may have their friends, family, or writers' group look at their work and gauge their reactions t ..read more

  William Akers has taught screenwriting for over thirty years. He is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America. He has written feature scripts and TV episodes for Universal, Disney, MGM, and Paramount. I recently got the chance to talk to him about his wonderful book, Your Screenplay Sucks: 100 Ways to Make It Great. Story Into Screenplay (SIS): Before we get started, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Out of the hundred mistakes you mention in the book, I've probably made about ninety-seven of them! William Akers (WA): I'm sure you got the three most important o ..read more

As a way to get back to the way things were in the Before Times(™), I thought I would post a new entry into this long-neglected space. Just because I haven't been posting here doesn't mean I haven't been busy elsewhere. These other commitments have prevented me from giving this space the attention it deserves. As for my "day job", I have been reading scripts for Coverfly and the Austin Film Festival. If you plan on attending AFF, drop me a line (storyintoscreenplayblogATgmailDOTcom) and we can talk about your project while we watch the Astros (hopefully) win Games 1 and 2 of the World Seri ..read more

Most writers consider themselves fortunate if they get to hear advice on writing from one of their idols. In my case, I've now benefitted from listening to two masters of their craft. In the summer of 2014, I got the chance to hear from the late great Stan Lee at Houston's Comicpalooza convention.  This weekend, I got to see the still-great Neil Gaiman at Houston's Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. "Shadows", "Saucers", "Bananas" and an "Orange" In an era where big-budget superhero blockbusters draw record numbers of eyeballs, much of the audience likely found it refreshing to hear ..read more

Pilar Alessandra is the director of the instructional writing program On The Page,® host of the On the Page Podcast and a highly sought-after speaker and script consultant who’s trained writers at Disney, DreamWorks, ABC, the AFM and around the world.  She is also the author of The Coffee Break Screenwriter and The Coffee Break Screenwriter Breaks the Rules.  Pilar’s greatest accomplishment is the success of her students. They’ve worked on TV shows such as House of the Dragon, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Homeland, Dear White People, Grey’s Anatomy, Silicon Valley, and The Chi and ..read more

I recently had the opportunity to interview award-winning screenwriter and instructor Weiko Lin about his excellent book, Crazy Screenwriting Secrets: How to Capture a Global Audience. Professor Lin has been a writer, director, producer, and is currently a tenured associate professor of screenwriting at Emerson College in Boston.  He has also been a Fulbright Senior Specialist, received a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award, and placed in the finals of the Academy Nicholl Fellowship contest. In this interview, he discusses how a young boy from Taiwan became a sought-after screenwriter, how stor ..read more

With the college football bowl season winding down and the CFP National Championship on the horizon, the new film National Champion$ examines the issues surrounding the "student-athlete" model and how it impacts the big-money world of college football. NOTE: The purpose of this review does not involve evaluating the story, direction, or performances in the film. Instead, the purpose involves illustrating how a screenplay by Adam Mervis (21 Bridges, The Last Days of Capitalism) could apply the VOTE Method as a tool for character development. This post contains some MILD SPOILERS ..read more