flying wrestler
thoughts on screenwriting from writer-producer erik bork
The Idea is EVERYTHING
I’ve consistently found that most of the notes I have on any script I read — and certainly all of the most important ones — are notes I would have...
Two types of TV stories
Somehow an article I wrote for Script Magazine a while back never got added to my own website -- and it's about an important topic that I teach TV...
Why They Make Bad Movies
Beginning screenwriters often are shocked to hear how competitive the field is, and how difficult it is to break into. If only the writers with the...
Unmet Needs
I think the best television characters want something they can never have — and spend every episode pursuing it. What makes them compelling is that...
Flaws and Character Arc
The best movies tend to have a growth arc for the main character. In the end, they have often somehow become better versions of themselves, as well...
Internal Stakes
The main character in a movie generally has a big problem that it takes the whole movie to solve. And this is what a professional reader of a script...
Audiences are sadists
If I could sum up the number one most common overall weakness in screenplays I read, it would be that the main character does not have a big enough...
The Problem with Flashbacks
Jumping around in time with flashbacks can be confusing in a script, and can make it hard for a reader to get oriented and settle into one...
Screenwriting’s #1 rule
Show, don't tell. These are probably some of the first words any of us ever heard in a screenwriting class. At first, it might seem obvious. Film...
Unlikable Main Characters
With the rise of somewhat unlikable main characters in cable dramas like The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and True Detective, anti-heroes are...
In defense of formula
Script Magazine has just published my new article where I discuss the issue of "formulaic" writing, and the use of story structure paradigms to help...
Left brain, right brain
So much of writing seems to be about “figuring stuff out.” Figuring out what should happen in a story, or in a scene. Figuring out how...
