Screenwriting

Inspiration for writers

Here are some words of advice from several bestselling authors to motivate and inspire you whenever you're feeling blocked or you can't seem to ditch the writing doldrums...

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Francis Ford Coppola discusses the writing process

In this video, Francis Ford Coppola discusses the creative process and describes the steps he went through to write one of his recent projects. I like how he points out early in the video that he's confident he can make a good film with good cinematography but it all comes down to the writing. One [...]

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Tales From the Script

I finally had a chance to see Tales From the Script last night. Every screenwriter should check out this documentary. It features interviews with forty-four screenwriters -- including William Goldman, Frank Darabont, Steven de Souza, and Shane Black -- who discuss the film industry, the development process, and the ups and downs that come with [...]

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Using music to get in a writing mood

It takes being in the right mood to write a powerful scene, and music is the one thing that always puts me in that mood. Not just any music, but music that has already made it onto the big screen. What better way to put yourself in the perfect mood to imagine vivid and intense [...]

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Creating multi-layered characters

I don't usually share material I created for a work-in-progress, but I think some writers might find this example useful. It's part of an in-depth character study I wrote while working through Holly Lisle's downloadable "Create a Character" course (which you can get through her web site for under $10). Along with dozens of techniques [...]

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Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer

Screenwriters, check out this funny and clever video. It makes fun of almost every movie trailer cliche ever used.

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How to form a daily writing habit

In my quest to become a better writer, I've taken classes, read dozens of how-to books, kept a journal, and joined local and online writing groups. After all this time, I've learned there is one habit that will improve your writing more than any other: Write every day. It seems so simple, yet any writer [...]

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Giving yourself the freedom to fail

Fear of failure is something that keeps many people from writing. They dream of being published but hold back because they're afraid their writing isn't good enough. They worry other people will read it and think it sucks. Sometimes this fear is enough to stop a writer from sending her manuscript out to agents and [...]

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