flying wrestler

Aaron Sorkin says he "worships at the altar of Intention and Obstacle." What does that mean? In his Masterclass he defines it as: "Somebody wants...

Double Mumbo Jumbo is a term in the original Save the Cat book. Blake Snyder used it to caution against including two different types of unrelated...

When we write action and description in a script, we’re telling the reader what the viewer would see, hear and clearly understand from that.
Nothing else.

Five years ago this week my book was released.  I'm proud to say it's been translated into Complex and Simplified Chinese and Russian. (See the...

"Will Michael Jordan agree to sign a shoe deal with Nike, so their basketball division can survive?" This is essentially the main dramatic question...

What is your story really about? I know it's about certain characters and plot events. But what's it examining, behind all that, which could...

SPOILER ALERT: This post reveals some elements of the plot of Barbie. Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie has a lot of wonderful elements. I think most can...

What do you do if your script comes in significantly longer than the guideline length for the medium you’re writing in? How do you approach the task of cutting pages?

Writers often come to me with projects that they think could be a movie or series (i.e. what used to be called television!). And they're not sure...

Save the Cat recommends giving your main character "Six Things that Need Fixing" in the first act. Then, by the end of the script, you show how...

Long before the Save the Cat "beat sheet" came along, screenplay structure theories going back to Syd Field talked about the importance of the...

The second act of a screenplay is that long middle section where the story's main character actively struggles to resolve whatever the primary story...