Advice

In The Simpsons, Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Shrek we see film and television which can be enjoyed equally by kids and adults.There are a number of ways to create this kind of cross-demographic appeal. Here I will discuss a few of the techniques the writers of Shrek used to achieve such a complex feat.First, let's give credit where credit is due. The writers, basing the script on a book by William Steig, were Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman, from a story by Ken Harsha, and with additional dialogue contributions from Cody Cameron,...

Building Your StoryYes, this is where I invoke the often-dreaded "O" word.OutlineI continue to be amazed by the number of screenwriters and working, published novelists I meet who do NOT outline. And at the risk (one from which I have rarely shied) of coming off as a smartass -- they are wrong.I hasten to point out that they are not necessarily bad writers. Some great writers work that way (on a tightrope, without a net). What I am suggesting -- and this is both arguable and unprovable -- is that their work -- their end product -- would probably be...

I'm sitting here struggling with how to write a critique of this highly praised yet flawed screenplay. Besides my feeling of it not being good enough - in spite of being highly successful in Hollywood - what I really want to do right now is have a muffin, and I might as well have coffee too, although it might be better to exercise first. Kaufman - the writer not the character - has been applauded for his very post-modern technique of including his own struggle to write an adaptation of "The Orchid Thief" as part of the story. If we're...

Agents aren't really necessary as you begin your screenwriting career. Although agents are sales representatives with contacts that new screenwriters don't have, they also do many things writers can do for themselves. Agents, for instance, submit log lines -- writers can submit log lines. Agents telephone people -- writers can telephone people. Agents talk to producers -- writers can talk to the producer's assistant. Nobody in Hollywood has a secretary anymore. They are mostly called producer's assistants, and they can be your best buddy in the whole, wide, celluloid world. Make nice with the producer's assistant, and the producer's assistant...

For most people, the terms story and plot are synonymous. People read a book or go to a movie and come away saying, What a great story! But the reason the book or film is so affecting is generally because the story has a great plot. (Don't think I'm forgetting about character and its importance to a great story. I'm including it in plot as part of a well-told story.) ~~ So What Exactly Is Plot? 1. Arrangement of Events In literature or drama, plot encompasses three important factors. First, it refers to how events are arranged to achieve an...