The 3 points of character descriptions.
The good news is that you do not have to be brilliant. Just know the assignment.
The two key elements to narrative momentum.
Narrative momentum is the force that keeps the audience compelled to continue watching. It's why a good 3-hour movie can go by so much faster than a bad 90 minute film.
The most important part of Act 3.
The moment when a character earns ownership of their change by surrendering something they once valued but is no longer aligned with their new value system.
How I learned screenplay structure.
Plots seem complicated when you're in the moment, but when you lay them out scene by scene it's clear how simple they really are.
How to structure a story with a relationship at the center.
Relationships are vital for every story. Audiences care deeply about relationships, perhaps more than anything else. But what about when the relationship is the story?
The key to a sensational inciting incident.
The most effective inciting incidents are personal, and the best ones evoke an emotional reaction from the protagonists and from us.
The want drives everything.
Without a want, the narrative is stagnant. But with it, we can map out the entire story structure.
Controlling the tone in your screenwriting.
Tone concerns the audience's experience. It's about how they react to what they see, hear, and even feel. At its core, it is about the suspension of disbelief.
Five Questions For Every Scene
Screenwriting is scene work. Scenes and sequences are at the heart of what we do. But how do we write great scenes, and how do we REwrite them?
Finding The Core Belief: The Impact of the Flat-Arc Protagonist
Stories where the protagonist remains steadfast in their beliefs and, in doing so, changes everyone around them.
This is called in some circles... "The flat-arc protagonist."
Make Your Screenplay More Readable: Write Vertically
Put simply, writing vertically refers to making choices that push the reader's eyes DOWN the page more often than they go ACROSS the page.
The Mental Battle of Screenwriting
Screenwriting is difficult. But, once we accept this — that it is difficult — and we abandon the idea that if it is difficult, something must be wrong… well, then we just… go on.