Larry Gelbart: "When you’re in trouble at the end, it’s because you were in trouble in the beginning. There’s no point in writing the end over and over again. You have to go back and give yourself the opportunity to finish successfully.” gointothestory.blcklst.com/screenwritin... #screenwriting

Script Analysis: “Eye in the Sky” (2015) — Scene By Scene Breakdown. A great way to analyze a screenplay and its story structure. gointothestory.blcklst.com/script-analy... #movies #screenwriting

Page One: “Rent” (2005), screenplay by Stephen Chbosky, book by Jonathan Larson Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-ren... #movies #screenwriting

Script Analysis: “Lincoln” (2012) — Scene By Scene Breakdown. A great way to analyze a screenplay and its story structure. gointothestory.blcklst.com/script-analy... #movies #screenwriting

Graycie Harmon: “Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum.” gointothestory.blcklst.com/on-writing-7... #writing

Page One: “Reign of Fire” (2002), screenplay by Gregg Chabot & Kevin Peterka and Matt Greenberg, story by Gregg Chabot & Kevin Peterka Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-rei... #movies #screenwriting

BOTD Graham Greene!! Novels source This Gun for Hire, Ministry of Fear W: Brighton Rock, Our Man/Havana, 3rd Man More @kimwillsher.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/books/2023/s... Scott Bradfield: newrepublic.com/article/1616... @gointothestory.bsky.social: gointothestory.blcklst.com/documentary-...

My popular online Pixar class begins October 27. Enhance your writing by studying Pixar storytelling dynamics including Substantial Saga / Small Story, Special Subculture, Strange Sojourners, Separation, Sentimentality, Sires and Siblings, more. screenwritingmasterclass.com/product/craf... #writing

Script Analysis: “Zootopia” (2016) — Scene By Scene Breakdown. A great way to analyze a screenplay and its story structure. gointothestory.blcklst.com/script-analy... #movies #screenwriting

John Gary: “A movie is about an emotional struggle. The physical struggle is a manifestation of that.” gointothestory.blcklst.com/screenwritin... #movies #screenwriting

Today I fly to Athens, Greece for The Owl Screenwriting Workshop and Industry Days. This is my 3rd year participating in this 4-day event as a mentor and workshop leader. 5 film writers. 5 TV writers. Excited to dig into their script projects with them! athensfilmoffice.com/the-owl/

Page One: “Red Sparrow” (2018), screenplay by Justin Haythe, based upon the book by Jason Matthews Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-red... #movies #screenwriting

“I can’t think of anyone more qualified in this field than Scott. His expertise and ability to break down character and story can serve as a guiding light to the next generation of screenwriters.” - Charlie Wachtel, Academy Award, BlacKkKlansman. bit.ly/44qjPFO #screenwriting #scriptsky

Your characters exist. They WANT you to tell their story. Seek them out. They are your allies. #writing

A checklist provided by TV writer-producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach to deal with a nagging question: "How do I know my script is finished?" www.patreon.com/posts/how-do... #screenwriting #writing #scriptsky

Go Into The Story Interview: My conversation with Sean Robert Daniels whose screenplay "Killers" was awarded a Nicholl Fellowship. "Just tell a damn good story. That’s all I really want." gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-... #screenwriting

Congrats to my DePaul film school colleague Lori Felker who's wrapped production on her writing-directing project "Patient". Filmed locally here in Chicago. Indie filmmaking is alive and well! deadline.com/2025/09/sara...

Knut Hamsun: "I have fifteen twenty written pages lying on my knees before me, when at last I cease and lay my pencil aside. So sure as there is any worth in these pages, so sure am I saved." gointothestory.blcklst.com/on-writing-d... #writing #screenwriting

Page One: “Reality Bites” (1994), written by Helen Childress Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-rea... #movies #screenwriting

David Bowie reading a screenplay. #screenwriting

My popular online Pixar class begins October 27. Enhance your writing by studying Pixar storytelling dynamics including Substantial Saga / Small Story, Special Subculture, Strange Sojourners, Separation, Sentimentality, Sires and Siblings, more. screenwritingmasterclass.com/product/craf...

John Gary: “Screenwriting is an ocean of nos surrounding a handful of yesses. All you need is one yes.” gointothestory.blcklst.com/screenwritin... #screenwriting

Script Analysis: “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012) — Scene By Scene Breakdown. A great way to analyze a screenplay and its story structure. gointothestory.blcklst.com/script-analy... #movies #screenwriting

Page One: “Respect” (2021), screenplay by Tracey Scott Wilson, story by Callie Khouri and Tracey Scott Wilson Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-res... #movies #screenwriting

An Amazon #1 Best Seller, “The Protagonist’s Journey” is endorsed by 40 screenwriters, novelists, and academics including Don Winslow (“City on Fire”), T.J. Newman (“Worst Case Scenario”), Lisa Joy (“Westworld”), and Javier Grillo-Marxuach (“Lost”). bit.ly/44qjPFO #screenwriting #writing

James Gunn: “I don’t believe in writers’ block. I think that’s just writers judging themselves. Allow yourself to write shit!” gointothestory.blcklst.com/on-writing-2... #writing #screenwriting

Page One: “Remember” (2015), written by Benjamin August gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-rem... #movies #screenwriting

If you're interested in writing and producing audio dramas, I interviewed one of my former @depaulcinema students who has just released a 13-episode series. gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-... #screenwriting #storytelling

Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling: My popular online class begins Monday, October 27. Learn key story dynamics from your favorite Pixar movies to enhance your writing! gointothestory.blcklst.com/pixar-and-th... #storytelling #screenwriting #writing

John Guare: “I loved Feydeau’s one rule of playwriting: Character A: My life is perfect as long as I don’t see Character B. Knock Knock. Enter Character B.” gointothestory.blcklst.com/on-writing-8... #writing #storytelling

Page One: “The Red Turtle” (2016), screenplay by Pascale Ferran & Michael Dudok de Wit, story by Michael Dudok de Wit Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-the... #movies #screenwriting

"I detest most screenwriting guides, but that’s why I enjoyed Scott Myers’ book THE PROTAGONIST’S JOURNEY. He lays out his argument with academic precision and personal passion, then hands the baton to you." - Cole Haddon (Psalms for the End of the World) bit.ly/44qjPFO #screenwriting #writing

Go Into The Story Interview: My conversation with Nikole Beckwith whose script "Stockholm, Pennsylvania" made the Black List and won a Nicholl Fellowship. Nikole directed the movie. "There’s honestly no such thing as an overnight success." gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-... #screenwriting

Page One: “Red Rocket” (2021), written by Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-red... #movies #screenwriting

The danger of AI is not what it can do to replace writers, but what the suits in the C-suites *think* AI can do to replace writers. That they refer to "stories" as "content" pretty much says it all. Our defense? Write stories with complex characters in compelling situations told in our unique voice.

A writer's 1st draft is a journey of discovery. From that chaos of wrong turns leading to unforeseen insights, character types transformed into multifacted individuals, planned plot elements spun into surprising twists ... that fumbling process is where distinctive stories & writer's voice emerge.

Can AI churn out a first draft? Sure. But when a *human* writes a first draft, they make specific choices based on characters in situations deriving from that writer's specific perspective. That's how their distinctive writer's voice emerges. An AI first draft misses out on that creative process.

Each writer has one attribute no other writer has: Their unique life experience. That is the foundation of their distinctive writer's voice. AI is a generalist derived from "scraping" material generated by countless creators. IMHO AI will *always* lack a specific, nuanced human voice.

Script Analysis: “Enough Said” (2013) — Scene By Scene Breakdown. A great way to analyze a screenplay and its story structure. medium.com/go-into-the-... #movies #screenwriting

I got a part-time job at a petrol station when I was 16. Because I was always cool, this is what I bought with my first week's pay.

There are no screenwriting rules. There are conventions, patterns, paradigms. Know them, but don’t let them constrain your creativity. Write your story the way it *needs* to be told. #screenwriting #scriptsky

Script Analysis: “Looper” (2012) — Scene By Scene Breakdown. A great way to analyze a screenplay and its story structure. gointothestory.blcklst.com/script-analy... #movies #screenwriting

Alex Garland: “I love stories. Stories are my primary concern because I think they are a very tried and tested vehicle for themes." gointothestory.blcklst.com/screenwritin... #screenwriting #writing

Page One: “Red Eye” (2005), screenplay by Carl Ellsworth, story by Carl Ellsworth & Dan Foos Download the screenplay here. gointothestory.blcklst.com/page-one-red... #movies #screenwriting

Elvis Presley reading a screenplay. #screenwriting

The seeds of a story’s ending lie in its beginning. #screenwriting #writing

“The Protagonist’s Journey is an indispensable guide — essential for beginners and a powerful reference for those of us who’ve been around a while. I refer to it often.” – Rob Lorenz (producer, Mystic River, Gran Torino, American Sniper) bit.ly/44qjPFO #screenwriting

George Saunders has a Substack in which an aspiring writer asked “How do I know if my writing is good?” He said, Don’t worry about whether your writing is good, worry about whether your writing is true.

Go Into The Story Interview: My conversation Daniel Destin Cretton about his breakout indie film "Short Term 12." A link where you can download his Nicholl-winning screenplay. gointothestory.blcklst.com/go-into-the-... #movies #screenwriting

Graham Greene: “A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” gointothestory.blcklst.com/on-writing-2... #writing