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The Dreaded Doppelgangers (or "Why I Reject Scripts About Twins Twice As Fast")
When I was in high school, there were three sets of twins – two fraternal and one identical. The latter - a pair of sisters a year ahead of me...
Keeping Your Writing Resolutions
Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. - Mark Twain Ah, January! A new...
Minor Characters Don't Need Major Introductions
EXT. - DUSK - CHICAGO STREET In a traveling shot, we see JOSEPH TAMBERLIN, a homeless man of 47, asleep between two garbage cans in a trash-littered and stinky alley....
Why Based on a True Story Movies Repeatedly Unravel
Based on a true story is one of those unfortunate catch-phrases that usually has the opposite effect in courting a producer's enthusiasm than most writers assume. Of the several hundred...
The Curse of Quirky Parentheticals
When I was a young aspiring writer, I had a strong aversion to the use of "said" in a story. My justification was that it was blah. It was uninspired....
Finding Inspiration in the Cookie Aisle
The arrival of Daylight Savings Time three weeks early this year heralds the approach of a long stretch of summer for you to finally get cracking on that screenplay you've...
A Script by Any Other Name? The Sale is Just as Sweet
You've dotted all your "i's," you've crossed all your "t's," you've read every book on how to pitch your script in person, by mail, and online. Yet there it continues...