Screenwriting Blog

When you’re a storyteller, creativity is your lifeblood! Creativity is like a house plant, and you need to water, nurture, and grow it. So why are you doing things to kill it? Don’t kill your house plants, and don’t kill your creativity! Finding it hard to write? You may be partaking in these activities that are total creativity killers. Comparing: Theodore Roosevelt said it best, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” What do you have to gain from comparing yourself or your writing to others? Comparison often only leads to thoughts of “well, I’m not this” or “I’m not that,” and that sort of negative focus is death for your creativity ... Continue reading

Oh, the urge to ask this question is real! In fact, I bet you have already made this major networking mistake, screenwriter. But, what do we writers do? Try, try, try again. And, after reading this, you can’t say you didn’t know. We asked Disney screenwriter Ricky Roxburgh what he thinks is the biggest networking mistake that screenwriters make, and he was eager to answer because he says he’s seen the same goofs repeatedly. “This might be the best [question],” he said ... Continue reading

No matter the medium - screenwriting, novel writing, or even an essay - the story is the most critical aspect. Without a good story, what do you have? Great characters are interesting, but where are they going? The scene you set is beautiful, but what's happening in it? You need to make an audience care about what's going on, and you do that with a story that entices them and makes them invested. So, what makes a good story? Today, I'm talking about the integral elements. Drama - You need conflict! Don't shortchange yourself by minimizing the drama. Struggles and challenges are the lifeblood of any ... Continue reading

Internship Alert! There are SO many more remote opportunities for film industry internships than ever before. Are you looking for internships this fall? If you can earn college credit, there may be an opportunity here for you. SoCreate is not affiliated with the following internship opportunities. Please direct all questions to the email address provided for each internship listing. Do you want to list an internship opportunity? Comment below with your listing and we'll add it to our page with the next update! Continue reading

Pursuing a screenwriting career is already a big challenge, so don’t make it harder on yourself! We’ve asked many professional screenwriters about mistakes to avoid when journeying to screenwriting success, and the answers are all across the board. But screenwriter Ricky Roxburgh’s response was probably the toughest one to hear: Are you too desperate? Gulp. For background, Ricky is a writer for Disney Television Animation, with credits including “Saving Santa,” “Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure,” “Spy Kids: Mission Critical,” and “Big Hero 6: The Series.” He’s one of the lucky few who have been able ... Continue reading

One of the best ways to learn about the craft of screenwriting, including its structure, rhythm, and devices, is by reading screenplays – lots of them. As screenwriter Bryan Young pointed out in a previous interview, you wouldn’t try to build a house without blueprints, and you wouldn’t try to draw up blueprints without looking at how professionals do it first. Screenplays are the blueprint for any film, so they can teach you a lot about making something work on screen. Below, we’re building a library of great screenplays of various genres, so you can bookmark this page and return to it when you’re ready for ... Continue reading

Welcome! You've found yourself at my comprehensive guide to writing a screenplay. I'll be guiding you through the various lifecycles of a screenplay, from coming up with a concept to getting your script out into the world. If you're considering writing a script, you've come to the right place. Let's get into it! Brainstorming: First things first, what are you going to write about? Pre-writing starts with coming up with ideas. It's time to think about what genre your screenplay will be, and maybe even what structure you're going to use to tell it – three-act structure vs. a five-act structure, or perhaps something else? ... Continue reading

There’s a lot to learn about screenwriting online. You can ask Google just about anything – from how to write an outline to how to get a screenwriting job. But often, the most valuable advice is the wisdom we can’t glean from a how-to guide, and so we were honored to be able to dig a little deeper with the sage screenwriting consultant Danny Manus. Manus owns No Bullscript Consulting, and what you see is what you get: a no-nonsense approach to getting your script noticed. But his critique comes with two hard-learned lessons as well, lessons that he wishes he could tell his younger self ... Continue reading

For someone who never made it past seventh grade, author and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman proved that you could be successful with enough practice, even without a formal education. Tidyman was born on this day in 1928, and after dropping out of junior high, he started working as a copyboy at just 14 years old. He'd later work as a crime reporter before writing his most well-known story, "Shaft." The novels-turned-screenplay followed an African-American detective, "a black hero who thinks of himself as a human being, but who uses his black rage as one of his resources, along with intelligence ... Continue reading

Just two days shy of a brand new year, and screenwriter Kaylord Hill has finished his screenplay and completed his final check-in as part of SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus Challenge! As the winner of this year's contest, Kaylord agreed to write a feature-length script in just one month, and in turn, we agreed to pay him $1,000 per week to do it. Kaylord would get the financial and moral support he needed, and we'd get to share his journey with you and, more importantly, prove that it can be done. Since December 1, Kaylord has let us in on his process, his setbacks, lessons from film school, and life ... Continue reading