Advice — advice

I can absolutely guarantee you, based on more than twenty years experience, that the second thing a reader (be she a script reader, development exec, agent, producer, or studio head) will do when she gets your script, is thumb through to the end to see what the page count is. The first, of course, is to read the title and name, possibly your agent's name and contact info. But the most important issue for her will be the length. What? Length over quality? You mean to tell me you'll be judged on length? Not exactly. Here's how it works. Readers...

The run-up to Oscar season has produced a surprising development in the ecology of ideas that underlies our popular culture. Hollywood storytelling has long been dominated by a high-speed linear form that packs as many thrills into two hours as possible. The time span of the story is short. The impact on the audience is emotional. And the change in the hero is almost always psychological. When the moral element does show up, it is limited to a simple lesson no deeper than a platitude. But recently a very different model of storytelling has appeared. These stories often frame a...

At this moment in time, I think we're in the middle of a screenwriting revolution, a time where screenwriters are pushing the form and craft in new directions. I firmly believe that the traditional way of "seeing things" has changed, and we're looking for new ways to match our experiences and incorporate the new technology into our stories.In terms of the contemporary screenplay, it seems like we want to get closer to the subjective reality of our characters. Take a look at Atonement, The Lookout, Babel, The Bourne Supremacy, Kill Bill I & II, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,...

When characters share emotions with the audience, it deepens the experience of the story. Viewers are made available to the storyteller through emotion: writers seek an emotional connection with their audience the same way actors and directors do. A smart plot is intellectually satisfying, but movies are about more than that. Audiences expect emotional stories. A clever plot is satisfying on its own, but one that fools and surprises us as much as the characters is all the more satisfying because in movies we like being manipulated, startled and stunned. But writers who get carried away with emotion can sacrifice...

One of the most valuable skills for a writer to have is a command of genre. Whether you choose to specialize in a single genre, or want to platform your talent across several, understanding the conventions of genre can strengthen and deepen your work. As a simple definition, genres are recognizable classifications of stories that are characterized by pre-established conventions. These conventions can include narrative dynamics, image systems, character archetypes, goals and obstacles, premise and theme, and the story's arena and location. Genre conventions shouldn't be seen as templates, sets of rules, or a 12-step program for writing the genre...