Clothes Make the Girl: WORKING GIRL
Brief, vivid descriptions of the characters and settings in your screenplay, novel or presentation create a vivid movie in the mind of your reader or audience.
LOVE STORIES: The 4 Rules of Romantic Triangles
When the hero or heroine of your love story or romantic comedy is choosing between two lovers, you must be careful not to lose sympathy for your hero.
Arenas and Finish Lines: AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER
I find it fascinating that Avatar and The Hurt Locker – the two movies that duked it out for the 2009 Best Picture Oscar® – have so many common plot elements.
LOVE STORIES: The 6 Categories of Romantic Comedy
Romantic comedies – especially Hollywood Romantic comedies – are among the most formulaic of genres, with elements that have consistently contributed to these scripts’ and films’ success.
COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
One of the biggest mistakes screenwriters make is giving too little importance to commercial appeal of their story. Before putting words on the page, a writer should always ask…
DESIRE: The Driving Force of All Successful Stories
In other articles I discuss everything from story structure and adaptation to pitching and marketing your story. But here I want to cover something much more basic.
REMEMBERING SYD
Back in the Dark Ages, when I was just a movie lover fresh from Oregon with Hollywood dreams, I attended Sherwood Oaks Experimental College.
WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR? The King’s Speech
Stories are built on a foundation of desire and conflict. To create an emotionally involving and commercially successful screenplay, you must give your hero…
THE #1 QUALITY OF SUCCESSFUL STORYTELLERS
Every successful screenwriter or novelist I know possesses one outstanding quality: tenacity. The difference between working writers and wannabes isn’t talent or age.