My students often say to me, “But I don’t want my story to be like…” and will name a famous or infamous film or book. When I ask them to clarify that statement, the answer is usually a variation of not using the same plot twists. I always smile and say politely “It’s not the […]
Exploring Unusual Character Relationships to Improve Your Script
When helping writers design their screenplays, I always explain that movies are about relationships. The characters we choose to put in your film must interact in order to fulfill the goals of the plot. This being the case, the audience also likes novelty and so the usual relationships that we see every day can be […]
Rewriting Hero Last
Writers consult with me when a script they think is perfect hasn’t sold. One of the biggest problems I have found in “completed” screenplays is that even if the plot is good, the main character is often flat. Writers tend to take their heroes and heroines for granted and assume that the original character development they […]