[{"sKey":"69836f3c","homeText":"

Screenwriting is an art.  Some will say, no, it is a skill; others will say it is neither.  It is true that with prose fiction writing the writer has almost unlimited range in how they can present their story.  The ability to get inside a character's head and reveal all kinds of facets to the aspects of that character. The skill and art of screenwriting is the ability to express your story with emotion and drama while still conforming to the limiting structure of the screenplay itself.  Some screenwriters get stuck and feel so confined by the significant limitation of screenplay structure that they never evolve as a writer and ultimately give up. <\/p>","title":"5 Ways to Improve as a Screenwriter","avFile":"","authName":"Christopher Wehner"},{"sKey":"6a97bb64","homeText":"

All of us creative types have things we're naturally good at, and things we've learned to do, and things we aren't that good at (yet). This creates a creative trap: when approaching a project, we often work on the part we understand best — the part that scares us least. So if you're good at plot, you write the plot first, and then fill in the characters later. If you're good at characters, you write up the characters and then feel your way towards a plot.<\/p>","title":"Working on the Part that Scares You","avFile":"","authName":"Alex Epstein"},{"sKey":"47095502","homeText":"

Everyone pursuing a screenwriting career will eventually realize this journey is not for the thin of skin or for those who cannot handle the emotional ups and downs this business brings. If you haven’t yet experienced the soul crushing disappointment of finally having written a script that goes into development, but it doesn’t make it to production and sits on a shelf, I don’t envy you. It’s happened to me a handful of times out of my nearly two dozen paid screenwriting assignments. Learn this early — there are no guarantees in the screenwriting game. You take your lumps, heal, and move on to the next screenplay and the next one.<\/p>","title":"How to deal with the disappointments any screenwriting journey brings...","avFile":"","authName":"Mark Sanderson"},{"sKey":"aebe6ec4","homeText":"

I love Readers! Yes they are the gatekeepers to the Promised Land and like it or not they do have power. But just how much? Well, I’m here to show you. I got my hands on a classified document folks, the holy grail… An actual copy of a real STUDIO MEMO covering GUIDELINES for their READERS.<\/p>","title":"THE STUDIO READER","avFile":"","authName":"Harry Caul"},{"sKey":"13c974d0","homeText":"

Scenes must have a reason to exist in your screenplay. Each scene must advance the plot forward through dialogue and\/or visual storytelling.  Characters’ journeys drive the script’s narrative, and each scene must steer their journey forward.  Although some scenes might not even contain any characters, these scenes must still provide information about your plot, as well as your characters’ lives and actions. There is no set rule as to how many lines, paragraphs, or pages constitute a scene. <\/p>","title":"The Satisfying Scene","avFile":"","authName":"Susan Kouguell"},{"sKey":"4998598c","homeText":"

The following has nothing to do with wet t-shirts. This entry is actually about screenwriting contests - a subject with little marquee value. One of the most popular category of questions that I find in my e-mail box is about screenwriting contests. As I say over and over, I believe that most are a waste of energy and entry fee. Some - like the Nicholl and Disney Fellowships - are very reputable and have launched a few Hollywood careers. Regardless of how reputable any contest might be, the screening process for most seems tenuous. Low fees for contest readers and a bulk of scripts guarantees a sloppy vetting system.
\n <\/p>","title":"WET T-SHIRT CONTEST","avFile":"","authName":"Christopher Lockhart"}]