Script Perfection · 4 min
How important are format and style?
The first step for many aspiring screenwriters is to purchase a piece of pricey screenwriting software. Some call it retail therapy. You are not a screenwriter…
The Journal
Vol. 17 · 1,240 entries
25 August 2026
Quote of the day
Take what’s useful, argue with the rest.
Vol. 17
Uncategorized · 13 min
Structure: The Lives of Others
A loyal agent for the Stasi spies on a playwright and his actress girlfriend. Intent on revealing their disloyalty to the GDR, the agent becomes involved…
Script Perfection · 3 min
The Three C’s of a Scene
Your primary focus is on story and less on writing scenes, sharp dialogue or gripping action. Inevitably, though, once figured out your characters and their journeys,…
Post Series · 3 min
Inciting Incident: Event, not Action.
When talking about story structure, many people talk about where exactly in the story the structural element needs to happen. Often this is expressed in terms…
Post Series · 2 min
Inciting Incident: Definitions
Inciting Incident, Catalyst, Call to Adventure, Disturbance. All terms referring to the first crucial moment: the point where your story kicks off. Michael Hauge closes the…
Post Series · 2 min
The Inciting Incident
The first guy to write down that a story needs a beginning, middle and end, was Aristotle. About twenty-four centuries ago. But his beginning is not…
News · 7 min
First, Break All the Rules
When I asked this student which one thing she remembered above anything else, she replied: "That you can break the rules, and get away with it."…
Stuff · 2 min
Selected Bibliography
This bibliography I often include in my course notes. It contains publications that I regularly consult or quote from. Aronson, Linda: Scriptwriting Updated, Allen & Unwin…
Uncategorized · 4 min
Glossary
The following is a basic list of terms I believe you should have an understanding of. To be a professional, it is crucial you can communicate…
Story & Structure · 2 min
Learn from other people’s mistakes
When the Australian Writers Guild NSW organised a night with prominent script editors, one of the questions to the panel was about the most common mistakes.…
Stuff · 5 min
New Screenwriters
Most government film agencies have funds to spend on promising new screenwriters. Often the requirements are less stringent in terms of the formal perfection of the…
News · 3 min
The Secret
While you were out celebrating New Year's Eve, I was watching David Cronenberg's eXistenZ on DVD. Not that I'm such a pathetic hermit; it was just…
Stuff · 2 min
Development in One, Two, Three
Story Development is a process. I know that and you know that. But sometimes factors of time and budget allow you to only move forward step…
Post Series · 3 min
Plot Point: Brainstorming Plot Points
Writing a first draft is in essence brainstorming plot points and writing them down in a more or less chronological order. It sounds as if I…
Post Series · 3 min
Logline: Examples
A 17th Century tale of adventure on the Caribbean Sea where the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow joins forces with a young blacksmith in a…