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5 Tips for Your First Ten Pages

You’ve probably had this feeling: very early in a movie (or a book) you think, "wow, this is going to be really, really good." And whenever you have that feeling you’re almost always right. So, why does that happen? It happens because the writer ...

The Not So Perfect Screenplay Pitch

How's your screenplay pitch? Are you cool in the room? Ball of nerves? Is there a perfect way to pitch your screenplay? Not that I’ve experienced. Depends on what I pitch, who I’m pitching to, and several other factors. My expertise has been ...

5 Conflict Management Tips for Screenwriters

Most screenwriters prefer to keep the drama in their scripts. Occasionally, when working with agents, managers, development people, producers, directors and actors conflict will arise. How you deal with conflict is a huge issue and most of us spend a great deal of time trying to get good at it. Here are five ideas to put in your back pocket should the need arise.

Stagnation, Productivity, and Writing Like No One’s Watching

What are you doing to keep your writing from going to the next level? We've got a few possibilities.

5 Steps to Finishing That Screenplay— The Boulder Tag Team Accountability System

Have you ever scrapped a script idea before you finished the outline? Or have you gotten stuck in act two and put the project on “the back burner?” Have you blazed through the first draft and never looked at the project again? Hands up. I’m talking to you.

Blurbs and Loglines and Synopses… Oh My!

One of the most dreaded tasks of screenwriting is writing about your work. You’ve just spent months or even years crafting your screenplay. You’ve whittled it down to a lean mean one hundred and two pages and now you’re asked to cut it down to ...

5 Tips for Writing Visually

Of course, films are visual. That’s not news. Screenplays, though, aren’t always very visual and they really should be. The more you use visual techniques in your script the easier it will be for people to see your script as a movie and for it to eventually to become one. Here are five ideas for writing more visually.

How to Write a Great Query Letter

From time to time all aspiring writers have to face the dreaded query letter—whether you’re looking for an agent or a manager you’re going to have to bite the bullet and write those letters. While this may seem like just a boring business letter, it’s actually a time to show off your talent as a writer and your understanding of the business.

How to Know If Your Script Doesn’t Suck

Maybe we never really know if our screenplay is excellent. It’s a subjective process. But one thing you should make sure of before you send your work out into the world… don’t suck. There’s a lot of road between a good script and terrible one.

How to write fairytale princesses that are truly empowered (and the mistakes Disney made with Beauty and the Beast)

Walt Disney didn't invent the fairy tale, but he sure brought it into popular culture by turning these morality tales that teach children help teach them how to behave in the world into films. But as science and technology progresses, so does our collective sense of morality. How does that change the modern fairy tale...?

Networking and the Power of the Smaller Pond

There’s no one way to get yourself and your work out there. This book’s author says their way is the only way. Another contradicts that dude’s advice. Some swear that you must have an agent to even think about putting your stuff in front of a producer or a big name because… lawyers. Others will tell you that’s a load of bunk. So what’s the answer? We have a few for you right here...

You Can Produce a Staged Reading of Your Screenplay – Here’s How

What's the toughest part about trying to make it in Hollywood? Convincing someone to read your screenplay. But what if you didn't have to convince anyone and they didn't have to do any reading...? Sounds like the perfect scenario. It's called a "staged reading," and it's growing in popularity as new channels of script discovery continue to open up amid the surplus of spec scripts on the market.
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