

5 WAYS TO NETWORK AS AN OUTSIDER
They say success in Hollywood is about “who you know.” That’s only partly true. In fact, you need to do two things to break in as a...


5 WAYS TO DEFEAT WRITER'S BLOCK
The subject of writer’s block comes up fairly frequently at writing panels and conferences, which suggests it’s a pretty big concern for...


WHAT IS A SCREENWRITER'S VOICE AND HOW DO YOU FIND YOURS?
(SPOILERS: Get Out, The Big Sick) If you ask producers and development executives what they’re looking for in new writers, among the top...


THE TEN BEST WRITTEN MOVIES OF 2017
It’s time for my list of the ten best-written movies of last year! Keep in mind, this is a list of the best written movies, not...


GET OUT ANALYSIS: PART THREE
INTEGRATION OF THEME Spoilers: Get Out (of course!) After considerable delay (sorry), I’m going to conclude my three-part analysis of Get...


GET OUT ANALYSIS: PART TWO
(SPOILERS: Get Out – of course!) This week I continue my analysis of writing techniques in the horror movie Get Out (written by Jordan...


GET OUT ANALYSIS: PART ONE
Building and Maintaining Psychological Horror (SPOILERS: Get Out – of course!) In the spirit of Halloween, I’m going to do several...


ABUSE IN HOLLYWOOD
The Harvey Weinstein scandal is appalling, not just because of the sleazy things he did, but because most everyone recognizes it is not...


ON THE BEGINNINGS OF SCENES
Screenplays are a very formal type of writing with a highly specific format and rules. This is because they are not just a way to tell a...


THE THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS YOUR STORY SHOULD ANSWER
(Spoilers: Gravity, Little Miss Sunshine) In my book, The Three Stages of Screenwriting, I describe what I refer to as the “Dramatic...