My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Jane Therese wrote the original screenplay “Sins of My Father” which won a 2020 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Jane about her creative background, her award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl Award has meant to her.

Today in Part 2 of a 6 part series to run each day through Saturday, Jane discusses her Nicholl-winning screenplay “Sins of My Father” and what inspired her to write it.

Scott: In a biographical statement you put together, you said that, “You continue to dedicate your work to those who remain unheard.” That sensibility is reflected in your Nicholl winning script, “Sins of My Father.” Let’s jump into that. The logline: “The young woman in Ireland grapples with the love she has for her father, after bringing charges of abuse against him.” …

“Good dialogue illuminates what people are not saying.”

— Robert Towne

For 100s more Screenwriting 101 posts, go here.

Written by David Koepp

I can’t find the opening sequence, but check out this continuous take:

By the way, Panic Room was a spec script which sold for a reported $4M. You read that right. Four. Million. Probably a good idea to read the script, don’t you think?

You may download the screenplay here.

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

You may follow the daily conversation on Twitter as I cross-post there: @GoIntoTheStory.

Take my 1-week online class to learn ways to make exposition entertaining.

In Hollywood, there is a saying: “Exposition = Death.” Why? Check out these comments:

Taylor Sheridan (“Hell or High Water”) said he learned how to write by taking note of what didn’t work. And he confessed, as a former actor, that he had plenty of practice working through bad material.

“I spent most of my time on TV shows kind of spewing exposition,” he said. “When I write I almost never use dialogue to move the plot forward because I understand painfully the traps. …

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Jane Therese wrote the original screenplay “Sins of My Father” which won a 2020 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Jane about her creative background, her award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl Award has meant to her.

Today in Part 1 of a 6 part series to run each day through Saturday, Jane talks about her background as a photojournalist and how that has influenced her as a storyteller.

Scott Myers: You have an eclectic background. Let’s see if we can provide some context. You’re originally from Southern California, is that right? …

“Henry James said, ‘What is character without action?’ Your character doesn’t have to jump off a building, but what does he do when he’s moving? Where is he? What’s he doing? Cast him up in front of your eyes. He’s yours now. You own him. And from now on, it’s a combination of what he does and what you want him to do that’s going to make this character come alive.”

— Carolyn See

Via AdviceToWriters

For hundreds more On Writing posts, go here.

Screenplay by Budd Schulberg, story by Budd Schulberg

This is another good example of how writers used to treat screenplays as blueprints for production. Note the use of camera shots. The trend in contemporary screenplays is to avoid directing jargon and camera lingo.

You may download the screenplay here.

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

You may follow the daily conversation on Twitter as I cross-post there: @GoIntoTheStory.

A video series addressing key screenwriting concerns in sixty seconds.

Some time ago, I proposed an idea to my DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts colleagues: What if we produced a lively, informative series of videos called 60 Second Screenwriter? The concept was simple: Aggregate questions relevant to anyone interested in the craft of screenwriting, then use DePaul students and faculty to produce the series?

And we did it! There are 15 videos, each about one minute long and we are rolling them out biweekly at our YouTube channel.

Today: What is a log line?

Some great advice here and let me just add this point: It’s a log line, not a long line. The fewer words, the better. …