Screenwriting Advice

The Un-Rules

Kirsten Smith (Legally Blonde, The Ugly Truth)

Rick Suvalle (Roadkill, V.I.P.)

Joe Gazzam (21 Jump Street, Barbarella)

Mark Sanderson (Sea Snakes, I’ll Remember April)

Erik Bork (Band of Brothers, From the Earth to the Moon)

Karen McCullah (10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde)

What We’ve Learned So Far

Deborah Moggach (Pride and Prejudice)

Billy Mernit (consultant on Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect)

The Job

Joe Eszterhas’s 10 Rules of Screenwriting

7 Life Lessons for Writers (and Everyone Else)

Beyond the Page: What You Need to Know to Make It as a Screenwriter

Frank Darabont on How to Succeed as a Screenwriter

Writing Routines of Successful Writers

The 3 Commandments of Writing

Real Life as a Screenwriter

The Writing Routines of Famous Authors

Rejection is Good for Your Writing

How to Fail as a Screenwriter

Fix Your Writing Mindset

Film School: Is It Worth It?

Conquer Writer’s Block: Watch a Movie

The 11 Commandments of Writing

How to Be a Writer: Do It Every Day

How Professional Screenwriters Work

Writing Assignments Versus Spec Sales

Hitting a Wall in Your Writing: How to Break Through

Being Tough on Yourself as a Writer

Making the Most of the “Pass”

Charlie Kaufman’s Take on Screenwriting

Don’t Worry About Writing Perfectly, Just Write!

Finding Your Screenwriting Process

Learning to Say ‘No’ to the Wrong Writing Gigs

How to Handle the Rejection Inherent in Screenwriting

Shut Up and Write

Finding Your Voice as a Writer

Having Hope and Faith as a Writer

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Big Picture Writing Advice

Hemingway on How to Be a Writer

How to See the World Like an Artist

Six Second Screenwriting Lessons from Brian Koppelman

Video: How Great Screenwriters Prepare to Write

50 Resources to Help You Outline Your Script

Structuring Your Script with the Dan Harmon Story Circle

Terry Rossio on Finding a Uniquely Compelling Screenplay Concept

Write Better by Creating a Coffee Shop at Home

What To Do After Finishing a Draft of Your Script

Finding the Emotional Core of Your Script (and Why That’s So Important)

Writing a Script with Good DNA

Why Nobody Would Buy ‘This is the End’ from an Unknown Writer

Lying to Tell the Greater Truth in Your Writing

John Cleese on 5 Things to Make Yourself More Creative

10 Lessons Every Writer Can Learn from Iron Man 3

10 Screenwriting Lessons From Django Unchained

Workspaces that Inspire Creativity

Character Types: All of Them

Video: 5 Great Screenwriters Talk Craft

4 Essential Elements of a Knock-Out Ending

12 Things Spec Readers Look For

Bad Guys as Good Guys: The Dexter Approach

15 Types of Inciting Incidents

Stuck? Try a Writing Prompt

10 Rom Com Truisms

Don’t Plagiarize, Do Steal

Rewriting: Finding the Will to Take a Machete to Your Script

50 Dead Giveaways That You’re an Amateur Writer

How to Steal From Yourself (Aaron Sorkin Style)

Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

7 Screenwriting Paradigms

John Truby on Story

Fulfilling Film Endings: Both Happy & Sad

Write Better: Listen to Music

Story v. Character: Which Matters More?

The Trick to a Script Like Bridesmaids: Write, Then Rewrite, Then Rewrite…

What Not to Do in Your First Five Pages

Are You Sure It’s on the Page?

Choosing the Right Music for Your Writing Sessions

When it Comes to Your Characters, Reveal & Complicate

Because Robert McKee Said So: Notes From the Master

Ten Tips for Creating a Strong Lead Character

Finding Your Main Character’s Arc

The Keys to Writing Great Family Films

Screenwriting 101: Watch, Read, Write

Moving Your Story Along with Emmy-Winner Erik Bork

If the Reader Doesn’t Get it, the Problem is in the Writing

The Top 5 Screenwriting Mistakes to Avoid

3 Tips for Getting Your Script to the Studio Level

Watching Movies from a Critical Point of View

Script Writing Basics: The Middle

Keeping Your Script Focused with a Dramatic Question

The First Act: Starting Strong

Climaxing the Right Way (In Your Script)

5 Lessons from the Work of Sydney Lumet

What Audiences Need to Know When

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The Specifics

4 Ways to Give Your Character Depth

Crafting a Deliciously Evil Villain

Crafting Subplots and B-Stories

Writing Strong Leading Ladies

Writing Concise, Visual Action Descriptions

Audiences Don’t Listen to Dialogue

Video: Writing Parallel Stories Effectively

In a Rom-Com, Less Dialogue is More Emotion

Creating Drama in a Talking Head Scene

9 Tips for Writing a Great Scene

Writing the R-Rated Comedy

Using Voice-Over Effectively

Rom Coms: Convincing the Audience Your Lovers Belong Together

The Keys to Writing Great Family Films

How to Write Violent Scenes

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TV Writing Advice

The Genres of One-Hour Drama

Writing for Television – Lessons Learned at GAPF

Jane Espenson on Writing for Joss Whedon

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