Script Check · 3 min
Cut the feelings
If I read the line 'she smiled at him lovingly' one more time, I swear I will kill the writer. Uncountable are the screenplays where characters…
The Journal
Vol. 17 · 1,240 entries
26 August 2026
Quote of the day
Take what’s useful, argue with the rest.
Vol. 17
MM on Monday · 3 min
Perfect Formatting
It’s certainly no secret. I believe that all the screenplays we write today must be flawless in terms of formatting and grammar simply because of the…
Best of the Web · 1 min
Best o/t Web 14 Mar 10
:: Black on action (via Scott Myers). :: Christopher Nolan on what to expect from Batman 3 :: How to logline a dual plot story? John…
Story & Structure · 11 min
How, Not If
I play games like I once used to read novels. There exists a pile and as I finish each game (taking a number of weeks and…
Book Reviews · 6 min
You Can Write a Movie
“You Can Write a Movie” by Pamela Wallace Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio. 2000. 118 pages. ISBN 0-89879-974-0 Amazon Price: US $4.35 THE AUTHOR In 1986…
Script Check · 3 min
Introducing Names
When I re-watched the pilot episodes of LOST, it struck me how late the main characters' names are introduced. And it works so well. By the…
MM on Monday · 4 min
Trust the Reader
I want to say a word on trusting the reader. An inevitable sign of growth in a new writer - and we all go through this arc…
News · 1 min
What just happened??
I have seen The Hurt Locker and I enjoyed it. But I don't get the hype. Is this a memorable movie? Is it memorable for the…
Best of the Web · 1 min
Best o/t Web 7 Mar 10
:: How to logline a script with multiple plots. :: Persistence in your scene-writing: imagining your story in its own world. :: What screenwriter Michael C.…
Script Perfection · 9 min
Formatting Scripts To Sell
The point of every script is to be made into a film - obviously. Yet why do so some great stories never make it to the…
Book Reviews · 6 min
Writing Drama
“Writing Drama: A Comprehensive Guide for Playwrights and Scriptwriters” by Yves Lavandier. Translated from the French by Bernard Besserglik. Le Clown & l’Enfant, France. 2005 595…
Script Check · 1 min
Script Check: DAY / NIGHT
Many newbie screenwriters use times of day other than DAY or NIGHT in their scene headings. It looks unprofessional. DUSK and DAWN are not used in…
MM on Monday · 10 min
Who is John Galt?
In the midst of my absence last month, I managed to squeeze in some time to read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. It was only 1000 pages…
Best of the Web · 1 min
Best o/t Web 28 Feb 10
:: Writer Laeta Kalogridis of Shutter Island's advice: "Live within your means." :: An endless curiosity: the processes of other writers. :: 12 step plan for…
Story & Structure · 4 min
The Natural Three Acts
If Shakespeare were writing screenplays now, he'd be laughed out of Hollywood. Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet were both five acts long. Some printed editions of…