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

Learning From L.A. Confidential: Introductions

May 28, 2012May 28, 2012characterisation, introductions, L.A. Confidential, learning

SPOILER ALERT: The following series of posts are spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now… Orientation:Set in the 1950s, L.A. Confidential follows three policemen, Bud White, Jack Vincennes and

Learning from L.A. Confidential

May 14, 2012May 14, 2012L.A. Confidential, learning

I’m currently writing a crime-thriller. It has innocents drawn into an underworld of intrigue, double crosses, and corruption. I thought I’d sit at the feet of some of the masters of the craft to learn how best to

Need a Kickstart?

April 30, 2012April 30, 2012Competition

I was disappointed a few posts ago to discover that the Persona Non Grata competition was only open to residents of either the US or UK. Well, Australians have got their revenge in the form of

Fade In

April 18, 2012April 18, 2012Celtx, Fade In, Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, software

I have been an avid Celtx user for my screenplays since moving on from the frustrations of formatting Microsoft Word with custom tabs and margins. Celtx has served me well. Especially the price point! ($0) Celtx provides an ordered

Chekhov’s Gun and Phasmids

April 4, 2012April 4, 2012Chekhov's Gun, Deus Ex Machina, foreshadow, Kung Fu Panda 2, Master and Commander, Megamind, phasmid, plant, story theory

What does Chekhov’s Gun have to do with phasmids, dehydraters and cannonballs? Well, a couple of months ago I went through a movie binge – two dozen movies in two weeks – that helped answer that question. Firstly, though,

Double Trouble

March 20, 2012March 20, 2012dialogue, overwriting, plot, screenwriting, tips

I’m doing a rewrite on a script of mine that did fairly well in a couple of screenwriting competitions. To that end, I read through my judge’s feedback from the PAGE International Screenwriting Competition a few years ago.

Stopped by the Fine Print

March 15, 2012March 15, 2012Competition, direct, Persona Non Grata, write

Do you have a compelling, unique script written? Could it be made for $250K? Maybe you’ve just got the germ of an idea – could you get it written by April 30? And the question that eliminated me – do you

And the Oscar™ goes to…

February 27, 2012February 27, 2012Academy Awards, Oscars, screenplays, scripts

What time is it? Academy Award Time! One of the best things to do to improve writing, besides actually writing and getting those 10,000 hours logged, is to read screenplays. And not just good ones. It is

What Do Your Characters Look Like?

February 12, 2012February 12, 2012casting, characterisation, tips

One of my not-strong points (and one that I think is shared by a number of other new screenwriters) is that of creating unique voices for my different characters. My characters have been adequate and functional,

Celtx Quirks

February 5, 2012February 5, 2012Celtx, screenwriting, tips

I use Celtx for my screenwriting projects. I like having various sub-documents for keeping track of notes, characters, index cards and scribblings. I’m sure other programs do all that, maybe even better, but Celtx is what I used