Tag Archives: screenwriting

Trite Tropes

Cinema is a language with its own conventions. The audience must be familiar with certain patterns, even unconsciously, for the transfer of visuals to register properly. Establishing a scene with a wide shot to get our bearings, not crossing the … Continue reading

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Fairy Dust Between the Sprockets

Having just been reduced to a wide-eyed nine-year-old all over again by witnessing E.T.: The Extraterrestrial in its high definition glory, and awing at the recent digital majesty of Wall•e, it brought to mind the question: what makes for magical … Continue reading

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Scrivenings

. . . looking to maybe crank something out over the summer. Not talking the columned A/V stuff for commercials, but what’s the best software to write feature screenplays in? One that catches sentence-ending prepositions? I kid; I kid. Honestly, … Continue reading

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Perjiarism

She stole a piece of him. Now he wants it back. That’s the tagline to what is now my least-favorite movie, based on one of my all-time favorite novels. When you understand that the woman who “wrote” and directed it … Continue reading

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Book Learnin vs. Dirty Hands

I would love to hear, from your point of view, whether a fine arts degree worth its pursuit. Our province has many opportunities for folks in the creative community to work in the industry — both amateur and professional — … Continue reading

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Going on Location

Talking writing here. Location is not simply what “frames the picture.” As the scribe of your story, if you consider yourself its cinematographer or cameraman and the reader as projectionist, then location is your film stock. (Yeah, so it’s also … Continue reading

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Movies I’d Pay to See

In high-concept Hollywood, idea is king. The single-sentence pitch. Here are a few of my aborted attempts at “star vehicles” for celebrities who could use a career-energizing role. Normally I don’t like to just give away my golden tickets for … Continue reading

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Literary Ventriloquism

so what’s your take on how to write good, engaging, and realistic dialogue? i’ve heard some writers say that you should never use “he saids” and “she saids”. other writers say you HAVE to identify who’s talking at least every … Continue reading

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Theme vs. Plot

I haven’t really written anything yet because I’m struggling to come up with a theme for [the book]. Also, would you agree that all the stories have already been told before? Yes, there’s really nothing new under the sun from … Continue reading

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