ScriptArsenal

20/03/2024

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 03/14/2024 -

19/03/2024

St. Patrick's Day Sale Ends March 22nd! - http://eepurl.com/iMlC_U

15/03/2024

ScriptArsenal St Patrick's Day Sale 🍀 - https://mailchi.mp/c2bb8ad4f353/lucky-you-st-patricks-day-sale-is-on 10% OFF until March 22nd code PATTY10 - ScriptArsenal.com

03/09/2023

Labor Day Sale! Discounts On All Script Services! - http://eepurl.com/iyZWo6 20% off - code LABOR20

07/06/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 06/05/2023 -

There is one simple trick to kill writer’s block, and that is to write. If you don’t know what to write, there is always one story you can tell, and that is the story of your own life.

07/06/2023

Are you writing?

There is one simple trick to kill writer’s block, and that is to write. If you don’t know what to write, there is always one story you can tell, and that is the story of your own life. As the old saying goes, everyone in the world has one good story to tell. That story is their own experience as...

01/06/2023

Is your script lean and mean?

The short version: screenplays read best when they are lean and mean. The longer version… The standard length of screenplays used to be 120-ppg. It has been a long time since that has been the case; decades, in fact. It isn’t against the law or anything to write a 120-ppg screenplay, but we have...

29/05/2023

Memorial Day Sale - 20% Off Script Coverage Services! -

Hi Writers! In honor of Memorial Day weekend, we are offering 20% off any single script coverage now through June 5th, including: Comments Only Screenplay Coverage, Regular Screenplay Coverage, 30 or 60 Minute Teleplay Coverage, Editing Services or Studio Notes.* Place as many orders as you want!...

24/05/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 05/24/2023 -

I read a lot of scripts that read more like a novel’s worth of story shoved into a script-sized container. We get a sprawling ensemble of dozens of named characters, tons of plot threads, massive amounts of dialogue, and so on.

24/05/2023

Should your story be a movie?

I read a lot of scripts that read more like a novel’s worth of story shoved into a script-sized container. We get a sprawling ensemble of dozens of named characters, tons of plot threads, massive amounts of dialogue, and so on. It’s one thing if the script actually is an adaptation of a novel. B...

10/05/2023

Are you grabbing your reader straight out of the gate?

A couple of articles ago, we talked about how, in many ways, the most important pages in a script are the first-10. Now let’s talk about the single most important page in any screenplay: page one. When the reader first opens the screenplay, they are starting from zero. A fresh slate; a human being...

10/05/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 05/09/2023 -

A couple of articles ago, we talked about how, in many ways, the most important pages in a script are the first-10. Now let’s talk about the single most important page in any screenplay: page one.

03/05/2023

Is your script delivering the genre goods?

Last week, we talked about the all-important first-10. As mentioned, we should open with a statement of intention – a scene/sequence that establishes the genre, and lets the audience know that the script is going to deliver the goods. Now let’s talk about the rest of the script. I’ve read a lo...

26/04/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 04/25/2023 -

It’s a common wisdom among reps and producers that name talent (i.e. movie stars) rarely read past the first-10 if they don’t see their character, and/or if the character doesn’t grab them as interesting. Given that financing is frequently contingent on attaching name talent to the leads, thos...

26/04/2023

Are the first ten pages of your script covering these three key components?

The first ten pages are the most important because they often determine if anything from page 11 on will be read. It’s a common wisdom among reps and producers that name talent (i.e. movie stars) rarely read past the first-10 if they don’t see their character, and/or if the character doesn’t g...

19/04/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 04/19/2023 -

A script is a blueprint for a movie, and a movie only has value insofar as it can play in front of an audience, and connect with them on some level. Thus, it’s very important for the writer to be thinking of the audience at all times. In a novel, the words are the end result. In a screenplay, the ...

19/04/2023

If you don’t care about the script, why should anyone else?

A script is a blueprint for a movie, and a movie only has value insofar as it can play in front of an audience, and connect with them on some level. Thus, it’s very important for the writer to be thinking of the audience at all times. In a novel, the words are the end result. In a screenplay, the ...

05/04/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 04/05/2023 -

One way to develop characters in writing is to ask questions, to mentally interview the characters. It is by asking these questions that we get a sense of the character’s inner life, their personalities, their backstories. And it’s also how we develop characters out of the trap of stereotypes, t...

05/04/2023

Are you asking your characters the tough questions?

One way to develop characters in writing is to ask questions, to mentally interview the characters. It is by asking these questions that we get a sense of the character’s inner life, their personalities, their backstories. And it’s also how we develop characters out of the trap of stereotypes, t...

29/03/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 03/28/2023 -

I sometimes see scripts that are pursuing multiple ideas. For example, we might have a horror script that is about two characters; one is contending with a cult, the other is contending with a slasher. It’s one thing if the cult and the slasher are connected. But if not, then we have two protagoni...

29/03/2023

Are you making sure your scripts are focused?

I sometimes see scripts that are pursuing multiple ideas. For example, we might have a horror script that is about two characters; one is contending with a cult, the other is contending with a slasher. It’s one thing if the cult and the slasher are connected. But if not, then we have two protagoni...

15/03/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 03/14/2023 -

I see dead people. The protagonist is grieving a dead spouse, a dead child, or both. Screenwriters have murdered more fictitious children on the page than the Bubonic Plague. So many tearful scenes over gravesites.

15/03/2023

Are you crafting compelling protagonists?

More common tropes to be understood, avoided, and/or subverted per your desire. I see dead people. The protagonist is grieving a dead spouse, a dead child, or both. Screenwriters have murdered more fictitious children on the page than the Bubonic Plague. So many tearful scenes over gravesites. The t...

01/03/2023

How are you opening your story?

In past articles we’ve touched on the use of tropes. These are a few common tropes we see in the opening scenes of screenplays. Waking up. In the opening scene, we watch the protagonist wake up. We get a sense of their daily life, etc. Bonus points if waking up is preceded by a dream. Extra bonus ...

01/03/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 03/01/2023 -

In past articles we’ve touched on the use of tropes. These are a few common tropes we see in the opening scenes of screenplays.

22/02/2023

Are you writers taking advantage of this ever-renewable resource?

Not long ago, I had a very long and involved dream. When I woke up, the dream and the story it told was still very vivid. I decided to put it to script. I had other projects that needed to get done, projects with deadlines. But this dream was like a rare bird that had landed on my window; I had to c...

20/02/2023

15% OFF SCRIPT COVERAGE SERVICES AND MORE! - http://eepurl.com/ilbAFL Enter code PRES15 upon check out.

15/02/2023

Tips from ScriptArsenal - Screenwriting Tips for 02/15/2023 -

Many narratives are actually comprised of multiple interweaving “stories,” each of which has a function within the larger whole. We more typically see this kind of breaking in TV writing, and the use and definitions of the alphabetical “stories” vary between feature and TV. But the core conc...

15/02/2023

Are you interweaving multiple storylines in your script?

Many narratives are actually comprised of multiple interweaving “stories,” each of which has a function within the larger whole. We more typically see this kind of breaking in TV writing, and the use and definitions of the alphabetical “stories” vary between feature and TV. But the core conc...

09/02/2023

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Sometimes the script doesn’t want to cooperate. You stare at the page and nothing comes. The scenes you’ve written all seem tired and obvious. You’re forty pages into the script, and going further feels like a chore. What happens next? You don’t know. Nothing clicks. It’s the condition com...