All posts by: paul peditto

I recently gave a lecture on dialogue at Chicago Screenwriter’s Network. Since 1995, CSN has provided an excellent resource for local screenwriters. Featured speakers have included Harold Ramis, Linda Seger, and Tim Kazurinski. Many thanks to Bethany Lape for having me, and for the work the good folks at CSN do in serving the Chicago […]

TAKING THE FIRST SOLUTION You’re trying to figure out a plot twist for your movie, but it won’t come. You think about it all day along. You set up in Starbucks, you brainstorm. Nothing comes. Finally, you’re at some Meinekee Muffler shop and it comes to you: It’s her sister AND her daughter! You found […]

It ain’t workin’ out. You knew it would take time, and you’ve put in your dues, but M-A-N, that fab career in screenwriting just has not arrived. What can you do differently? How do you shake things up? What follows are a few downfalls any break-in screenwriter might make. Question is: Is this you. NOT […]

Taking notes sucks. When I began writing I was awful at taking notes. It was hard to sit there and listen to six months of work get dissected, hammered at, picked away at, and otherwise nitpicked. Some self-anointed expert rides in, spends three hours in the world you created making judgments, collects a fee and […]

While voice is critical, no less important is subtext. As we discussed with dialogue, the goal is to not spell everything out. Say it, without saying it. Look at this passage from Kalifornia: EXT. MOTEL – LATER Early walks toward the Lincoln. It is parked outside Brian and Carrie’s room. The front door is ajar, […]