1st October, 2012: Hi folks, this list is now RETIRED … for new up to date links and articles, please save this link instead.
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LOGLINES
Some great insights here for those struggling to get their big chunk of paper into two sentences!
WRITING LOGLINES THAT SELL By Jonathan Treisman
I WROTE A 120 PAGE SCRIPT BUT CAN’T WRITE A LOGLINE By Christopher Lockhart
TIPS ON LOGLINES - Inktip guide
LOGLINES ARE NOT TAGLINES by Me
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PREPARATION & PITCHING
Because you should never just dive in! That way insanity lies…
ONE PAGE PITCHES by Me
THE EXTENDED PITCH by Me (on The London Screenwriters’ Festival Blog)
OUTLINES, BEAT SHEETS & TREATMENTS by Me
5 PITCHING TIPS (FACE TO FACE) by Me
THE NEW SCREENWRITING 10 COMMANDMENTS by Screenwriting U
ONE PAGE OUTLINES by Michelle Lipton
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: WRITING AN OUTLINE by Phil Parker
WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER WRITE A “ONE PAGE PITCH” DOCUMENT by John Kell
BASIC SCREENWRITING FORMAT - Film School Online
ROBIN’S FANTASTIC SERIES ON WRITING A SCRIPT FOR RED PLANET From Writing For Performance
COMMON SCREENWRITING MISTAKES AND ERRORS
MOST COMMON SCREENWRITING ERRORS By Charles Deemer
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STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES
Flashback, Montage, V.O, Clarity and more…
NARRATIVE CLARITY by Danny Stack
LOCATIONS AND ARENA by Mystery Man On Film
FORMATTING A MONTAGE SEQUENCE By John August
FRAMING STORIES By Fun Joel
GOOD EXAMPLES: VOICEOVER, FLASHBACK, MONTAGE, INTERCUT by Me
DRAMATIC IRONY & TWISTS IN THE TALE by Me
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THE FIRST TEN PAGES
The most important pages of your script: the difference between getting a full read or not!
THE TEN PAGE TEST by Me
THE FIRST TEN PAGES by Danny Stack
THE FIRST TEN PAGES from the BBC Writersroom
MAKE THE FIRST TEN PAGES OF YOUR SCRIPT COUNT by Marla White
THE BEGINNING OF A SCREENPLAY From Write For Stage & Screen
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FORMAT & SCENE DESCRIPTION
Because good format & non-prescriptive scene description is STILL missing from the spec pile
BANG2WRITE’S ONE PAGE UK FORMAT GUIDE DOWNLOAD
16 STEPS TO BETTER SCENE DESCRIPTION By Bill Martell
FORMAT by Hayley at Script Angel
FORMAT ONE STOP SHOP by Me
DOES YOUR SCRIPT SMELL? By Bill Martell
SCENE DESCRIPTION, Unknown Author
MAKING SCREENPLAYS VERTICAL by Charles Deemer
WHAT A WRITER DOESN’T WRITE By Danny Stack
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STRUCTURE
Whether you’re re-investigating the form and want to see what others reccommend or all this structure malarkey is Greek to you, here are some great pointers.
WHY YOU SHOULD LOOK TO YOUR SCENES AS WELL AS OVERALL STRUCTURE by Michelle Goode
THE STRUCTURAL MONOMYTH By The Unknown Screenwriter
PLANTS & PAY OFFS by Jared Kelly
CLIMBING WALLS – A NEW APPROACH TO STRUCTURE by Me
ANOTHER LOOK AT ACT 2 (AN ALTERNATIVE TO “CLIMBING WALLS”) by Tom Murphy
SCREENPLAY STRUCTURE – A QUICK REFERENCE By Barry Pearson
HOW TO SCRIPTWRITE, PARTS 1 TO 5 By Andrew Lowes
WRITING ACT ONE OF YOUR SCREENPLAY (From “Screenwriting For Dummies”)
WHAT IS THE THREE ACT STRUCTURE? By Stephen J. Cannell
THE MYTH OF THE THREE ACT STRUCTURE by Crafty Screenwriting
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CHARACTERS
Because audiences don’t always remember plots, but they DO remember good characters
KNOW YOUR STEREOTYPICAL FEMALE CHARACTERS FLOW CHART by Jezebel
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS by me
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: THE ROLE OF THE ANTAGONIST By John Brice
ANOTHER CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE - this time from The Script Lab
CHARACTER INTRODUCTION by John August
CREATING CHARACTERS By Sam North
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Part 1 by moi
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Part 2 by moi
SURPRISING CHARACTERISATION by Danny Stack
12 CHARACTER JOURNEYS WE CAN LEARN FROM by Me
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DIALOGUE
Dialogue… Probably the thing people seem to obsess over the most! Some good tips here for avoiding “on-the-nose” exchanges in particular.
HOW TO AVOID EXPOSITIONAL DIALOGUE by Michelle Goode
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? STEREOTYPICAL DIALOGUE by Me
TOP TEN TIPS FOR WRITING BETTER DIALOGUE By Ginnie Weihardt
DIALOGUE: AN OVERVALUED RESOURCE? by Me
WRITING EXERCISES: DIALOGUE By Stephen J Cannell
A SELECTION OF INSIGHTS ON WRITING DIALOGUE From The Marvellous Screenwriter’s Toolkit
DIALOGUE By Danny Stack
TOP 5 REASONS WHY PARENTHETICALS ARE USELESS by Me
TWELVE EXERCISES FOR IMPROVING DIALOGUE By The Writers’ Resource Center
WRITE BETTER DIALOGUE by The Thinking Writer
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GENRE
Because knowing what *type* of film you’re writing is as important as the rest of it!!
Genre Or Die Series – by Me:
GENRE OR DIE: GANGSTER (PART 1)
GENRE OR DIE: GANGSTER (PART 2)
GENRE OR DIE: ROMANTIC COMEDIES
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF HORROR by James Moran
TOP TEN ROMANTIC COMEDIES by Billy Mernit
WHY COMEDY IS MORE THAN “FUNNY DIALOGUE” - From theLondon Screenwriters’ Festival blog
GENRE FILMS: DON’T OVERTHINK IT by Me
KILLING THE HERO: THRILLER by Robin Kelly
MAMET’S MEMO: DRAMA VS COMEDY by Nathaniel Tapley
DR. WHO VS IRON MAN: A BRITISH SUPERHERO? By Me
CREATURE FEATURES: KNOW YOUR ENEMY (BUT DON’T KNOW TOO MUCH) by Me
MISERY LOVES COMPANY? DOWNER DRAMAS by Me
KILLER PREMISES: A CASE STUDY OF SIMILAR MOVIES WITH SAME STORY by Me
WHO IS YOUR SCRIPT FOR? A POST ON WHY KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE IS SO IMPORTANT by Me
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TELEVISION SCRIPTS & SERIES BIBLES
WRITING SERIES BIBLES (WITH DOWNLOADABLE CELTX FILE) by Mike Jones TV
HOW TO WRITE A TELEVISION SCRIPT from Mahalo (with a great list of resources)
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: WRITING DRAMA FOR THE MULTI-PLATFORM AGE. By Richard Bevan
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: SHOWRUNNING BY DOMINIC MINGHELLA
WRITING TV DRAMA TIPS by the BBC Writersroom
COMMON MISTAKES IN CHILDREN’S TV SCRIPTS by Me
SITCOMS by Me
PLOT CONSTRUCTION: TV STRUCTURE IN DRAMA SERIES, UK & US by Me
LIST OF TV SCRIPTS & BIBLES, UK & US - By Lee Thomson
BIBLE BASHING: TV SERIES BIBLES by Danny Stack
HOW TO WRITE TV SERIES BIBLES by Me
THE WRITER IN MODERN TV (PDF), Transcript from BFI Jun 14th 2010 by Michelle Lipton
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WRITING FOR RADIO
WRITING FOR RADIO 4 – FROM IDEA TO DECISION - By Michelle Lipton. Fantastic post! Really worth a read.
BREAKING INTO RADIO COMEDY by Jason Arnopp
TIPS ON WRITING FOR RADIO by Anne Burnett
PRINCIPLES OF WRITING RADIO DRAMA by Tim Crooks
BBC WRITERSROOM: Read Radio Drama Scripts (List)
BBC WRITERSROOM: Read Radio Comedy Scripts (List)
SAMPLE RADIO SCRIPT COMPARISON 2
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THE REALITIES OF SCRIPT READING
Why has your masterpiece been returned unread? Find out why, here…
SO YOU WANT TO BE A SCRIPT READER? By Gideon’s Way
READER PET PEEVES by Scott The Reader
CONFESSIONS OF A GENIUS SCRIPT READER By Allan Mcavoy
CONFESSIONS OF A SLUSH PILE READER By Patricia Chui
DAY TWO IN THE LIFE OF A HOLLYWOOD SCRIPT READER by Tiffany Stone
IMAGINARY NOTES FOR FAWLTY TOWERS From That’s The Bitterness Speaking Blog
SCREENWRITING CINDERELLAS By Ellin Stein
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RESOURCES
Resources that will help you write, make films or understand how the industry works
FREE, COMPETE ONLINE SCREENWRITING COURSE by University College, Falmouth
GETTING TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE - Free PDF download, plus others on goal setting, planning, etc.
SCREENPLAY TIPS - Free e-book on Montages, Reversals, Feedback, Rejection and more
BANG2WRITERS - Facebook group of writers and filmmakers for chat, links & opportunities
THE FEEDBACK EXCHANGE - directory of Bang2writers looking to do peer review – add your name!
SHORT FILMS CLUB - directory of Bang2writers looking to collaborate on short films – add your name!
WHICH SCREENWRITING SOFTWARE IS “BEST”? By Me
HOW DO I BECOME A PROFESSIONAL SCRIPTWRITER? by Me
FIND THE OPEN DOOR… AND STEP THROUGH IT by Screenwriting U
CAN’T GET READ? YES YOU CAN by Me
MONEY TALKS: FILM BUDGETS by Me
WON’T SOMEONE NICK MY SCRIPT OR IDEA? by Me
ADRIAN MEAD’S SCREENWRITER’S CAREER GUIDE - being positive, opportunities, motivation & more
HOW DOES SHIT MAKE IT TO SCREEN? A look at crap movies.
TOP TEN UNPRODUCED MOVIES Even being successful doesn’t mean all your specs get made!
INTERVIEW – ON SCREENWRITING FOR INDIE FILMMAKERSfrom Script For Sale
GLOSSARY OF CINEMATIC TERMS From Film Site
GLADIATOR FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN (PDF) By Jonathan Blackwell
HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY by eHow
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: THE DIGITAL WORLD AND HOW WRITERS AND FILMMAKERS CAN USE IT TO SUCCEED By Laura Wilson
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PERMANENT CRISIS IN THE BRITISH FILM INDUSTRY By Julian Friedmann
12 PT FREE ARTICLE: SHOULD SCRIPTWRITERS WRITE NOVELS AS WELL? By Julian Friedmann
HOW TO HUSTLE by Michelle Lipton
SHOULD YOU OR SHOULDN’T YOU WORK FOR FREE? By Michelle Goode
USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A WRITER by Me
JAMES MORAN’S BIG WRITING FAQ - All you need to know from a veteran TV writer, all rounded up in one enormous post!
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INSPIRATION
For when you feel it’s not worth being a writer or when you don’t know what to do next !
DON’T WAIT TO BE PICKED. PICK YOURSELF By Seth Godin
IVORY TOWER By Phill Barron
CONFIDENCE AND ATTITUDE by Danny Stack
IT’S NOT ABOUT LUCK… AND IT TOTALLY IS by Me
GOING BACK TO PAGE 1 by Me
ARE WE THERE YET? By Me
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