Honestly, I never planned to be a director or producer, either. I loved drama class in high school (shout out to Mr. Rickel!), but acting for a living seemed about as impossible as playing in the NFL. I’ve always loved movies—which I’m realizing sounds like a banal dating profile statement a la “I’m a foodie” or “travel is my passion”—but I never actually thought I’d make them myself.

(The Differences in Writing Novels vs. Scripts.)

When I was growing up, making movies, books, or comics for a living seemed like an impossible dream. Sure, I dabbled with writing stories, and I even made a short film in high school—a thinly-veiled rip-off of Clerks called “Carousel,” about a depressed and tyrannical amusement operator with a substance abuse problem.* But that didn’t feel like a real short film, nor did the stories I wrote feel like real stories. Now, the worst thing you can do as an artist is question the legitimacy of what you’re producing, if it even is art, but I wouldn’t learn that for a long time.

The point is, filmmaking never felt like a viable path for me, so I spent my 20s doing stupid things I didn’t really enjoy because they sure passed the time, didn’t they?

The thing that got me into filmmaking was actually horror fiction. I’d gotten pretty serious about writing prose and had a few small successes, so I applied to grad school at UCR-Palm Desert, hoping to hone my craft. The only problem was, you couldn’t just write fiction. You had to pick a “cross,” sort of like a minor. So I said what the heck, let’s try this screenwriting thing.

My professor, Joshua Malkin, and I immediately hit it off. He’s a horror nerd and co-wrote Cabin Fever 2, amongst other projects. While the idea of learning the screenwriting format seemed super complicated, I was game to give it a shot.

This is probably the part where you’re expecting me to say, writing scripts isn’t easy, but I never thought it would be. There’s a reason why it’s such a hyper-selective field, to the point where you can even earn a living as a screenwriter and still not get anything made.

They don’t call it Hollyweird for nothing, right? 

I don’t think any kind of writing is easy, but there’s degrees of difficulty. If you have more constraints format-wise, that ups the difficulty level. See, in a novel you have the advantage of interiority. You can convey thoughts and feelings in a straightforward manner. In film, you don’t have that same advantage. You can use a voiceover to similar effect, sure, but VO can be cliche or even passe depending on who you talk to. It can be a crutch.** You have to think of new, creative ways to convey things to the audience without simply telling them.

Writing movie scripts was like learning to walk all over again. Instead of just riffing, like I do when I’m writing prose, I had to write with intent. I needed to take a second and picture the scene in my mind.

Eventually, I got the hang of it. Enough that a movie I co-wrote actually got made*** and a short film I wrote and directed won a couple awards. Which is cool, but even cooler? I was able to take what I learned as a screenwriter back to my fiction. My prose is more visual. When I’m writing a scene in a novel, I tend to picture it as a movie scene in my head. What the characters look like, what they’re doing, each action, even if I’m not writing it down per se (there’s only so many times a person can nod, right?). And it’s paid off wonderfully. One of the most common things I hear from readers—besides what’s wrong with you—is that my work is “cinematic.”

Pretty neat, for sure.

The other interesting change I noticed was that I got much better at plotting. Pre-grad school, I was a confirmed pantser. I liked to feel my way through each book. While some books can get away with being more mood or voice pieces, depending on the genre, a screenplay is a precision instrument, part work of art in and of itself, but primarily a blueprint that directors, actors, editors, stunt people, visual effects artists, set dressers, and all the rest can build upon. Architects can’t improvise their way through a building design, and screenwriters can’t improvise their way through a script, or the whole thing will fall apart.

Writing screenplays forced me to practice plotting. Now, when I’m planning a book, I’m doing so much more intentionally, thinking through beats and arcs and individual scenes, making sure the whole thing hangs together before I type “Chapter 1.” And for my fellow pantsers out there, this has not diminished the sheer fun I have writing prose one iota. In fact, it’s made writing a less anxious experience. I know exactly where the story’s going next, which frees me up to discover all the strange and wonderful sights to see in between.

So no, I never thought I’d be a screenwriter. And I certainly never imagined that screenwriting would inform my fiction to the degree it does. Which is funny, because when you’re in any creative field, imagination is your bread and butter. Finding new ways to use your imagination, new ways to express your creativity, doesn’t just open potential paths you never dreamed possible.

It also makes the journey along the one you’re already on that much more interesting, and that much more fulfilling.

*****

*I had smoked approximately 3 pots at this point in my life and absolutely hated alcohol. Boy, have times changed! 

**Morgan Freeman excepted

***A Haunting in Ravenwood, available on Amazon

Check out Brian Asman’s Man, F*ck This House here:

Bookshop | Amazon

(WD uses affiliate links)

The post From Script to Scream: How Filmmaking Informed My Horror Fiction appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(From Screenplay to Novel: Why It Works for Me.)

I hadn’t ever considered becoming a playwright until my early 30s when, at a dinner party, a man recounted the love story behind the Taj Mahal. Immediately, I thought, “Why isn’t this a movie? Or a television series??” It was at that dinner I decided to write a script about Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. I poured over history books and articles and bled the epic love story onto page after page. When I finished, I held the script delicately in my hands like a newborn baby. It embodied a fresh creative energy that I hadn’t felt in years. Make no mistake, I had written what is quite possibly the worst script ever written in the history of writing. But I had done it! I had written a script. It was abundantly clear I knew nothing about the technicalities of writing a screenplay. However, I knew stage plays—the formatting, the structure, the heartbeat—like the back of my hand.

Time went on and after 15 years of writing for the stage and after the production of several full-length dramas, I decided to challenge myself by writing a novel. Much like screenplays, I was starting at ground zero. But I wasn’t worried, as I was an avid reader. I figured, “I’ll just write the story, expanding on my knowledge of dialogue, add some descriptors, and voila!” But voila, it did not. I found myself in the same predicament of inexperience I had been in with attempting to write a screenplay. While some of the practices and techniques I had honed as a playwright were valuable, there was much to learn.

As creative and curious artists, we are constantly experimenting with new techniques and approaches which keeps art in a constant state of flux. That said, after an ongoing career as a playwright and with my second novel, Butterfly Pinned, set for May publication, I can state with all certainty that there remain distinct and stark differences between writing a novel and writing a play.

Format

Formatting is the most obvious of the differences, but it is the foundation. A novel gives you free reign in chapter length and, in most cases, the only parameter you should abide to is writing in paragraph form. Plays, however, must be formatted into a preexisting, specific script form. There’s no getting around it.

Consider your script as an operating manual for the actors, director, set designer, etc. It needs to be cohesive, so all parties remain on the same page. (Pun intended!) The easiest way to achieve this is by using software designed to format for you, guiding you through dialogue, stage directions, and scene changes.

There are several reliable companies who offer formatting software specifically for playwrights, and which one is best for you comes down to personal taste. Some popular companies include Celtx, WriterDuet, and Trelby. My personal preference is Final Draft, which I’ve been using for over 20 years.

Setting

Again, the novel lends itself to more freedom when dealing with the setting of your story. It can include car crashes, explosions, and may span the globe. With a novel you can take your time describing the details of an expanse of land or the rich history of an ancient city. With a play, what you can convey beyond dialogue is minimal.

The main restriction is physical space. You must contain the setting to a stage. Unless the play is a big budget Broadway extravaganza, pyrotechnics, multiple scenery changes, and ornate sets are unrealistic. Rule of thumb is minimal is best. Most often, a stage production will have a hired set designer, so your sole job is to convey the setting you desire through the dialogue and stage directions.

Click to continue.

Content

A novel offers you a wonderful opportunity to tell a multi-layered, in depth look at the world through the lens of one character, many characters, or as an observer. A reader can hear inner monologues and passing thoughts of the characters. A novel allows narration to guide a reader through the story, gently pushing and pulling whichever direction you, the writer, intends.

A play relies solely on dialogue and action to convey the story. Every spoken word must count, and unspoken words carry as much weight. I like to think of plays as deep dives into human psychology. Where a novel can be either plot or character driven, a play is, with few exceptions, character driven.

And your character driven story must be succinct. While a novel has the breadth of 400 pages to express the Hero’s Journey, the psychological voyage in a play must take place in approximately 80 pages. Every line of dialogue and every stage direction must directly correlate to a particular character’s conscious or unconscious motives.

End Result

Whether you finish writing your novel or writing your play, please give yourself a pat on the back. It’s a huge accomplishment!

Naturally, your next step is to share your work of art with friends, family, or the world at large. This, too, differs when speaking of novels vs. plays. In the ever-changing landscape of publishing, there are now several outlets to share your book. Self-publishing is a wonderful option for those who are interested in a small batch of copies or for those brave enough to handle the entire process of selling books themselves. Hybrid publishing is another route for those who still would like to maintain control of the book itself but would like help in the physical publishing and distribution. And for those with perseverance, after obtaining an agent, traditional publishing is an option.

For plays, publishing is possible, but it is not the end game. Production is the goal. As with novels, there are many roads to production. I began my career by lending a script to a local community theatre. They did not have to pay a royalty fee, and I was granted live productions to gauge what worked and what didn’t in my writing. It was a win-win for all. Playwrights can submit to local and regional theaters. You may even put sheets up in the backyard, or apartment basement, corral some willing friends, and stage your own low budget (free!) production.

Whether you choose to write a novel or write a play, I wish you joy in telling your story!

Check out Leslie Liautaud’s Butterfly Pinned here:

Bookshop | Amazon

(WD uses affiliate links)

The post The Page or The Stage: The Differences in Writing Novels vs. Scripts appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(How to Adapt a Novel Into a Screenplay.)

I enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps when I was 18. Illegally, because being gay in the military was against the law. A time in our history when out was not in. After my enlistment in the Marine Corps ended, I moved to Hollywood with a story I knew was compelling, but I didn’t yet know how to tell. I wanted to write; I had no idea how. I studied the television medium with the drive instilled in me by the USMC.

After a few years, I found some success writing television. But that one story remained in my luggage, taunting me to unpack it. Was it a movie, a television series, or a book? I thought long and hard about that. Since I’d only written screenplays and had no idea how to write a book, I decided to write a book. Marines are predictable, we run toward danger while eating crayons.

One question—how does one write a book? I’d only written screenplays and was self-taught. The idea of writing a whole book made me think of a plate at Thanksgiving. How could I eat all that? However, if I take small bites, soon the plate is clean. I started a blog. Small bites. Short stories of my adventures in the kitchen, traveling with my Canadian boyfriend, and my time in the Marine Corps. I parlayed the blog content into a spot at Huffington Post and got attention from Food Network. I hosted some cooking shows. I was building my author’s platform while honing my long-form narrative muscles. A book outline formed. Grabbing little bits of time to write morphed into locking myself in my office for a year. When I typed “the end” I cried.

I didn’t know what to do with my manuscript, but I knew how to Google. Soon I was on a Skype session with Jane Friedman. Her advice was invaluable. She illuminated aspects of the publishing world, eventually guiding me toward my editor, Nicole Klungle. At first, the editing process was frustrating, the darlings killed were from my real life and therefore personal. But soon we hit a rhythm. My memoir was ready to sell.

The Pink Marine sold to a traditional publisher. Time with them resulted in my having a heart attack. On book tour. Not to blow the ending, but I survived. The first thing I did was to stop eating red meat and then cancel my book contract. In true, storm the hill Marine Corps fashion, I formed my own publishing company. I also asked for and received a lot of support. I leaned on my rep at Ingram whom I’d befriended over a love of food. A brilliant friend figured out the publishing formatting. My boyfriend created my imprint’s logo in a day and designed my book’s website and cover. Within days, I was back on tour with my book, now re-released under my own imprint. This is a plot point to which I’ll circle back.

During all that drama, a Hollywood producer optioned The Pink Marine for development into a dramedy. It’s hard to write a book, hard to sell a book, and even harder to have that book sold for the screen. The way I saw it was that if I can earn the title of Marine against all odds plus more odds and then extra odds—why not my book’s title earning a sale? I’d like to tell you that my book-to-screen adaptation was smooth sailing. I’d also like to tell you that I still wolf down In-N-Out, but no book-to-screen adaptation is easy, and none are identical.

What is common to all authors is our vital fight for agency in both the business and creative aspects of the adaptation. The studio will offer you the author’s standard 2.5% of modified gross receipts; ask for more. They’ll offer you a fee for each episode; ask for more. Honey, if they offer you a bagel with everything, ask for more. Once the business deal was locked down, the studio hired a showrunner, the person who adapts your book into what the studio wants. I had to trust him to not only honor my story but also create a captivating series. Trust him to honor the most precious parts of my story. FYI, darlings can get killed twice.

Check out Greg Cope White’s The Pink Marine here:

Bookshop | Amazon

Learn more at ThePinkMarine.com…

(WD uses affiliate links)

Once we crafted a show, we pitched the streamers, resulting in a bidding war between Apple and Netflix. Netflix was victorious. We hired the writing staff. Since I’m a screenwriter, I write on the series. As far as what the adapting process looked like, my time in the writer’s room vacillated between longshots of me throwing myself over my book to protect its precious body, and closeups of me gleefully lighting the fuse on the bomb beneath it, blowing up a story point for the good of the show. Our scripts are written, our cast is stellar, and we are in production. I love both the book and its television adaptation. I invite you to watch the series when it is released and in the same breath will always urge viewers to read my memoir on which it’s based. There are details, humor, and dramatic points that might not fit into a one-hour episode. Plus, there’s one mixed metaphor that survived my editor’s sword.

Before you think this all happened overnight, please know that I was 32 when I landed my first TV writing job, 55 when I published my memoir, 57 when I sold my first movie, 58 when I sold the next two, 60 when I sold my memoir to a studio and then to Netflix as a series, 61 when I walked into that writer’s room. I’m 63, currently on set producing.

That circle back I promised: Remember when I lived long enough to publish my book under my own imprint? The Pink Marine is a self-published book. I split the profits with (insert no one’s name).

My book-to-screen trip has been wonderful and awful and gut-punching and mind-blowing and any frustration or disappointment about the process is extinguished by the bucket of gratitude I throw at every single moment.

The post Book-to-Scream: Writing the Book and Adapting It for the Screen appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(10 Screenwriting Techniques Any Writer Can Employ.)

Regardless, I refused to give up. I did everything I could: trips to take meetings in LA; working for free (almost always a step in the process); attending conferences and pitch festivals; entering endless screenwriting competitions; and, of course, writing new scripts so I could sharpen my skills. This is a never-ending process.

When I won one of the bigger and better competitions with a $25,000 award (thank you, PAGE International Screenwriting Awards!), I got a good agent. I also got a good director and producer. By this time, I knew enough to know that you never get too excited. Not until the actual shooting starts—because nine times out of 10, it won’t. And it didn’t. However, I had won $25,000, which I figured nearly balanced the thousands of dollars I had spent chasing this dream.

Shortly thereafter, I was hired to write two screenplays by a production company that actually paid me. Despite these “wins,” I chose to walk away while I could still tell myself I was in the black. This, however, was magical thinking; I could not put a price on the countless hours I’d spent writing on nights, weekends, and holidays. In short, whatever time my full-time job and family allowed.

Never able to give up writing, I went back to what my creative writing college professors had encouraged me to do in the beginning of this journey—focus on fiction. Of course, the other reason I decided to write fiction was that everyone in Hollywood loves a good IP. And with all of the screenplays I’d written, filled with characters I loved, why start from scratch? Why not turn a screenplay into a novel? After all, my screenplays had been vetted by agents, managers, competitions, and producers. At the very least, I had the basics down.

In writing a screenplay, you need to choose who and what to focus on. You give your leading actor—man or woman—the best scenes, while trying to give all of your supporting actors enough to keep them interesting and interested in playing the part. You also need to make sure your theme is apparent throughout, while balancing the emotional beats, because character is drama. All this while making sure that you’ve placed enough hurdles in your protagonist’s way before resolving his or her conflict. At least to some extent so the audience doesn’t leave the theater feeling cheated.

It was fairly easy to pick which screenplay to use first. Hickam had garnered interest from The Black List, who’d wanted to give it a podcast reading before COVID hit. They’d even pulled together the reading cast, which was exciting. Moreover, Hickam is the story of the first woman to earn a Purple Heart—Lieutenant Annie Fox, Chief Nurse of Hickam Hospital at Hickam Air Base. Adjacent to Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air Base had housed hundreds of B-17 bombers and had also been a target of the attack on December 7, 1941.

While subjective, having a screenplay vetted, especially on The Black List, can tell a screenwriter what’s working and what’s not working. In other words, how much did you get right and how much still needs work? You rewrite until you think it’s as good as it can be, realizing that the producers, director, and actors will have notes. And more notes. And more notes. A screenplay changes, hopefully for the better, up until the cameras roll.

Over three decades, all of this left me with stacks of unproduced scripts. (Depressing to look at. My advice—keep the good ones and have a bonfire for the rest.) However, it also left me with an amazingly detailed outline for a novel. Hence, Hickam was ready to become The Woman With a Purple Heart.

Check out Diane Hanks’ The Woman With a Purple Heart here:

Bookshop | Amazon

(WD uses affiliate links)

A screenplay is approximately 100-120 pages long, if it’s a drama; comedies can be shorter. Typically, a debut novel is around 300 pages. Tripling your page count might seem daunting. However, when you write a screenplay you leave a lot out. You don’t write about what your characters are thinking. You can’t provide motive in that way; you need to show it. Another thing you can’t do is provide detailed descriptions because that’s the job of the set designer and costume designer. When writing a screenplay, you need to make room for all of the other creatives on a set. Especially the director.

When you write a novel, you take on these roles. You’re the writer, director, set designer, and costume designer. As a novelist, you’re completely in charge of creating your new world. This can be overwhelming and exhilarating all at once. But this is when working from a screenplay gives you a major head start since you’ve already envisioned this world, even if you haven’t fully described it on the page.

When I write a screenplay, I leave plenty of room for other creatives while still seeing details of the world my characters live in. Consciously or unconsciously, screenwriters step into that fully realized world whenever they write. When you sit down to write your novel, that world returns. It is as if it’s been there waiting for you in the real or mental drawer where you left that screenplay.

The greatest thing about writing the novel is that you get to expand your story. Little gems you left out for the sake of a page count can come back. You can develop your lead characters’ backstories. And you can develop your supporting characters. One of the best things I did, which I credit to a suggestion from my editor at Sourcebooks, Erin McClary, was to expand the story of Kay Kimura—Annie Fox’s friend and a Japanese American nurse who came to the aid of the wounded at Hickam Air Field at great personal cost.

All of this is not to say that working from a screenplay is the best way to write a novel. In fact, I just finished the first draft of a new novel that was not based on one of my screenplays. Next, I will write the screenplay based on this new novel and see how that works, because a little rock ‘n roll is never a bad thing. 

The post From Screenplay to Novel: Why It Works for Me appeared first on Writer's Digest.

INDIE SPOTLIGHT: Interview with Monuments Writer/Director Jack C. Newelll

In this interview with writer/director Jack C. Newell, we discuss the heart of the story behind his new film Monuments, wearing multiple creative hats and his filmmaking influences. Plus, Jack shares advice for multi-hyphenate filmmakers embarking on making their first indie film.

Click to continue.

INDIE SPOTLIGHT: Interview with The Devil to Pay Filmmakers Ruckus and Lane Skye

Script‘s Editor Sadie Dean interviews filmmaking team Ruckus and Lane Skye, the visionaries behind the new thriller film, The Devil to Pay. They discuss the filmmakers collaboration process from writing to directing and effectively communicating with one another, how they put their indie film together and how they got their footing as screenwriters from a script on the Black List.

Click to continue.

Genre-Bending with Naked Singularity Writer/Director Chase Palmer

Writer/director Chase Palmer speaks with Script about tapping into the essence of the author’s voice and story when adapting novels to screenplays, approaching his new film, Naked Singularity, through a director’s lens, and what piqued his interest to select this adaptation as his feature directorial debut.

Click to continue.

INDIE SPOTLIGHT: Interview with King Knight Writer/Director Richard Bates Jr.

Script‘s Editor Sadie Dean interviews writer/director Richard Bates Jr. about his new comedy film, King Knight, his appreciation of character development, and his journey in making his first horror feature film ‘Excision’.

Click to continue.

MEET THE READER: A Girl and a Gun and a Few Other Things

Ray Morton shares five essential elements that will allow you to create a script that is not just good, but also one that will connect with audiences on every level.

Click to continue.

Chasing Love in Season 2 of The L Word: Generation Q with Showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan

Script‘s Editor Sadie Dean interviews showrunner, writer and director Marja-Lewis Ryan about tapping into the feeling of love for season two of The L Word: Generation Q, helming episodes for the new season, and how her independent filmmaking background was the perfect trajectory to becoming a showrunner.

Click to continue.

The post Utilizing Independent Filmmaking to Tell Stories That Move Audiences and Your Career (From Script) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Interview with ‘The Exchange’ Screenwriter Tim Long and Director Dan Mazer

In this double-header, Script’s Editor Sadie Dean interviews screenwriter Tim Long and director Dan Mazer, the comedy masterminds behind ‘The Exchange’.

Click to continue.

Interview with ‘Ride the Eagle’ Co-Writer and Director Trent O’Donnell

Script’s Editor Sadie Dean interviews ‘Ride the Eagle’ director and co-writer Trent O’Donnell about his new comedy film, his background as a director in comedy TV, collaborating with co-writer and actor Jake Johnson, and taking the bull by the horns and going all-in on his first feature.

Click to continue.

Why Spec Scripts Fail Female Part Over/Under Written or Over Exposed – Part 2

Script contributor Stewart Farquar takes a closer look at why the legacy entertainment industry has now become part of the problem rather than a solution in terms of providing rich and well-written female characters.

Click to continue.

Part 2: How Do You Develop Your Voice and Know It Is Unique?

In part two of this three-part series, TV writer/screenwriter Aadip Desai digs into the concept of a writer’s voice and provides tools on how to develop your voice and tap into what makes your voice unique.

Click to continue.

The post Approaching Comedy from a Personal Perspective and Tapping into Your Unique Writer’s Voice (From Script) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Revisiting History through ‘unCIVILIZED’

Meet the Native women who are on a mission to empower and inspire Native American storytellers, by forging the way with their historical one-hour drama series ‘unCIVILIZED’.

Click to continue.

NFT & Blockchain – New Ways to Raise Film Financing and Make Movies with Emmy-Winning Producer Cindy Cowan

Learn more about crypto currency and how it’s making change in the entertainment business.

Click to continue.

Here’s the Thing… What They Don’t Tell You About Writing Partnerships

Ever wonder what it’s like to work with a writing partner? Or how to find one? Or if it’s worth looking for one?

Click to continue.

Ruth Gordon (with Her Husband, Garson Kanin) — Truly the Marrying Kind

Celebrating the Female Screenwriters Who Came Before Us: Ruth Gordon

Click to continue.

It Depends – What the &%#! Does a “Percentage” Really Mean?

How a percentage is calculated, how the fraction is determined and just what whole is to be considered can all be incredibly complex and difficult elements to fathom. If you don’t have a handle on how these elements interact you can be easily overwhelmed or underserved by the “simple” percentage involved.

Click to continue.

A New Road for ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’ Director Randall Emmett

Script’s Editor Sadie Dean interviews prolific producer Randall Emmett about his feature directorial debut thriller ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’. The two discuss his attraction to the material, working with renowned filmmakers, his collaboration with screenwriter Alan Horsnail and much more.

Click to continue.

Entertaining and Engaging an Audience with TV Writer and Former Showrunner of CBS’ ‘S.W.A.T.’ Aaron Rahsaan Thomas

Script’s Editor Sadie Dean interviews Aaron Rahsaan Thomas who is a three-time NAACP Image Awards nominee, co-creator and former showrunner of CBS’ ‘S.W.A.T.’, and all-around genuine and knowledgeable industry leader.

Click to continue.

The post A Change in Entertainment Business Currency and Disrupting Storytelling with Historical Significance (From Script) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Understanding Screenwriting: Art Isn’t Easy

Problems of screenwriting in two films, In the Heights and Da 5 Bloods, and solutions in one television series, “Big Sky.”

Click to continue.

Reel Impact: Movies and TV that Changed History – “24,” Jack Bauer, and the Torture Lie

History is written and rewritten in films and on TV. Frank Deese pulls back the curtain on the beginnings of the hit television series “24” and how it soon influenced contemporary events in America and beyond.

Click to continue.

Ask the Coach: Help! Do I Abandon My Current Script for a New Idea?

In this installment of “Ask the Coach,” Jenna Avery answers a pre-submitted question about when to abandon a current work-in-progress to tackle a new idea.

Click to continue.

Breaking & Entering: Pizza and Creating Delicious Story Part 2: Theme Makes It Savory

Hungry to discover how to write a screenplay that is unique to you? Barri Evins shares a recipe for cooking up a story that tastes delicious to you and to your audience based on … pizza! Handcraft your story layer-by-layer, plus insights from A-List writers on how they create flavorful and distinctive stories. Topped off by a Writers’ Workout to strengthen your own delectable voices.

Click to continue.

The post Writing and Rewriting History in Film & TV (From Script) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Short Circuit: It’s Not Me, It’s YOU – The “Reader Factor”

Screenwriter Dan Goforth takes you into screenplay competition scores, and how the reader comes into play.

Click to continue.

Reckless Creatives Podcast – Episode 4 “Lucia Lucas & James Kicklighter: The Value of Authenticity, Taking Risks, and the Challenges of Living as an Artist … and Opera. Yes, Opera”

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman talks with opera singer Lucia Lucas and The Sound of Identity‘s director, James Kicklighter.

Click to continue.

There’s a New “Gossip Girl” in Class

Script‘s editor Sadie Dean interviews Joshua Safran, the creator, showrunner, writer, and executive producer of the much-anticipated reimagining of “Gossip Girl.” They take a deep dive into the beginning of his writing career to landing the original “Gossip Girl,” and his personal connection to the characters. Plus, Josh shares practical advice for writers who want to break into a writer’s room.

Click to continue.

The post Navigating Screenplay Competition Scores and Meeting the New Gossip Girl (From Script) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

Interview with Souad Egyptian Filmmaker Ayten Amin

Susan Kouguell Interviews Egyptian filmmaker Ayten Amin about her new feature Souad.

Click to continue.

From Script to Screen: Point of View in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange

In this series of articles, William Dickerson continues to examine the script-to-screen translations of scenes from notable films. After all, the entire point of writing a screenplay is to transcend the act of writing itself, to “show, not tell.”

Click to continue.

How Janicza Bravo and Zola Are Changing the Narrative

Script contributor Thuc Nguyen speaks one-on-one with Zola director/co-writer Janicza Bravo about casting, landing on visual creative choices, and her advice for women to stay in their power.

Click to continue.

Why Spec Scripts Fail: Female Part Over/Under Written or Over Exposed – Part 1

Script contributor Stewart Farquar dives deep into why female character parts in movies are left on the sidelines and why it’s important to make sure their parts are equally as well-written as their male counterparts.

Click to continue.

Interview with Academy Award-Winning Producer Maryann Garger

Script contributor Michael Lee Simpson interviews award-winning producer Maryann Garger about her journey developing and producing animation films and working on the Academy Award-winning animated short film If Anything Happens I Love You.

Click to continue.

Indie Spotlight: Interview with Let Us In Director/Co-Writer Craig Moss

Script‘s editor Sadie Dean interviews Let Us In director/co-writer Craig Moss about this screenwriting journey of making a living off of the spec market, his foray into directing parody films in changing genres, and landing on his new sci-fi/thriller film Let Us In.

Click to continue.

Where Genre Has No Limits: Spotlight on Screenwriter Mark Romansky

Script contributor Nanea Taylor shines the spotlight on screenwriter Mark Romansky.

Click to continue.

Writing Effective, Unbiased Narration for Documentaries

While narrators are used to bridging gaps and providing context in documentaries, they can also lend gravitas, levity, pathos, or whatever mood the filmmaker wants to convey. That doesn’t necessarily make them biased or unreliable narrators.

Click to continue.

Meet the Reader: Where the Script Takes You

As a writer, when our characters and stories won’t go where we want them to, it is not our job to force them to. Instead, it is our obligation is follow them where they want to take us—to go where the script takes us.

Click to continue.

The post Exclusive Interviews with Tribeca Film Festival Filmmakers and a Deep Dive into Character and Story Exploration (From Script) appeared first on Writer's Digest.