character 9 results

Bill and Ted Face the Music Writers on Writing from Character, Not Structure

It’s excellent that Bill and Ted (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, respectively) are back in the bodacious three-quel Bill and Ted Face the Music! It’s heinous to think that it’s been 31 years since the two dudes started time traveling together, but that’s only given us all time to share the first two films with our own outstanding little ...

Why Do Character Arcs Matter, Anyway?

Picture this: We open on a girl’s frightened face. She’s wearing a red riding cloak of some kind and she’s scrunched up in a very tight space. We hear her voiceover: “It was dark inside the wolf.” Then, she stays there and does nothing and nothing changes. The End. Wouldn’t it be better to see the girl master her fear, wrench her ...

What Are Your Characters Hiding?

You’ve got a secret. Don’t you? If you’re like most of us, you have a secret you don’t want anyone to know. Maybe you’re wearing mismatched socks, maybe you’re the lunchbox thief at work, or maybe you’re a hundred rats in a trench coat posing as a Brazilian spy. The point is: most of us know what it means to worry someone will find out our secret, leaving us vulnerable to rejection and shame.

Crafting Your Protagonist: 4 Ways To Up Your Game

We all know that crafting a protagonist is one of the most important elements of storytelling. Whether you're writing film or television, you need to create a character compelling enough to reel audiences in and keep them watching.  But what, exactly, can we do to up our game, in terms of creating a protagonist? What are some specific exercises we can do to improve our current and future protagonists?

What is Craft?

When I was a very young writer people told me I was talented. I thought that meant I was basically done and all I had to do was write. Eventually, I figured out that is not how things work and began to educate myself...

Episode guide: Myths and Monsters unearths treasure chest of story gold

Myths and Monsters goes deep into Euro-centric stories, exploring the myths from ancient Greece, fairy tales and the Viking sagas. ScreenwritingU breaks down all six episodes.

4 reasons not to use flashbacks

Discussing whether flashbacks are a good idea with writers is about as easy as trying to choose your favorite Star Wars movie. There really isn’t one definitive answer. We just want to say that avoiding flashbacks more often than not is probably a good rule of thumb for all screenwriters.

How to write a screenplay in 10 steps

Writing a screenplay can be intimidating, even if you’ve done it before. It’s a lot of time, a lot of brainpower and a lot of staring at a blank screen. But don’t strees out! Here are 10 simple steps you can use to guide you through the process.

Five Old School Ways to Write Better Characters

Gone With The Wind. Casablanca. Citizen Kane. We all know the classics -- they're the movies that made us all want to start writing in the first place. They've got gripping plots, snappy dialogue... and absolutely unforgettable characters. Every writer hopes his or her next project will be deemed an instant classic in the company of great ...
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