As you learn screenwriting: - First, be bad. That’s where almost everyone starts. - Then, get competent. - Next, learn to be good. Most don't get here. - After that, be consistently good. That’s what it is to be a pro. - Do that, and you may even be brilliant once or twice.

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Don't get caught up trying to convince the reader you're a good writer. Just tell them the story. Make them feel something. Comedy, thrills, drama. Whatever it is. Focus on that with your screenwriting, and they will figure out you're a good writer all on their own.

Interested in screenwriting? Join 9k+ other screenwriters every Tuesday for The Story and Plot Weekly Email. It's the best 5-minute investment you will make in your screenwriting all week. https://t.co/u7vMVrfYZD

I will take a break from the usual screenwriting tweet to share that I am 24 years sober today. My drinking pretty much killed the first version of my screenwriting career. After 8 or so years, I had burned enough bridges that it was time to move on. I got sober, became a

The Story and Plot Weekly Email. It's a free screenwriting lesson every Tuesday morning. https://t.co/OuopF4JugG

Movie-making is star-driven. Eventually, you have to get some actors on board. Yesterday, I shared with 10,000 subscribers what's happening with three of my current projects to package them. Hint: it ain't easy. Interested? The link is in the replies. 👇

Interested in screenwriting? If you want to: - Make more compelling choices. - Find a more consistent process. - Maximize the emotional response. Join 9k+ other screenwriters every Tuesday for The Story and Plot Weekly Email. https://t.co/u7vMVrfYZD

My rewrite process for every action line in my screenwriting: 1. Is the intention clear? 2. If not, make it clear. 3. What emotion do I want to evoke? 4. Does the line evoke it? 5. If not, rewrite it so it does. 6. If no emotion is intended, is it succinct? 7. If the line

Interested in screenwriting? Join 9k+ other screenwriters every Tuesday for The Story and Plot Weekly Email. It's the best 5-minute investment you will make in your screenwriting all week. https://t.co/u7vMVrfYZD

The Story and Plot Weekly Email. The best five minutes you'll invest in your screenwriting all week. https://t.co/AeVVVHI3zz

I am more comfortable talking about screenwriting, but eventually, you're going to need to attach actors. Tomorrow, I'll share with 10,000 subscribers what I've learned about packaging and even casting a project. Interested? The link is in the replies. 👇

Comedy is hard. I see a lot of writers rely on plot and funny quips to move their story forward, and it often falls flat. So much humor thrives on obstacles, bad choices, and emotionally honest reactions. You will get far more mileage out of funny scenes that inspire funny

Interested in screenwriting? I share everything I've learned over 28 years as a professional screenwriter in a weekly email that you can read in less than 5 minutes. Join 9k+ other subscribers here: https://t.co/u7vMVrfYZD

One of the most frustrating truths new screenwriters must wrestle with is that a “good” screenplay is not the same as a screenplay people want to make. This is why a high score on a hosting site, followed by *crickets*, makes them think the hosting site is a scam. Or why

Interested in screenwriting? I share everything I've learned over 28 years as a professional screenwriter in a weekly email that you can read in less than 5 minutes. Join 9k+ other subscribers here: https://t.co/u7vMVrfYZD

At least 30 agents rejected me in the 90 days before my first screenwriting agent reached out to me on his own. He cold-called me after a stage play I wrote and self-produced got a nice review in a Houston paper. He called ME. When I reached out to agents myself... crickets.

Whatever it is, make a choice for each moment. What is the moment about? What is the emotion you want to evoke? How was it created by the moment before it? How does it lead to the next? It feels like a small thing, but it isn't. It's everything. It's one of the defining

Clarity > Proper format. Emotional impact > Proper format. Readability > Proper format. The only time to stress about screenwriting format is when you get it so wrong that it interferes with the above. Your screenplay is for the reader. Your focus is on what they envision

Amy and Jen Hood have impressed me from the moment I saw their work. They are smart, talented, and they know their stuff. Plus, they're good people. If you're working freelance, I can't imagine two better people to go to for advice.

Don't try to impress with your screenwriting. Clarity of intent is impressive enough. Yesterday, I shared with 10,000 subscribers of The Story and Plot Weekly Email why simple is almost always better. Did you miss it? One more chance below.👇 https://t.co/31KVgNCHSe