(you can assume that links are affiliate links) The Tyranny of Likeability When Writing Female Characters Oh, man. Likeability sucks so much. It’s too often used as a cudgel whenever someone can’t figure out anything intelligent to say about your script. That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily wrong–I mean if you actually wanted your character to … Read more
Five Examples of the Break Into Two for Screenwriters Those of us who geek on screenplay structure have a tendency to refer to the Break Into Two–which I may well call the Act II Break, so forgive me–as some sort of specific moment that shifts us into the new act. In practice, however, it’s often … Read more
How to Write a Horror Film with No Monster: Wake in Fright Welcome to a different kind of horror. This post explores how to write a horror film with no monster—at least not in any sort of conventional sense. Ted Kotcheff’s Wake in Fright (1971)–a film that Nick Cave calls “the best and most terrifying … Read more
How to Write a 250-Word Synopsis of Your Screenplay – Step by Step The story is clear in your mind. The months or years it has taken to develop characters, arcs, reversals, and all has produced an excellent product. But let’s be honest. No one wants to read that shit. The hardest thing to do … Read more
Example of a Five-Act Film: The Big Lebowski Screenwriters are usually taught to think in terms of the three-act structure: setup, confrontation, resolution. And then there are the films that never really quite fit into that mold. It’s not to say that they don’t have a structure, but it seems more drawn-out and episodic. Interesting … Read more
Five Examples of the Refusal of the Call (Debate) for Screenwriters What Happens Between the Inciting Incident and the Act II Break The waters between the Inciting Incident and the Act II Break are often muddy. For viewers, it might feel like the story is meandering or still setting up. Honestly, viewers will put up … Read more
How to Write a Vampire Film: Lessons for Screenwriters Rules, Story Worlds, and Fetishism Vampires navigate the boundary between life and death, pleasure and horror, intimacy and violence. Notably, the best vampire films establish clear rules, build rich, moody environments, and explore the inherently sensual, parasitic nature of the vampire figure. These elements ground the … Read more
Six Examples of the Inciting Incident (Catalyst) in Films The Inciting Incident—also called the Catalyst—is the moment in a screenplay when we realize: Something is actually going to happen here. It’s the first rupture in the routine, the out-of-the-ordinary event that causes the story to veer off course. This is not the Act II turn, … Read more
Five B-Movies for Screenwriters to Learn From Budget limitations, genre constraints, and creative freedom: here’s how low-budget cult classics made the most of limited resources. Screenwriters often think they need a big budget to tell a big story. But the truth is, great writing thrives under constraints. Whether it’s time, money, or production value, B-movies … Read more
How to Create an Unlikeable Protagonist “I just felt like the protagonist wasn’t likeable.” Shoot me now. For those of us who have been writing for more than five minutes, it’s pretty fucking obvious that any of the most iconic protagonists in film and television are not likeable at all. Alcoholics. Drug fiends. Criminals. Narcissists. … Read more
