If there’s just one bottom line piece of advice I can give you about how to write a novel or script, it’s this— You need to know the PLAN. Your…
(And what the ^&*! is a synopsis, anyway?) After the year-or-years long marathon that is writing a book, the very last thing anyone wants to do is come…
2
Sometimes the key to your Character Arc and to your most satisfying story and ending lies in a very simple equation: At the beginning of the story, the…
In progress! I’m collecting links to posts on essential elements of your main character here, for easy reference. Hero/ine’s SPECIAL SKILLS or…
I found it truly hard to choose between contenders for the Oscars this year. I am angry and sad about films, filmmakers, and performances that were…
When people ask you what your book or script is about, what they are really asking is – “What’s the Premise?” In other words: What’s the story line in…
3
Now that you have your Index Cards, let’s get them up on a Story Structure Grid! If you haven’t brainstormed on Index Cards yet, that’s your first step…
Today let’s look at some examples of one of the most important story elements of all: your Hero/ine’s CHARACTER ARC. As we’ve been talking about, there…

February 2023

Great characters are great from the first moment they appear on the page or screen. We’ve all experienced that electrifying rush—the knowing that this…
ACT TWO: Part 1 [33:42] The Transition Visual between Acts I and II shows the plane flying over the map again, this time to Cairo. Filmmakers love to…
The Inciting Incident, Inciting Event, or Call to Adventure is the real start of your book or script. It is a life-changing event (even if it may not…
4
These story breakdowns I’m posting are what I consider teaching movies. A teaching movie does pretty much every element of story structure so…