Three Steps To Writing Low Budget Screenplays
As a filmmaker, it can be challenging to raise funds to cover production. We’re all looking for ways to be more cost-effective. The …
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the heavy lifting of all movie projects. Without a great script, it is impossible to produce a great film. The following articles are written by experts with years of experience writing for both film and television. Even if you do not live in Hollywood or have any industry connections, the following articles will give you actionable tactics on how to get your writing noticed, read and sold.
The Best Screenwriting Books You’ve Never Heard Of
The best screenwriting books always include Syd Field, William Goldman, and Robert McKee. But in this article, we explore less obvious screenwriting books.
Seven Steps to To Being A More Productive Screenwriter
Do you want to write your screenplay faster but without giving up quality? Here are the top tips based both on my own experience in writing more than 100 episodes of TV as well as TV movies, a feature film, and script doctoring, as well as the experience of top writers I’ve interviewed…
Screenwriting Software: Why WriterDuet Is Awesome
When it comes to screenwriting software, there are lots of options on the market. But aside from assuring proper format or making exporting …
7 Surefire Steps To Writing For Independent Film
Writing for an independent film is very different from writing a big-budget movie. While both types of movies need a great screenplay, Hollywood production …
Screenwriting Help: How To Keep Your Script Out Of The Trash
Are you looking for your next Four-Quadrant natural disaster, Sci-Fi movie? I have an idea that will blow you away. It’s about the end of the universe and involves spaceships and aliens and zombies and disease and it includes a love story. Please email me back today because this is going to make BILLIONS! And I can only wait a few minutes for your response before I pitch this to someone else.
Should You Write Screenplays That Rewrite History?
A New York Times article stated that the producers of the Lincoln film are faithful to history—except for the part about vampires. The premise is that vampires killed Abe’s grandfather and mother so he vows to kill all the evil beings. And he wears a really cool long coat in which he can hide vampire-slayer weapons.
How To Unlock Your Screenplay Characters
When writing a screenplay, there are lots of questions you can ask about your characters to get to know them better. Read this Filmmaking Stuff guest article from screenwriter Jurgen Wolff.
How To Write A Screenplay You Can Produce (Yourself)
Listen. If you’re an ambitious writer, I’m going to tell you a secret. There is no better feeling in the world than the day you stop sending query letters and instead, you start producing your own work. For years and years, you have dreamed about seeing your work on the big screen. You know you’re good. So why ask for permission?
Why Screenwriting Agents Won’t Read Your Script (And What To Do)
If you are a screenwriter seeking screenwriting agents, stop. Read this article to find out alternatives to seeking screenwriting agents.
A Script Reader’s 5 Essential Tips For Screenwriters
As someone who has worked as a Script Analyst for the past decade, I am often asked to provide useful tips for screenwriters. …
How To Sell Your Screenplay
If you want to know how to sell your screenplay, you’re in luck. When I was working for an indie producer in New …
Do you have a story… Or just a movie premise?
In this article, veteran screenwriter Jurgen Wolff explains the difference between a movie premise and a story.
How To Get Sh$$ Done Without Hollywood Agents
In this filmmaking article, actor, writer and producer Gregor Collins talks about getting his movie made without Hollywood Agents.
Screenwriting With Jim Makichuk
As a screenwriter, your goal is to get your writing made into movies. So you write and write and write. And through perseverance …
Screenwriting Tips For Low Budget Filmmaking
In this guest filmmaking article, you will receive screenwriting tips that will help you produce your low budget movies.
How To Turn Your Book Into A Movie
So you are seeking ideas on how to turn your book into a movie. First of all, congratulations on finishing your book. Writing …
Aspiring screenwriter: Go Hollywood or go indie?
Because I’ve written a few books about screenwriting I sometimes get questions from people just starting out on their careers. One query that has started coming up more often recently is whether it’s better to chase the Hollywood dream or get involved with indie films, including ones made for the web…
What Screenwriters Can Learn From The Inbetweeners
In Britain all the film talk is about a low-budget film that’s been breaking UK box-office records. I think it offers some lessons on how to make a successful indie film…
How to apply “show, don’t tell” in screenplays
I have a fairly large collection of “pitching sessions from hell” stories, but there was one that stands out because I blew it—afterward. This was early in my career, and actually the pitching session itself went great. The executive loved the idea and commissioned a script for a TV movie. How to apply “show, don’t tell” in screenplays…
Write Screenplays From The Heart
I see that there’s a one day workshop being offered with the pitch, “Who better to teach you to understand characters than EXPERT BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS?” It’s not my intention to diss the people offering the workshop (which I also why I’m not going to name them)—they are both screenwriters as well as Expert Behavior Analysts and sound like a couple of smart guys with credible credits.
Your Screenplay Opening
Some screenwriters think that just about every screenplay should open with a bang of some kind: perhaps a literal explosion, or a murder, or a chase.Those may well be good choices for certain stories, but my take on this is that what an opening actually needs to do is to prompt two questions and one feeling in your audience…
When It’s Time To Divorce Your Agent
People always point out that a relationship with an agent is something like a marriage, but without the sex (usually). Which means that sometimes there will be a divorce—at this point, the high profile one is J. K. Rowling dumping hers…
Why it’s hard to write romantic comedy
If you can write a good romantic comedy you’ll find lots of people interested. The problem is that it’s getting harder. The reason …
How to sell nonsense in your screenplay
The key to movies like this is keeping things moving so the audience doesn’t have time to think about it until afterward, and keeping the explanations short…
What Screenwriters Can Learn From Documentary Filmmakers
I think what we can learn from documentary makers is to pause before we launch into the obvious story and dig deeper to see if there’s a more interesting, perhaps more subtle, one lurking underneath…
Tennessee Williams’ advice to screenwriters
You don’t really want totally arbitrary events in your script, but if you need to capture their attention, put it in and then in the next draft work your way backward in the story so it has some motivation…
Screenwriting: Why Kim Cattrall got mad at me
If you’re writing a script to be read by someone who is possibly going to buy it, you want to make it as easy and entertaining as possible. Yes, it’s easy to overdo the parentheticals, ideally your dialogue itself suggests how it will be delivered. But when it helps, go ahead. A sarcastic remark from an actress is not too high a price to pay.
Are screenplay contests worth entering?
I’m pretty skeptical about script contests as a way to further your career. There are success stories but I think they’re the exception. So I was interested to read the view of Chad Gervich on the Script website. He says that winning a script rarely gives you the edge
Screenwriting: is your story novel?
Even the Bible says there’s nothing new under the sun, and that was quite a while ago. Generally creativity means the combination of existing elements to produce something different from either of them (and, ideally, more useful or interesting than either of them alone).