Mar 31, 2026

John sits down with the Northwest Screenwriters Guild at an event to promote the Scriptnotes book, and ends up having a poignant conversation about how the career of screenwriting has changed, missteps John made throughout his career, and how his approach to screenwriting has evolved over time.

He also answers questions...

Mar 24, 2026

In our first sequel compendium, John and Craig revisit four of their best segments dedicated to crafting a satisfying and emotional ending to your story.

They look at rooting your ending in character, the function of the denouement, what makes a memorable farewell, how and why our endings can change, and how to bring...

Mar 17, 2026

John welcomes back Drew Goddard (Project Hail Mary, High Potential) to ask, how do you turn the beats of your story into full scenes? Using Drew’s script for The Martian, we look at how he translates moments in a book into scenes in a movie, the freedom Drew finds in a beat sheet, how beats are approached in a...

Mar 10, 2026

John and Craig revisit a favorite episode focused on a single topic: bad movies and how they happen. Using first-hand experience, they look at how bad ideas make it to the screen, how good ideas go wrong, and the range of patterns that end in terrible movies.

We also make a list of our then-dream guests for the...

Mar 3, 2026

John and Craig tackle the scourge of free work and offer strategies to avoid it. They look at established norms, potential remedies, the things that should work but often don’t, and how writers should think about the time and effort they’re putting in before getting paid.

We also follow up on useful comps, AI...