TweetHow important is it to have your writing be fresh and surprising for a contest, agent or producer? Very important. It immediately identifies you as a writer with TALENT.  It sets you apart from all the stale scripts that came in this week and means you are “someone to watch” at minimum. In this article, we’re going to [...]

TweetWhen an audience thinks they know where you are going, it is an opportune moment to surprise them with something unexpected. One of the formats for fresh writing is “The Unexpected Response.” This is one of my favorite techniques when used correctly. The  setup sends our minds in one direction and then we get surprised by a response that we [...]

TweetYou’ve probably heard the saying “Film is a visual medium.” It’s true. What you SEE on that screen usually carries much more weight than the dialogue.  In every scene, one of the dramatic choices you make is the visuals. It’s so much easier to have a character tell us what is happening, but that usually has far less [...]

TweetMost days, I’m on the phone with screenwriters, either from my classes or writers we’re working with on some kind of deal.  As we talk about their projects, I often think “That’s something I should write about in the newsletter.” But in all the excitement and all the work, most of those pieces of advice don’t make it to [...]

TweetProbably the most tempting thing to do in a script is create a scene where two characters banter back and forth.  It just seems so easy. You set up some kind of conflict and let them talk. But does that entertain readers and audiences? Most of the time, “talking heads” scenes don’t deliver anything close [...]