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,
Continue ReadingDouble Trouble
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.
Continue ReadingStopped by the Fine Print
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
Continue ReadingAnd the Oscar™ goes to…
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
Continue ReadingWhat Do Your Characters Look Like?
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,
Continue ReadingCeltx Quirks
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
Continue ReadingPicture It
I subscribe to the Raindance newsletter and in an email recently there was a link to a series of posters for modern movies, reinterpreted as if they had come out many years ago. Check it
Continue ReadingWriter’s Store Tip: Don’t Break the Chain
For a couple of years I’ve been recording the time I spend working on screenplays. It is a way of keeping me aware of how much (or little) I’ve been working, and on what projects.
Continue ReadingWhat Are You Saying?
I had a movie binge over the recent holiday period. I was staying by my sister’s house for a couple of weeks, as the whole family was there preparing for my Grandma’s wedding (You’re never
Continue ReadingNew Year’s Resolutions
The end of another year. This has been the year I have least worked on what I have wanted, which is why I am making employment changes (per an earlier post)… For 2012, I resolve to
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