Is ambiguity always artistic, or can it ruin a film? In this screenwriting breakdown, I examine A House of Dynamite to reveal the difference between an "open ending" and a "missing ending." Learn how to use the little-known Zeigarnik Effect to your advantage as a scriptwriter and master the art of the narrative payoff.
Read MoreUse these five basic elements to professionally format a screenplay!
Read MoreHow do you write cinematic action lines? How do you make your scene descriptions better? I’ll breaks down an often-misunderstood technique you can use to make your action lines more visual and cinematic!
Read MorePublic domain, story copyright, and intellectual property laws affect the stories about Middle Earth that Amazon can tell. Could this explain why the show is suffering?
Read More3 Reasons why Fantastic Beasts 3 was disappointing, and how you can avoid similar story issues in your own screenplays.
Read MoreOriginality for storytellers is always attainable, according to the master of macabre. Here’s why.
Read MoreLove it or hate it, Final Draft is considered the industry standard in Hollywood. Why is that, and should you consider switching?
Read MoreThe screenplay for this action hit and Christmas favorite has a lot to teach us about characterization!
Read MoreWhere do you draw the line between fiction and reality, especially with the modern medium of screenwriting? Poe says this.
Read MoreBy analyzing what Poe says about how to tell stories, screenwriters can learn from his timeless wisdom.
Read MoreIf you’ve got two characters talking on the phone in a scene of your script, then you’ll need to follow one of these methods of properly showing the conversation.
Read MoreAs one of the best screenplays ever written, growing screenwriters can learn a TON from the first few opening pages of the Alien script.
Read MoreEver wondered what it would be like to re-write a movie you love? This is how you do it, using “The Maltese Falcon” as an example.
Read MoreThe Raiders of the Lost Ark has a lot to teach screenwriters about storytelling — and not always in ways you’d expect.
Read MoreWhat’s the most awful film you watched in the weirdest of years, 2020?
Read MoreHow do you use wrylies / parentheticals in screenplays? That's what I'll explain in this scriptwriting tutorial.
Read MorePoe was more than the master of the macabre — here’s what all storytellers should learn from his timeless advice.
Read MoreScriptwriters are usually told to write in "spec" format, but how does that differ from shooting scripts? What does spec screenplay even mean? Here, I'll explain the difference between shooting and spec scripts.
Read MoreWhen you're writing characters who speak in a different language, how do you know how to show that in script formatting? In this screenwriting tutorial, I'll show you several usable options and which to use when.
Read MoreEllipses and dashes often confuse beginning screenwriters. In this scriptwriting tutorial, I'll show you how to use the dash and ellipsis correctly.
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