The Screenwrightist

For too long screenwriters have been hampered by picky producers or finicky financiers. These days a writer has few impediments to turning what they write into finished form. With the tools of filmmaking available to everybody now...

I often hear writers lament the dearth of extensive character development in feature films. They complain that movies are too focused on action and not enough on personality. While I agree that those are important things to learn about characters, movies...

Writers love to show their characters performing amazing feats or great acts of will. The problem is that it usually isn't real. Nobody does the hard thing if they can get away with doing the easy thing. Characters, like people, will follow the path of least...

Don't bore readers if you want them to keep reading what you write. Easy enough to say, but not so easy to do. What's boring to one person may not be for another. Some parts might be relatively boring but add texture and nuance to something that otherwise...

Stories are about characters doing things to get stuff they want. It's mostly physical actions and dialogue that gets the things people want, but there is an important mental component that is often overlooked. There are lots of crucial activities that...