The why behind the rule is what matters.
A screenwriting "rule" is something someone repeats when they don't fully understand the WHY behind it.
Does the scene advance the story?
The larger transformation of the story is composed of smaller transformations in each scene. All pushing, pulling, or diverting the transformation to its completion.
The idea matters.
My first screenplays were never going to go anywhere. And not because I was a bad writer, though I was. Those screenplays were doomed because they were bad ideas for screenplays.
Our skill goes where our attention goes.
The world wants your attention. Badly. But your creative energy is as much a limited resource as your time. Treat it as such.
How does the character solve problems?
How a character solves their problems is a defining characteristic that we often forget.
Why are emerging screenwriters obsessed with format?
Format is one of the first and easiest things we learn. So why are we so concerned about doing it right?
Unified choices elevate the whole story.
Unified choices enhance each other. They answer why this character, in this plot, with this concept, and this ending.
The 3-Part Act 1 and the Inciting Incident.
Sometimes the needs of Act 1 do not lend themselves to an early inciting incident. For those unique stories, you have the 3-Part Act 1.
Stop trying to sell your screenplay.
It’s not your job to sell your screenplay. That is for others. Your job is to give them something to sell.
The three deadly sins of the pre-outline phase.
Early on, I managed to overcome my self-sabotage with resilience and some wildly good luck. But when the luck ran out, the resilience started to look a lot more like stubbornness.
Mind the flow on the page.
We are telling a story meant for a visual and aural experience by using a medium that lacks both: text.
It's the trend line in our screenwriting that matters.
No one’s work just gets better and better and better. No one’s.