Screenwriting Blog

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

There are some key differences in writing a screenplay versus writing just about anything else. For starters, that dang formatting structure is very specific, and you won't get far (at least, for now) without knowing it. Screenplays are also meant to be blueprints for, ultimately, a visual piece of art. Scripts require collaboration. Multiple people need to work together to create the end story which plays out on screen. And that means that your screenplay needs to have a compelling plot and theme and lead with visuals. Sound hard? It's different than writing a novel or poem, but we have some pointers to help you learn ... Continue reading

I recently conducted a survey of screenwriters to learn more about what makes them tick: when do they write? Where do they write? What type of content do they find most useful? And where did they LEARN to write a screenplay? The last question was revealing: So many screenwriters never went to film school. They learned the craft by reading a ton of screenplays and the top screenwriting books. And you can, too. We asked the screenwriting community to name what they believe are the best screenwriting books for screenplay how-to’s, and here’s what they said, in no particular order. Save the Cat, by Blake... Continue reading

Do you ever find yourself working on your screenplay and asking, “where is the emotion?” “Will anyone feel anything when they watch this movie?” It happens to the best of us! When you’re focused on structure, getting from plot point A to B, and making all of the overall mechanics of your story work, you can find your script missing some emotional beats. So today, I’m going to explain some techniques so you can learn how to add emotion to your screenplay! You can infuse emotion into your script through conflict, action, dialogue, and juxtaposition, and I’m going to teach you how ... Continue reading

Masters of their craft never stop working on it – whether that craft is screenwriting, songwriting, painting, or the high jump. To go from good to great, screenwriters must push their boundaries, and it must be a constant effort. There’s more to writing than just the physical act of doing it, though, so how do you practice screenwriting with a focus on improvement? Screenwriter Ricky Roxburgh writes almost every day, whether for his job as a story editor at Dreamworks or his personal projects at home. He makes time to get better, and his constant effort has landed him some pretty amazing writing jobs ... Continue reading

“Finding an agent is one of those questions that a lot of people ask. Everybody wants one,” Michael Stackpole explained during an interview with us at the Central Coast Writers Conference. A writer, game designer, podcaster, and regular conference speaker, Stackpole had an answer at the ready. “Once you’ve completed something, farm it out to some friends. Get them to write down two or three authors that they think you write like. Research those authors. Find out who their agents are. Perhaps meet them at a conference. Talk to them and see if their agents are taking on any new clients... Continue reading

Netflix: We all know it. As one of the first and now largest streaming services, the name is synonymous with hit television and films! There’s nothing like sitting around searching through Netflix’s many offerings looking for the perfect Friday night movie to watch or the next series to binge. As our viewing habits change, I know some of you screenwriters out there even have Netflix in mind as the perfect home for your movie or television script. You daydream about your script getting made and featured right there under Netflix’s “trending now” section! So, how do you sell a script to Netflix ... Continue reading

Getting started is the hardest part. We know there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people who have amazing stories to tell and would write a screenplay if they could, but it’s that getting started part that holds so many creative people back. But what if I told you that there’s a tried-and-true approach to doing just about anything, including screenwriting? Screenwriter, author, and podcaster Bryan Young (StarWars.com, HowStuffWorks.com, SyFy.com) joins us today to guide you to become a screenwriter, and we’ve broken it down into ten simple steps. Now, this guide is not the only way to become a screenwriter ... Continue reading

If your screenwriting career hasn’t taken off just yet, and you still need to keep your day job, it’d be nice if you could work in a relevant field or related screenwriting job. It keeps your mind in the game, allows you to build connections with like-minded people, and learn more about the movie and television business. Take Caitlin Schneiderhan, for example. She’s a screenwriter with many accolades to her name, including being named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch. Her scripts have placed in the Austin Film Festival’s AMC One Hour Pilot Competition, Screencraft Pilot Competition... Continue reading

Whether you've already decided to go to film school or you're trying to figure out if it's the right path for you, you're going to want to read this advice from screenwriter Kaylord Hill. You may remember Kaylord as the winner of SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus in late 2020, where he used his screenwriting skills to write a feature-length script in just 30 days. To do that, he leaned on his film school cohort and lessons learned from mentors. But, despite the positive outcomes from his screenwriting master's experience, there are some things he wants to warn aspiring screenwriters to watch for before deciding to go to college ... Continue reading