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…
MULTIPLE WRITING SAMPLES
Screenwriters and novelists are frequently told that before pursuing representation, they should have at least two completed screenplays or manuscripts.
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.
THE PROLOGUE OPENING
The first 10% of your screenplay is what I term the SETUP, during which you must transport the reader from the real world into the world you’ve created.
COMPOSING EFFECTIVE QUERY LETTERS
I often receive desperate letters from writers who say they can’t get anyone to respond to their query letters. If your letters, faxes or emails aren’t resulting in requests…
PREPARING TO WRITE A SPEC TV SCRIPT
When you decide to write a spec script for television, you must first decide the series for which you want to write a sample episode.
PITCHING: Antecedents
In any pitch, the buyer wants to know two seemingly contradictory elements of your novel or screenplay: its familiarity and its originality.
EVERYTHING I KNOW IN 100 WORDS OR LESS
Q: Can you describe some of the things writers need to think about in writing a salable story?