Screenwriting From Iowa

“When I first meet with the scriptwriter, I never tell him anything, even if I feel there’s a lot to be done. Instead I ask him the same questions I’ve asked myself: What is the story about? What did you see? What was your intention? Ideally, if we do this well, what do you hope […]

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“A successful focus sentence is the most basic, bare-bones version of your narrative arc.” Jessica Able Out on the Wire, Episode 4 A focus sentence is what screenwriters call a logline. The essential elements of your story. In the podcast Out on a Wire, Jessica Abel explains how some narrative & non-narrative radio/podcast producers use […]

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“The key to writing fiction and screenplays in terms of character is conflict, just like it is in non-fiction. And you have to come up with what is the thing that’s going to test that character. And how are you going to make evident what they’re all about? If you can’t make it evident through […]

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If you’ve never written a screenplay before, today is your lucky day. If you’ve never worked a day in production, it’s your lucky day, too. This is the inspirational follow-up to the sobering post 10 Quotes on Paying Your Dues where several well-known and accomplished writers talked about the long and winding road to their successes. […]

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Earlier this week I heard the first quote listed below on a Scriptnotes podcast and it didn’t take long to track down similar quotes on paying your dues that I’ve posted over the years on this blog. (And while you may see these quotes as more anecdotal than empirical data—there does appear to be a common theme. […]

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In light of my last post (Waiting to Be Great) I thought I’d gather 10 quotes on low-budget filmmaking that I found scattered throughout this blog over the years. I hope two or three inspire you on your filmmaking journey: “My token advice [to aspiring filmmakers] is do it—make your own stuff. Whether it’s short […]

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“You have so many opportunities now….We’re in a new frontier.” Screenwriter Diablo Cody Juno Has Another Baby (Emmy) “You absolutely can make movies. The idea of having a career in the movie business is very, very different ” Writer/director John Sayles (Lone Star, Sunshine State) Apparently it’s Mike Birbiglia week. After three days of pulling quotes from […]

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“I would have these script readings for Don’t Think Twice at my house to workshop the film script the way that I workshop my standup…and I would say at the beginning of the reading, ‘the script might be bad, but at the end, we’re all going to eat pizza.’” Writer/Director Mike Birbiglia In the Mike Birbiglia’s […]

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“If you want to perform five minutes of good comedy, write what you think is three hours of great comedy.” Comedian/writer/director Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me) Interview with Tim Ferriss P.S. One excellant documentary that shows Birbiglia’s quote in action is Comedian, Jerry Seinfeld’s love letter to comedy. Related Link: Jerry Seinfeld Interview: How to Write […]

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