Story

I think the worst feedback you can get aside from “I liked it” is “Sure, there are some problems, but ‘it’s just a movie’”.  You should never excuse illogical or unrealistic scenarios simply because ‘it’s only a movie’. I recently watched several action movies and found I most enjoyed the films that were realistic or [...]

Movies give the impression that scripts are comprised mostly of dialogue, but film and TV are audio-visual media; what you put on the page should be what we will see on the screen.  Beginning writers often make one of two mistakes: too much or too little description.  The problem of too much description We all think every minor detail [...]

Many new screenwriters are tempted to add sex, nudity and foul language to their script thinking it makes it edgy, controversial or more interesting.  These things will never make a script more interesting.  The best thing you can do for your script is to avoid these.  Here’s why. No filmmaker wants a rating over PG.  An [...]

It’s very easy to get carried away while writing a story especially if you haven’t written an outline.  The simplest thing that can be overlooked is logic.  Does what you’ve written make logical sense? There are a few key elements to consider in terms of logic: Timeline: Does everything you have happening in your story [...]

The other day, my friend and I were talking about social events that serve as a cultural backdrop for our lives.  In theatre, a backdrop is the scenery on stage.  In this instance, I’m referring to cultural backdrop, which represents a major historical event that happens at the time the story takes place.  It can [...]