A series featuring reflections on writing from the famed author’s memoir.
I had not read Stephen King’s memoir On Writing for several years when it occurred to me to do so again. While at it, why not share reflections from the renowned writer in a weekly Sunday series at Go Into The Story?
King is a prolific author. Fair to say that is an understatement. One need only glance at a roster of his written works to determine that. If any contemporary writer has earned the right to reflect on the craft, it would be King. However, that is not…
One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 19.
Write an entire draft of a script in September — FADE IN. FADE OUT. Or any sort of creative goal you have in front of you.
Feature length movie screenplay. Original TV pilot. Rewrite a current project. Break a story in prep. Generate a month’s worth of story concepts.
Whatever you feel will ratchet your creative ambitions into overdrive…
DO THAT!
September 1: You type FADE IN / “Once upon a time…”
September 30: You type FADE OUT / “…They all lived happily ever after.”
…
“What if we think of Act Two as Hell?”
As many of you may know, I have a background in the academic study of theology, a B.A. in religious studies from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Divinity degree from Yale. So it is only natural I bring that perspective to how I view and understand movies and screenwriting.
Let me be clear, when I say theological, I mean it — in this context — in a secular way. How does that make sense?
The word “theology” is a combination of two Greek words: “theos” which means God…
The final scene from the 1997 movie As Good As It Gets, written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks.
Plot Summary: A single mother/waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is in an accident.
In this scene, Melvin (Jack Nicholson) travels in the middle of the night to see Carol (Helen Hunt) to express his feelings about her, one last attempt to convince her to be with him.
Here is the scene from the script:
Screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard, novel by Chuck Hogan
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 great way to analyze screenplay structure is by studying a script’s scene-by-scene breakdown. Go Into The Story followers are contributing breakdowns of contemporary screenplays to an ongoing script analysis series. Here are links to 105 articles which include downloadable PDFs of each breakdown.
12 Years a Slave
1917
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
A Monster Calls
A Quiet Place
Aeronauts, The
After the Wedding
All is Lost
American Hustle
Antebellum
Argo
Arrival
Artist, The
Barney’s Version
Beasts of No Nation
Beginners
Belle
Big Eyes
Big Short, The
Big Sick, The
Birdman: Or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BlacKkKlansman
Boyhood
Celeste & Jesse Forever
Coco
Crazy Rich Asians
Dallas Buyers Club
Destroyer
Eighth Grade
End of the Tour, The
Enough Said
Ex Machina
Eye in the Sky
The Farewell
The Father
The Favourite
First Cow
First…
One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 18.
Write an entire draft of a script in September — FADE IN. FADE OUT. Or any sort of creative goal you have in front of you.
Feature length movie screenplay. Original TV pilot. Rewrite a current project. Break a story in prep. Generate a month’s worth of story concepts.
Whatever you feel will ratchet your creative ambitions into overdrive…
DO THAT!
September 1: You type FADE IN / “Once upon a time…”
September 30: You type FADE OUT / “…They all lived happily ever after.”
…
A drug deal goes south to the strains of Jessie’s Girl.
Movie: Boogie Nights (1997), written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
IMDb plot summary: The story of a young man’s adventures in the Californian pornography industry of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Scene Setup: Dirk (Mark Wahlberg), Reed (John C. Reilly), and Todd (Thomas Jane) are attempting to pull a scam deal on Rahad (Alfred Molina), trying to sell a half-kilogram of baking soda disguised as cocaine for $5,000.
Check out this script excerpt:
Spend 100+ minutes watching a conversation between the screenwriters of award-winning movies including The Trial of the Chicago 7, Sound of Metal, Promising Young Woman, The Father, One Night in Miami, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, The White Tiger, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
On April 3, 2021, the Santa Barbara Internationl Film Festival conducted a panel with the writers of several notable movies from 2020. Panelists included: Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Darius Marder (Sound of Metal), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), Florian Zeller (The Father), Kemp Powers (Soul and One Night in Miami), Kenny and…
Written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Here is Buster Scruggs singing Cool Clear Water:
Six chapters. Six stories. Each with the expected, yet unexpected mix of drama, humor, and twisted fate present in the Coen brothers’ movies.
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.
