Screenplay: How Much Money Can You Make Selling One?
In this edition of screenplay: how much money can you make? -- so I can know how much to spend on limited-edition Japanese battle mech action figures; or maybe it's just me -- we're gonna break down the REAL nuts-and-bolts of getting paid for a screenplay. But...
How to Practice Screenwriting Without…You Know…Writing a Script
At a seminar recently one attendee asked me if I could recommend how to practice screenwriting...you know...without actually writing a screenplay. Every Blake Snyder-infused, William Goldman-inspired cell in my eviscerate this screenwriting acolyte and show them the...
5 Things Every Screenwriter Can Learn From the Director of the Star Trek Pilot
A pilot sets the tone of a television show. And no director was better at setting the tone, and establishing a clear foundation for future episodes, than Robert Butler, the director of The Cage, the pilot episode of Star Trek. Far from a one-trick pony, Butler has a...
Are Screenwriting Contests Worth Entering for Newbies?
Are screenwriting contests worth entering for newbies? It's a question I get quite often. Probably because new(ish) screenwriters don't (usually) have vast reserves of money -- unless their name ends in Reitman -- and they're not sure that $25 here or $75 here in...
5 Best Screenwriting Classes in NYC Worth Taking
As they say, "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere...with a five-script deal and an office on the studio lot." And while taking one of the many screenwriting classes in NYC isn't a guarantee that you'll jump-start your professional writing career, it is a...
5 Best Screenwriting Books You’ve Never Read (But Probably Should)
We all know the usual suspects when it comes to screenwriting books. Every would-be professional screenwriter has a crowded bookshelf littered with the likes of Robert McKee's Story, Blake Snyder's Save the Cat, Linda Seger's Making a Good Script Great AND one of the...
What the &$*# Is the Right Screenplay Title Page Format?
It should be obvious, the right screenplay title page format. ("You put in your title...and your name!") But there is a subtle set of industry expectations when it comes to creating your screenplay title page. And missing out on any of the key elements -- or putting...
What’s the Best Screenwriting Software if Yer Totally Broke?
Even the most raw and inexperienced of screenwriters will at some point want to know: what's the best screenwriting software to help turn that zombie vampire sci-fi romance in my head into something tangible, and ultimately marketable. Unfortunately, until the...
5 Places to Read Screenplays (Without Spending a Dime)
Most would-be film and TV scribblers know it's nearly impossible to boost your ability to write screenplays without an accompanying commitment to read screenplays. And this isn't just about reading Tootsie and Dog Day Afternoon. Even screenplays that...
How to Write Emotional Screenplay Scenes That Don’t Suck
In this edition of Screenwriting 101, we talk about how to write emotional screenplay scenes that are...well...not sucky & boring. There's an old adage in the theatre they give new — and not-so-new actors — and that is "Feel the emotion 120%; show the emotion...