Story and Plot Weekly Email
  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Courses
  • Testimonials
  • SUBSCRIBE
Tom Vaughan

Tom Vaughan

Why The Action Lines Matter
Action Lines

Why The Action Lines Matter

So I did that “passion polish.” I didn’t change any dialogue, I didn’t change the structure, or what happened in scenes. I just polished the action lines. That was it. It took me maybe a few days.
Read More
Tom Vaughan
Why I Am Backing The Current WGA Leadership
The Business

Why I Am Backing The Current WGA Leadership

My belief is the WGA is here just for this very purpose. To protect writers when powerful forces try to impose something unethical on us because we are not powerful enough individually to fight back.
Read More
Tom Vaughan
The New Mission of the Screenwriter
Emotion

The New Mission of the Screenwriter

Our job is this: To create the emotional experience of watching the movie on the screen.
Read More
Tom Vaughan
It’s Not About The Plot
Emotion

It’s Not About The Plot

Too often, the new writer thinks MORE plot will save them. This is rarely, if ever, true. One of my biggest realizations from breaking down the structure of screenplays was seeing just how simple the plots actually are.
Read More
Tom Vaughan
Defining Story Structure
Structure

Defining Story Structure

You will use structure whether you like it or not. You really have no choice. All you ever do when you are writing is decide what the audience knows and when they know it.
Read More
Tom Vaughan
Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens Made Me Feel Terrible
Movies

Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens Made Me Feel Terrible

This is a movie the studio makes when they really want to reboot a franchise for a younger generation but know the older fans would raze the studio if they did. Charged with that task, I think they did as good of a job as we can reasonably expect.
Read More
Tom Vaughan
Story and Plot Weekly Email © 2025
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Powered by Ghost