My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

James Acker wrote the original screenplay “SADBOI” which won a 2020 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with James about his creative background, his award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl Award has meant to him.

Today in Part 3 of a 6 part series to run each day through Saturday, James delves into some of the key characters in his Nicholl-winning script “SADBOI.”

Scott: You have a really interesting group of characters, young people in particular. I’d like to get…

I become fully engaged in my writing when I am fully engaged with my characters.

In a recent Screenwriting Master Class, one of the writers participating in the class posted this:

My question for you is about that. Do you have any tips from your experience in this world to tune out outside noise I have no control over?

My response:

That is such an important subject and I hope this thread spawns many reactions, thoughts, and suggestions.

Here’s a starting point: A Writing and the Creative Life article I wrote some time ago simply titled: Flow. As writers, we…

Written by Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

No opening scene online, but this 10-minute argument is some excellent improvisation inspired by the script.

You can 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 series to help prepare writers for next month’s Zero Draft Thirty writing challenge.

Do you have a story you want to write? A feature length movie screenplay? An original TV pilot? A web series pilot? A novel? Short story? An epic length limerick?

The 2021 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge is for you!

March 1: You type FADE IN / “Once upon a time…”
March 31: You type FADE OUT / “…They all lived happily ever after.”

It’s free! It’s fun! It’s Fade In to Fade Out!

For everything you need to know to join, click here.

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

James Acker wrote the original screenplay “SADBOI” which won a 2020 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with James about his creative background, his award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl Award has meant to him.

Today in Part 2 of a 6 part series to run each day through Saturday, James talks about writing the script “SADBOI” for the Nicholl competition and his inspiration for the story.

Scott: I believe one of your novels gained the attention of a book…

Written by Steve Tesich

The trailer for the movie:

My preparation for writing my first screenplay was reading Syd Field’s book, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting and three movie scripts. Breaking Away was one of them (the other two were Back to the Future and Witness). I had loved Breaking Away when I saw it when it was released in 1979. It’s a wonderful movie and Steve Tesich wrote a brilliant script.

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…

Starting March 1, my 1-week online class not only immerses you in five key archetypes, you also use them to workshop one of your stories.

One question I get asked about screenwriting theory a lot is what’s my deal with character archetypes? Here’s your chance to find out with the Screenwriting Master Class course: Character Development Keys.

My mantra is this: Begin with characters. End with characters. Find the story in between. As per the old adage, Character should equal Plot because it’s their story. By immersing ourselves in the lives of our characters and determining the nature of their…