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The questions you ask matter.
Action Lines

The questions you ask matter.

"How do I format slow motion in my screenplay?" It sounds simple, right? But it's the wrong question.
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Tom Vaughan
Don't sleep on writing short films.
Process

Don't sleep on writing short films.

Writing shorts is a near-perfect laboratory for improving your screenwriting. Nearly everything you learn about feature writing applies to shorts.
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Tom Vaughan
Key decisions that make your screenwriting easier.
Process

Key decisions that make your screenwriting easier.

Here is a harsh truth: 99% of your passes are pre-destined. Here's why.
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Tom Vaughan
Scene generation: "What do we want to see?"
Scene Work

Scene generation: "What do we want to see?"

Given the characters, genre, situation, relationships, and the concepts we have established: What do we want to see?
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Tom Vaughan
What motivates the characters in your screenplay?
Character

What motivates the characters in your screenplay?

Anxiety means well. Anxiety’s job is to protect us, after all. It’s just usually an incredibly unskilled and unproductive way to do it.
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Tom Vaughan
How to attack your scene transitions.
Action Lines

How to attack your scene transitions.

Nearly every screenplay has 100+ transitions from one scene to another. This can be a major area of stress with the reader. Don't let it be.
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Tom Vaughan
Strategies for the industry contraction.
The Business

Strategies for the industry contraction.

I was back in Los Angeles for the first time in eight months. My first priority was to sit and talk with my agents. This is what we discussed.
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Tom Vaughan
Choosing the point of view of a scene.
Scene Work

Choosing the point of view of a scene.

The narrative point of view is through whom we experience a story, scene, or moment. We get information as they do, and often, as a result, that is who we empathize with.
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Tom Vaughan
How to write a montage.
Action Lines

How to write a montage.

Don't let proper montage format sabotage your montage.
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Tom Vaughan
Five types of directors attached to your screenplay.
The Business

Five types of directors attached to your screenplay.

Not all directors are created equal. While it's always great to hear kind things about our work, always know exactly how and why someone moves your project further toward production.
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Tom Vaughan
Do professional screenwriters get to play by different rules?
Action Lines

Do professional screenwriters get to play by different rules?

Do professional writers operate under different rules? No. They do not. Can they get away with more aggressive formatting? Yes, they can. But not because of rules.
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Tom Vaughan
The 3 points of character descriptions.
Character

The 3 points of character descriptions.

The good news is that you do not have to be brilliant. Just know the assignment.
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Tom Vaughan
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