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If you fail at your writing goals, treat yourself like you would your character...give yourself another opportunity to succeed. In this article from 2013, Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, former Editor-in-Chief of Script magazine, shows you her tricks. Read More...   By: Jeanne Veillette Bowerman   As the month of January draws to a close, many of you are scratching your heads wondering how you got sidetracked from the writing goals you were determined to meet.   Welcome to my world. My name is Jeanne, and I fell off the writing-goal wagon.   Let’s get real here. It’s inevitable a few steel balls will drop now and then. But it’s what we do under pressure that defines us as humans and as writers. Pressure. It’s the killer of creativity – the pressure of meeting a goal, the pressure of not making a deadline, and the worst pressure of all, the pressure of having let ourselves down.   Ouch.   Read this article in full...     Moriah Richard Moriah Richard is an editor at Writer’s Digest with a particular interest in discussing craft and genre. As a reader, she’s most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook. Find Moriah on Twitter @MoriahRichard93.       Active Interest Media 5710 Flatiron Parkway Suite A Boulder, Colorado, 80301 United States

Screenwriting Kung Fu: The Chinese “No-Act” Screenplay Structure, Part 2 In Part 1 of this three-part mini-series of articles on the Chinese art of writing without outlining, we looked into the core technique of such a method of storytelling – the crisis – Guazi (關子). In today’s Part 2, we’ll dive deeper into more sophisticated techniques that make the method effective, flexible, and fun. Read More...   Understanding Screenwriting: Autumn Snows Tom Stempel is going new and old again: the new television season and an older movie, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Read More...     Scriptreading Certificate Program Hurry, course starts Thursday, December 31! This course will show you, step-by-step, how to write script coverage. We will cover key elements of screenwriting coverage, including analysis of structure, plot, characters, dialogue, and genre through the eyes of a film executive. Get your certification and start making money! Learn More...         Free Screenwriting Resources If you’re looking for free screenwriting tips and advice to help kick-start your writing career, then you’ll love our vast selection of free downloads. From learning how to write a script the right way to how to beat writer’s block, you’ll find something that will help you increase your chances of success! Read More...   Moriah Richard Moriah Richard is an editor at Writer’s Digest with a particular interest in discussing craft and genre. As a reader, she’s most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook. Find Moriah on Twitter @MoriahRichard93.     Active Interest Media 5710 Flatiron Parkway Suite A Boulder, Colorado, 80301 United States

 

In this article from 2014, author, script editor, and producer Lucy V. Hay lays out some key tips and tricks to avoid your submission getting lost in the holiday shuffle.  Read More...   By: Lucy V. Hay   So, Christmas* is around the corner (*other seasonal holidays are available). We all know what this means ... Yes, that writers wish they could be writing instead of doing all that boring and annoying family stuff! Ack, spouses, kids, parents, siblings, aged aunts and uncles, grandchildren, pets, etc. are SO INCONSIDERATE!   But more importantly (le duh): December is really not a great time of year to make any submissions. I can’t stress this enough. Sure, if someone’s actually asked for something, then great! Go ahead. Otherwise, step away from that inbox or postbox, maestro; firing off your masterpiece is utterly pointless.   Why? C’mon, it’s obvious why! There’s more screenplays than anyone can ever read in the system already. It doesn’t stop for Chrimbo, chaps. So if the screenplay you slaved over all year lands on someone’s desk or in their inbox in December? It’s going to get pushed off the precipice into January ... except there’s a big holiday-shaped hole in the way! Read this article in full...     Moriah Richard Moriah Richard is an editor at Writer’s Digest with a particular interest in discussing craft and genre. As a reader, she’s most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook. Find Moriah on Twitter @MoriahRichard93.       Active Interest Media 5710 Flatiron Parkway Suite A Boulder, Colorado, 80301 United States     COMEDY WRITING: Crossing the Line That Now Keeps Moving I worked as a comedy writer, hired comedy writers, and now I teach comedy writing—meaning, I share my discoveries, process, beliefs, tips, and tricks with other writers—so when I don’t have an answer on the subject, I usually know where to find one. But not now, not for a question that keeps popping up during script consults and critiques: “In comedy, now that people are trying to become more woke, where’s “that line” you should never cross?” Read More...   Screenwriting Kung Fu: The Chinese “No-Act” Screenplay Structure, Part 1 In the first article of this three-part series, Dimitri Vorontzov explores the importance of crisis storytelling in Chinese history and why you'd be smart to use it in your screenplay. Read More...       SELLING YOUR SCREENPLAY: Ep 360 With Writer/Director Tara Johnson-Medinger   This week, Ashley Scott Meyers talks with filmmaker and producer Tara Johnson-Medinger. They talk about her debut feature as a writer/director, the drama My Summer as a Goth (2018). Read More...     Ten Weeks to Your Feature Film The world of the feature film is booming and you are gushing with ideas. This workshop will give you the tools to get the ideas out of your head and into a completed screenplay by introducing you to the methods that professional screenwriters use to write under deadlines. Learn More...         Free Screenwriting Resources If you’re looking for free screenwriting tips and advice to help kick-start your writing career, then you’ll love our vast selection of free downloads. From learning how to write a script the right way to how to beat writer’s block, you’ll find something that will help you increase your chances of success! Read More...   Moriah Richard Moriah Richard is an editor at Writer’s Digest with a particular interest in discussing craft and genre. As a reader, she’s most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook. Find Moriah on Twitter @MoriahRichard93.     Active Interest Media 5710 Flatiron Parkway Suite A Boulder, Colorado, 80301 United States     This has been a year of hard knocks all-around. But as this article from 2013 reminds us, there are still so many reasons to be thankful to be a part of the writing community. Read More...   By: Brad Johnson   Let’s be honest, shall we? Trying to break in as a professional screenwriter is a non-stop, up at dawn, pride swallowing siege, that we will never fully tell our friends and family about (thank you Cameron Crowe). Only other writers can truly know what it’s like to be a writer, which makes it all the more perplexing to me why so much of the information directed at us is so negative. We’re constantly bombarded with stats about how spec sales are down, how studios are trimming back, lists of reasons why you might not be cut out to be a writer, discussions about how few actually WGA writers are employed at any one time, and detailed lists on how many different ways your slaved over spec can turn off a reader and get thrown into the trash by the end of the first page.   This isn’t to say that this kind of information isn’t important; it’s vital to know exactly what kind of challenge you’re up against when you decide to become a screenwriter. The road is tough, but that doesn’t mean it’s all sturm und drang. There are plenty of things we can be thankful for, and seeing as it’s Thanksgiving next week and all, I thought this might be a good time to remind everyone of…   Continue reading this article on our website.     Moriah Richard Moriah Richard is an editor at Writer’s Digest with a particular interest in discussing craft and genre. As a reader, she’s most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook. Find Moriah on Twitter @MoriahRichard93.       Active Interest Media 5710 Flatiron Parkway Suite A Boulder, Colorado, 80301 United States   INTERVIEW: Alan Ball, Writer/Director of "Uncle Frank"   It ain’t easy being a gay man in the 1970s rural south. Just ask Frank Bledsoe, the titular character in Uncle Frank, the new film starring Paul Bettany as a New York University lit professor who ditched his South Carolina upbringing for the big bad city to the North. And while geography lets Frank cloak his sexuality from his family, that changes when his naïve but observant young niece Beth (Sophia Lillis) begins matriculating the hallowed halls in which he teaches. Read More...     Directing for Writers: Me, Direct? Yup, You!   Being a multi-hyphenate can expand your skill set and get you from unproduced to produced. Kevin Resnick shares advice on directing for writers. You know you want to. He'll show you how. Read More...   Writing Partnerships: Married To Your Work   Having a writing partner raises a number of creative issues for a screenwriter—being married to your writing partner presents an entirely different dynamic. Dan Goforth speaks with the dynamic-duo writing team, Mark and Anna Casadei, about their handling their routine, disagreements, and pitching. Read More...     How to Write the Holiday-Themed Script   The holiday movie genre is one of the most popular in the film industry with sky-rocketing budgets and huge production values. Whether animated or live-action, mixed-genre or throwback original, this webinar demystifies the process of creating an exciting and engaging holiday-themed original spec screenplay. Learn More...         Free Screenwriting Resources   If you’re looking for FREE screenwriting tips and advice to help kick-start your writing career, then you’ll love our vast selection of free downloads from the experts. From learning how to write a script the right way to how to beat writer’s block, you’ll find something that will help you increase your chances of success! Read More...   Moriah Richard Moriah Richard is an editor at Writer’s Digest with a particular interest in discussing craft and genre. As a reader, she’s most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook. Find Moriah on Twitter @MoriahRichard93.     Active Interest Media 5710 Flatiron Parkway Suite A Boulder, Colorado, 80301 United States   Films such as Home for the Holidays, Home Alone, Love Actually, and It’s a Wonderful Life share universal and relatable family issues and relationships. In this article from 2015, Susan Kouguell gives tips on how to elevate your characters. Read More...   By: Susan Kouguell   With the holidays underway, families are gathering to share in good cheer. Or at least, that’s what many families in the movies are attempting to do. Yes, that’s their "goal"—but what actually ensues when the parties get underway is often filled with hilarity or drama—and sometimes both. A variety of films such as Home for the Holidays (directed by Jody Foster), Home Alone (directed by Chris Columbus), Love Actually (directed by Richard Curtis), and It’s a Wonderful Life (directed by Frank Capra) continue to be found on many "best of" lists. While their genres might differ, they share something poignant in common; they’ve touched upon some universal and relatable family issues and relationships. Read This Article in Full...     Moriah Richard  Moriah Richard is an editor at Writer’s Digest with a particular interest in discussing craft and genre. As a reader, she’s most interested in horror, fantasy, and romance, although she will read just about anything with a great hook. Find Moriah on Twitter @MoriahRichard93.       Active Interest Media 5710 Flatiron Parkway Suite A Boulder, Colorado, 80301 United States