Advice — expert series

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...

Break out of the box of traditional screenwriting assumptions! In this excerpt from Writing the TV Drama Series: Second Edition, Pamela Douglas gives you some new rules for writing television that have changed significantly in just the past couple of years.An hour show has to fit in an hourActually, a network hour is less than 50 minutes, with commercial breaks, though pay cable may be longer, and syndicated hours are shorter. Usually, scripts for drama series are around 60 pages, though a fast-talking show like The West Wing sometimes went to 70 pages. On networks that break shows (for example...

We've all heard the warning against overwriting our screenplays by including too much camera direction or too many slug lines. We worry about getting it wrong, because we're professionals. Or at least we want our scripts to make us look that way. A little knowledge about how the pros use shot headings will go a long way toward equipping us to make a professional impression with every page we write. More than that, it will empower us to harness the power of shot headings to propel readers through pages that would otherwise bog down - or might not get read...