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Jul 29, 2014

John and Craig look at the trend towards hiring two writers to work on separate drafts of the same project. Is it better to have writers in parallel than serially? Or does it end up with studios ordering off a Chinese menu: this scene, that character, that other set piece?

 

Both Craig and John just started new first...


Jul 22, 2014

John and Craig talk structure and escalation. Structure is simply what happens when. Escalation is how things get tougher.

 

In features, characters are usually going on a journey that can only happen once, so you need to make sure that the events in your story are constantly challenging your heroes in new ways so...


Jul 15, 2014

In their first-ever live streaming episode, John and Craig open the mailbag to answer a bunch of listener questions.

 

  • What research should a writer do before soliciting an agent or manager?
  • What should a writer be willing to give up in order to make her first sale?
  • Does a Mormon writer face special challenges...


Jul 8, 2014

Aline Brosh McKenna joins Craig and John to talk about the difficult journey through pages 70-90 of your feature. After that, we talk about procrastination, the Panic Monster and our inner Instant Gratification Monkeys.

 

Screenwriting books always talk about structure, but never about tone, which is much more important...


Jul 1, 2014

John and Craig discuss why most characters are liars, and how that’s actually a good thing. John offers seven suggestions for picking character names that will help your readers. Then we look at a three page challenge that’s been filmed to see what worked on the page versus on screen.

 

In follow-up, we discuss the...