K-Tock's Korner - Thoughts on screenwriting and the movies

What Type of [Thematic Object] are Your Characters?

February 22, 2023February 22, 2023characterisation, screenwriting

One of the podcasts on my rotation is The Screenwriting Life, hosted by Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna and produced by Jeff Graham. In Episode 117, screenwriter Eirene Tran Donohue talks about how to write

Scene-us Interruptus; or Why to Withdraw Early

February 7, 2023February 22, 2023Scene work, screenwriting

I was working on a scene last night. It’s a scene where the protagonist meets with his ex and the police about his daughter’s kidnapping. Following this, he kicks into action to get her back.

From Script to Screen: The Expanse

October 19, 2022October 19, 2022screenwritingCraft, Script to Screen, The Expanse

This week’s Scriptnotes episode is a rebroadcast of Episode 224, in which John and Craig discussed several scenes from Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash. They discuss the family dinner scene and Miles’ and Fletcher’s meeting in the

Stakes and Structure…

July 1, 2022July 1, 2022screenwritingstakes, structure

I’m sure I’m not alone in learning about movie structure through the lens of Blake Snyder’s

Pick a Line, Any Line…

May 25, 2022May 25, 2022screenwriting

So I just watched a YouTube clip of a Brad Pitt interview in which the interviewer asked him about which lines have stuck with him from throughout his career. Pitt made an interesting observation that

Scenes: A Culmination? Or the Process?

January 24, 2022May 25, 2022screenwritingscenes

The Process. It hasn’t worked out yet for the Philadelphia 76ers and their attempts to build a championship team through high draft picks, but are there lessons for us as screenwriters in the idea of

Would You Want to Know?

September 30, 2021January 24, 2022characterisationforeknowledge

I have been a Scriptnotes listener since the beginning, back when I used to burn it to a CD so that I could play it in my car while driving. It’s only recently, however, that

Predictability

March 15, 2014March 26, 2021predictable, Scriptnotes, story theory

I’ve only posted a couple of times since life was irrevocably changed nine-and-a-half months ago. I’ve been writing a little– but not consistently– and still listening to the Scriptnotes podcast. While helping to vacuum the house today, I

For Better or for Worse

August 31, 2013March 26, 2021learning, scripts

I am endeavouring to read at least one screenplay a month– Not a big target, I know, but it is difficult to fit screenwriting around a fulltime job and staying married. Anyway, I finished Charlie Kaufman’s

Breaking the Chain

July 1, 2013March 26, 2021don't break the chain, Kaelen

My wife and I were expecting our first child towards the end of May, so I was expecting things to get busier. But I made a commitment not to Break the Chain— something I blogged