How to Write a TV Show Script for Maximum Impact
Writing a TV show script requires a strong balance of creativity and structure. A good script is the backbone of a successful TV show, as it sets the foundation for …
How-To Guides
“What we can learn from…” type articles.
How to Write a Script Treatment: The Key Elements
Writing a script treatment is an essential step in the development process of any screenplay or TV show. It serves as a blueprint, presenting the creative vision and detailed story …
How to Build Strong Conflict in a Story
Conflict is the heartbeat of storytelling, providing the tension, drama, and intrigue that capture our attention. Every great story begins with conflict, whether it’s an internal battle within a character’s …
How to Create Relatable Characters Your Audience Will Love
Creating relatable characters makes a story memorable. Audiences love characters who feel real. Peter Parker, for example, is not just a hero; he’s a person with struggles. He worries about …
Mastering the Movie Script Submission Process: From Draft to Delivery
Movie script submission is a critical step in your screenwriting career. Whether you’re a seasoned screenwriter or just starting, mastering this process is essential. This guide covers everything from drafting …
Plot vs Story: Understanding The Crucial Differences in Screenwriting
In the realm of screenwriting, two distinct elements serve as the foundation for every compelling narrative: plot and story. At first glance, these terms might seem interchangeable, but their roles …
Crafting The Perfect Denouement In A Story
The denouement in a story is the final part where all the loose ends are tied, bringing resolution to the central conflict. While many mistake the denouement for the climax, …
Unleash Your Writing Voice as a Screenwriter: The 10 Key Steps
In the world of screenwriting, a distinct voice is what sets you apart from other writers. It’s the unique way a writer brings their own personality and perspective to the …
Writing A Compelling True Story Movie Script
The allure of a true story movie lies in its unique ability to connect with audiences on a deeply emotional level. Knowing that a film is based on real events …
How To Assert Complete Control Over Your Character’s Perspective In Screenwriting
Creating a compelling screenplay demands mastery over your character’s perspective. Controlling this viewpoint is essential for the writer for deep storytelling. Character perspective refers to the unique viewpoint or lens …
Is Three Act Structure Still Very Important To Screenwriters?
The three-act structure has long been considered the bedrock of narrative structure for most stories, specifically in screenwriting. This framework, rooted in classical drama, has shaped countless films and continues …
How A Film Lookbook Can Help Your Screenwriting
When it comes to screenwriting, the visual elements of a story are just as crucial as the dialogue and plot structure. While words on a page can convey emotion, action, …
How To Write A Superb Sci-Fi Horror Movie
Sci-Fi Horror is an exciting and potentially powerful sub-genre sandpit that combines the speculative elements of science fiction with the fear-inducing qualities of horror. Sci-fi horror movies create a unique …
How To Write A Superb Survival Film
Survival films captivate audiences by pushing characters to their absolute limits. They tap into primal fears and showcase the raw, unfiltered struggle for life against the odds. From the harrowing …
How To Write A Masterful Femme Fatale Character
The femme fatale, a seductive, dangerous and ‘fatal’ woman, has captivated audiences for centuries. From literary classics to silver screen icons, this archetype continues to intrigue. Beyond her alluring exterior …
Lovecraftian Horror: How to Write Great Screenplays about the Unknown
Lovecraftian horror captivates with its unique blend of cosmic unknowns, instilling a deep sense of dread and fascination. It’s not just about monsters or the supernatural but the unsettling realization …
What are Character Foils in Screenwriting?
Character foils are the secret ingredients that add flavour and depth to a story. These contrasting characters, often paired with the protagonist, highlight key traits and qualities, enriching our understanding …
The Inciting Incident and Its Vital Importance in Screenwriting
In the realm of screenwriting, the inciting incident is a pivotal moment that sets the story in motion. It is the catalyst that propels the protagonist into the main conflict …
How to Create Plot Twist Ideas for Screenplays
Screenwriting is a delicate dance between storytelling and audience engagement, and one of the most exciting moves a screenwriter can make is creating compelling plot twist ideas. Also, a well-crafted …
Awesome Tips for Writing Family-Friendly Screenplays
In the ever-evolving entertainment landscape, family-friendly screenplays stand as beacons of shared joy and valuable life lessons. Crafting a narrative that appeals to audiences of all ages requires a thoughtful …
The One-Page Pitch: 14 ESSENTIAL Elements and a Template
What will make your one-page pitch standout from the gazillion other pitches out there? And how do you blend a screenwriter’s creative talents into a technically sound pitch, especially when …
What Are the Key Screenplay Transitions? An ESSENTIAL Guide
A blank page. A blinking cursor. Text: right-aligned. Font: courier new. FADE IN: Every movie, and therefore every screenplay, has transitions. Every change in time is a transition; every scene …
How Do You OVERCOME Creative Burnout as a Screenwriter?
Feeling exhausted from writing? Struggling to tap into the imagination you once had? Questioning going back to the job you earned your college degree for because your parents are on …
Suspenseful Movies: QUICK Tricks for Writing Suspense
No film technique elicits the fear of the unknown more effectively than writing suspense. As humans, we’d rather know something bad is coming, than be in the unknown. This is …
How Do You CREATE and MAINTAIN Empathetic Characters?
There are many important aspects to writing a great screenplay; good dialogue, interesting settings, unique stories, and good characterisation. However, little is arguably more important than creating and maintaining empathetic …
Existential Cinema: How Do You Write an Existential Film?
For the most part, cinema is a form of entertainment. But this is not to say that films cannot and should not concern themselves with some of the more serious …
Writing a GOOD Workplace Comedy: The VITAL Elements
Do you have an idea for a workplace comedy but are struggling to get it off the ground? Understanding the key aspects and structures of some of your favourite workplace …
How Do You Write GOOD Parody in Film and TV?
Parodies can contain a multitude of differences across a multitude of genres. So how do you even approach writing a tricky and difficult-to-define subgenre? In short, you must try to …
The KEYS to Achieving Screenwriting Representation
Screenwriting representation can be a white whale for all screenwriters, the thing that they feel will take them to the next level. And indeed, it can be the first step …
120 of the BEST Scene Prompts to Kickstart Your Writing
What are Scene Prompts? Scene prompts are there to help writers get their creative juices flowing. Say a screenwriter finds themselves stuck during a script, unsure of how to add …
What is Indirect Characterization in Screenwriting? 12 KEY Steps
Indirect characterization is an essential part of constructing a convincing and compelling fictional character. Whether your character is a hero, a villain or a sidekick, they are always more interesting and …
Your First Screenplay: The MOST IMPORTANT Tips to Get Started
Writing your first screenplay is an exciting but daunting challenge. You have so many great ideas in your head but don’t know how to correctly write them down to create …
How Do You Write a Convincing and Powerful Death Scene?
How to write a good death scene? This is a question writers may well have been pondering since stories were told on the walls of caves. From Shakespeare to Spielberg, …
How Do You REALLY Analyze Films? The Keys to Film Analysis
Everyone who has an interest in movies has probably tried to analyze a film at least once. Maybe you analyzed films for your own pleasure or maybe you needed to …
The KEY Building Blocks to Writing a GOOD Romantic Comedy
The romantic comedy goes all the way back to Shakespeare, with plays such as Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream being full of love triangles and comic …
What is the But and Therefore Rule in Screenwriting?
In every screenwriting class, you are going to learn about many rules. However, the most important one is always the same: give the story energy to keep the viewers engaged. …
How Do You Use the Bookend Technique in Screenwriting?
Often there are terms in screenwriting that do what they say on the tin. The bookend technique fulfils this mantra. It’s a plot device used to sandwich a story like …
Narrative Pacing: The KEYS To Mastering Your Screenplay’s Pace
When it comes to narrative pacing, we all know the feeling of being on the edge of our seats, biting our nails with anticipation for what’s to come. It’s likely …
What is an Unreliable Narrator and How Do You Write One?
It’s comforting to settle into a story where we can trust the narrator to guide us easily and expertly. The narrator is, after all, the audience’s compass through the story, …
What is a Mary Sue Character And How Do You Avoid Writing One?
In recent years, there has been a lot of dialogue around who the term Mary Sue can be ascribed to and what constitutes it. But what, fundamentally, is a Mary …
The Viking Movie: 10 Elements to Writing This Powerful Sub Genre
In many ways, the Viking movie is a sub-genre as old as the cinematic form itself. And Vikings have certainly been an integral part of folklore and storytelling for centuries. …
The Comedy Horror Movie: The KEYS to Both Laughs and Scares
Washington Irving’s short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has been cited as “the first great comedy horror story”, as readers were made to “laugh one moment and scream the …
The 10 KEY Building Blocks to Writing Revenge Stories
Revenge stories are a popular sub-genre almost guaranteed to satisfy an audience. They’re typically a visceral and cathartic response to injustice and consequently something that elicits easy emotion. We love …
10 VITAL Ways Green, Amateur Writers Can Avoid Amateur Mistakes
Screenwriting can be a maze, especially when you’re first starting out. When learning the ropes, it can be easy to fall into traps which will make you look like an …
The Rewriting Process: 10 Key Steps to Perfecting Your Screenplay
We’re all perfectionists when it comes to our writing – whether we want to admit it or not. Developing a writing process that works for you is one thing, but …
The BEST Series Finales and What They Teach About Writing TV
How do you finish writing a TV series? We all know the feeling of being disappointed by a series finale, mourning not only the loss of a treasured show but …
Writing Act Three: The Conclusion – An ESSENTIAL Breakdown
The third act. The end. The stroll off into the sunset or dramatic cliffhanger. Writing your third act is the finishing stretch and, therefore, vitally important in leaving the audience …
The 22 PIXAR STORYTELLING RULES: Lessons for Screenwriters
Pixar films are some of the most well-crafted stories in cinema history. And so it’s no wonder that there appear to be Pixar storytelling rules that writers and directors of …
What are A, B and C Plots in TV Screenwriting?
When we watch a film or TV series, we’re often aware there are multiple storylines running concurrently but take them in as second nature. This is the benefit of TV …
Writing Act Two: The Conflict – An ESSENTIAL and SIMPLE Breakdown
So you’ve finished act one. You’ve got your beginning and you probably have some ideas about your ending, but how do you create your middle? What happens between the end …