Advice

Most of us have read quite a few books on screenwriting, attended classes, watched videos and perhaps even had some success selling our screenplays. Somehow, the best process for structuring a screenplay or TV show remains elusive, so we continue to search for better ways to write our scripts. I have found an answer that will allow you to use what you already know, better and more efficiently.The Four Magic Questions of ScreenwritingThe Questions are a technique that when applied to dramatic structure makes the process of organizing a plot easy and fun. The Questions are like a Swiss Army...

How much thought do you think writers should invest in terms of tracking the broad strokes of the protagonist’s emotional journey when structuring the story?I think all screenwriters should know the emotional journey from beginning to end. If you have the character’s arc clearly in mind, you can then begin to build your story and character utilizing the emotional journey as one of the major leads into the physical journey. Action and character, those are the two things to follow during the unfolding of the script. Take a look at Avatar or The King’s Speech – it’s an emotional journey...

And the Winner is... Joshua Rebell - "Old Boys Club"The second running of the Industry Insider Screenwriting contest was another huge success. Writers from around the world submitted the first 15 pages of their unique screenplays based on master screenwriter Allan Loeb's logline, "A group of married men desperate for one last bachelor party invents a long-lost friend who’s about to be wed, but things get out of control when their wives want to meet the groom before the big event."To say it was difficult to select a group to move on to the next phase is an understatement. We...

"Thirty years ago I was the second customer at The Writers Store. I survived the experience, and so did the store. I keep coming back. Experience counts."- David SeidlerThere's a reason The Writers Store is still in business after 30 years, and it's the same reason any writer manages to survive that long: They figured out what they were good at and kept working hard to get better at it. The next generation of screenwriters, I'm sure, will find as I have, there’s really no other place like it.- Steven Zaillian"The Writers Store is the best place to go for...

As the weather warms up and everyone’s mailed off their taxes, writers start looking at their calendar in anticipation of -- PITCHFEST SEASON! Whether you’ve written a screenplay or novel, writers are all too aware that most of these events are held between May – November.And while you’ve spent all winter polishing up your projects in anticipation of attending one or more of these events, are you prepared to survive the challenge of pitching to the movers and shakers of Hollywood and/or the editors and agents of the publishing world?Here are suggestions for making the most of your valuable time...