Category: screenwriting

Bad screenwriting analysis: #1 Plot convenience

Yeppers, it’s time to examine some bad screenwriting and see how and why it got that way so we – of course – don’t make the same mistakes.

From a cool site that never lets us down…and has a really cool name as well: Shadow and movies.

Yep, this definitely was a film filled with bad writing. Dang! (What? You’d rather hear “Goddammitfuckthisshit…!” etc.?

Are you looking for a way to make sure that the people who read your book or watch your movie leave angry and frustrated? Well, you’re in the right place because I’m about to explain what is a plot convenience and why you should totally use it whenever you have the chance. read article

In Defense of Aristotle

As we all know, TVWriter™’s good buddy and long dead mentor, Aristotle, (the guy without a last name because…Aristotle, you know?) was, if not the inventor, then certainly the first person to codify the three act writing structure that is the basis for, well, just about every story ever written.

Here, in case y’all forgot, is a hearty explanation of the three act structure (and if this doesn’t help you master it, you can always try LB’s mighty fine TV writing book). Anyway:

One of many fine informational videos by Lindsay Ellis

How to Become the Most Productive Screenwriter You Know

It’s Valentine’s Day, which means that instead of working your butt off writing your heart out (now there’s a mixed metaphor to be reckoned with!) you’ll probably be making sweet love all day…or being upset because you aren’t.

But tomorrow will come, and with it the siren call of your chosen profession – writing for TV, or films, or even publication. Here’s a Valentine’s Day gift to get your going at en even higher level than you’ve been at so far:

read article

How Does the Script for ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ Compare to the Film?

The process of transferring a script to the screen always fascinates us here at TVWriter™, and a new addition to YouTube’s “channels” is right up our alley. For example:

We know this is a writing site, and regular visitors know how much we preach about the importance of the teleplay or screenplay before and during production. And yet, our informal survey of TVWriter™’s minions showed that 9 out of 10 thought that the improvisation on set was what made this film the classic it is. (Well, that we think it is.) read article

Marty Scorsese on What Makes a Great Screenplay?

THE BIG SHAVE by Scorsese AKA the best student film ever made

Let’s face it, “What makes a great screenplay?” is flat out the question all writers need answered. (Not the same as “want answered” because that question would be, “How do I get an agent?”

For the record, our answer to the agent question is, “Talk to your friends who are agented and see if they recommend theirs…and make sure their reason is that, “They’re selling me and my work!”

As for the great screenplay answer, well, who better to hear from on this matter than the writer/director/critic who has given us so many of them? Take it away, Mr. Scorsese: read article