Script Gods

Does your story start at the beginning and run straight through? Do you pick it up late, and double back to tell the tale? Do you go Memento and get completely unconventional? Think of structure as the movie clock. Conventional stories are told in linear fashion, from 12:01am to midnight. Sure, there can be flashbacks, […]

“TV and film work is pure craft. It’s like building a table. No matter how well you build it, how well you carve the legs, it will always be a table. Because I have to outline my TV and film work, because I have to write scripts to the page count, I tend to be […]

“I never get to . . . the index cards. I’ve never done that. I should, probably. I start with theme and character and, sometimes, ideas for scenes and dialogue, and I get a sense thematically of what I want to explore and accomplish. Basically I’m too immature to actually work it all out in […]

Let’s talk about the difference between FLASHBACK and FLASH. Traditional flashback plays out over a longer period of time. Put the lead-in in the slugline: INT. JIMMY’S ROOM- DAY (FLASHBACK). Be sure to tell the reader when it’s over with END FLASHBACK. A standard flashback might last a full scene, or even a sequence of […]

“… and God help you if you use voiceover in your work, my friends. God help you! It’s flaccid, sloppy writing. Any idiot can write voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character. You must present the internal conflicts of your character in action.” This speech by the Robert McKee character in Adaptation is […]