Advice — advice

How can you write a memorable spec script that helps get you staffed? Why is it so hard to write a TV pilot script that not only gets you noticed, but could sell? I believe that strong writing will rise. In helping to launch countless careers, I’ve noticed some commonalities in the writers who make it. The strongest trait is belief in self and a burning desire to make it happen. If a writer starts her career with purpose, puts the work into writing the strongest scripts possible, learns the craft of storytelling and envisions success, it will happen. Learning...

Film, TV, games, YouTube, graphic novels, manga, comic books, murals ... it's all visual art and depends on engaging the eyes in order to engage the hearts and minds of your audience, as well as their loyalty and their purchasing power. In this article, we'll look at a specific type of story, theme, subplot, scene, incident, attitude, and inference—those involving sex, love, and/or romance. The conscious use of specific symbols, imagery, colors, and shapes can heighten the impact and influence of your ideas, characters, and story.In order to better use this cinematic tool, we'll first briefly explore some of the...

You've slaved away for months. Your script's structure is great, the character arcs are satisfying, the premise is original, the dialogue is snappy and organic and your story has a theme. Or so you think. But what is the compelling question in your script? The compelling question is tangentially related to the theme. In fact, in some ways one might say that it's a specific expression of theme, posed as a question. A significant part of the screenwriting learning curve is figuring out what theme really means. Many new writers say that the theme of their script is something like...

The title The Virgin's Promise has two meanings and in a nutshell, it describes the journey of the Virgin. The first meaning is the community's belief that the Virgin has agreed to live up to their expectations. She has made a promise to them. The second speaks to the Virgin's unproven potential that lies dormant within her, longing to come to life. The Virgin begins by conforming to the wishes of others and eventually learns to hear her inner voice and bring it to life. It is the journey to creative, spiritual and sexual awakening. Movies such as Bend It...

The dialogue scene you're struggling with? Take the page, crumple it into a paper ball and throw it into the trash can across the room. If you can make the shot, then you instinctively understand everything you need to know in order to write subtext. Making the shot requires an unconscious set of calculations. You can't just throw the paper ball in a straight line. You must take into account all of the other forces that will be acting on the ball as it flies across the room: the pull of gravity, the friction of the air, the breeze from...