Writing a book and writing a screenplay are two completely different ways of telling a story. That shouldn’t stop authors with a completed, or an uncompleted manuscript, to write the same story as a screenplay. It just needs discipline in working between the two writing formats. Step 1: Set Yourself Up for Success The first impression of your script is vital and should follow the industry-standard professional FORMAT which is easy to follow in software like Arc Studio. You won’t have to worry about what font to use or how to lay out a screenplay format. Simply follow Arc Studio as it guides ..read more

“We don’t make mistakes – we just have happy accidents.” – Bob Ross There is a huge amount of truth in the wise words of Mr. Ross. Out of all the mistakes we make comes the chance of something spontaneous and surprising happening — which only makes our work better.  However, here are a few of the recurring happy accidents that beginner screenwriters make (and a few that some more established ones still do) that you can hopefully avoid in your own approach to the craft. You’ve never watched a film/TV show LIKE A SCREENWRITER You have to watch a LOT of films and TV shows ..read more

Like any other business, screenwriting has a lot of jargon that’s intimidating to the newer writer. Luckily, none of it is too technical, so today I’m going to run through a mixture of business and craft terms so that you can hold your own in a discussion about screenwriting. Business Language Feature Script A feature script (derived from “feature-length”) is another word for a screenplay that is intended to be turned into a movie. The term comes from back in the day when theaters would show multiple movies in the same showing, all centered around the main feature, usually the longest and mos ..read more

Sometimes when reading a review of a movie a critic may refer to a character’s arc as being cathartic, but do we really know what that truly means? Why is a cathartic character arc so essential to a movie’s success? How do you even write a cathartic character arc? Today, I’m going to answer these questions so your next script will have some of the best character arcs you’ve ever written. (Arc Studio Pro actually has a powerful plot board feature that can make this process a whole lot easier…and more fun.) Catharsis But first, some definitions. Catharsis is actually one of the oldest descriptiv ..read more

As writers, we are told that all great drama must come from conflict. However, this can easily be mistaken as having to force your characters into arguing about external things which tend not to reveal much about their characterization which should be at the heart of all good writing. In order to make our work more interesting, we need to stop thinking about the conflict between characters and start thinking about how they are conflicted – both with one another, the decisions they need to make, and themselves. But how do you create a great conflicted nature for your protagonist? Chec ..read more

There are many ways to “break down” a character, and figuring out which paradigm is most useful to you can be difficult. Some highlight inconsistencies, leading to complex characters. Others highlight a character’s relationship to theme, aiding a rich story. And some simply help clarify a character’s deepest want, giving voice to possible plot options. One of the best ways to understand how to view characters is to examine really great ones, like Cassandra (Carey Mulligan) from Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman. If you want to review the plot of the film, take a look at this P ..read more

Get ready for every horror/sci-fi fan’s dream Twitter debate. If you hang around movie Twitter at all, you’ve undoubtedly seen it blow up with what was one of the most rousingly harmless opinions of the year. It started with an innocent poll put forward by Elle Hunt, a freelance features writer for The Guardian: “Settle an argument: is Alien a horror film?” followed swiftly by her reasoning: “My argument: horror cannot be set in space.” Six thousand people immediately reacted, starting a fight that’s still going now, rife with spin-off jokes like “You can’t set horror in Texas, that’d make it ..read more

Many writers swear by it. Many more swear they’ll never do it. Ask any working screenwriter about outlining and you’ll get an opinion about it. It’s one of those things that nearly nobody is lukewarm about when it comes to their own work and process. Understanding the reasons behind screenplay outlining, what it can do for you (and what it can’t), is one of the most important things you can do for yourself as a screenwriter discovering your process. (This article was developed from notes from David Wappel’s ScreenCraft Summit discussion on Strategies for Outlining.) Why Outline? This question ..read more

Great storytelling is about knowing which rules to follow – and which to break. For proof, look no further than The Last Of Us Part II – one of the biggest and best-selling video games of all time. The acclaimed survival thriller, about a teenage survivor struggling to stay alive in an America overrun by a parasitic infection, took a meat cleaver to convention in its structure and approach to character. In other ways, though, the game’s story is as traditional as they come, harking back to one fundamental principle of storytelling according to creative director Neil Druckmann. “The more pressu ..read more

Learn how Craig Mazin, one of the most popular screenwriters working today, structures his stories through theme. Scriptnotes is the most popular screenwriting podcast. For nearly ten years, John August and Craig Mazin have been mulling over the craft and business of screenwriting every week to tens of thousands of listeners. A couple of years ago Mazin helmed a solo episode called “How to Write a Movie” that became an instant classic due to his clear-headed approach to story structure, easy-to-grasp central thesis, and simplicity that compelled both amateur and expert screenwriters ..read more