A student came up to me after class and asked about impostor syndrome. I had mentioned in class that one of the main causes of things like plagiarism or bloated writing is insecurity: People are afraid that their writing will be found lacking, and that… Read More
All posts tagged “tactics”
Plants and Payoffs in Comedy Writing: Parks and Recreation
Comedy Has Structure Long form comedy isn’t just a series of jokes. Whether it’s a sitcom, a film, or a stand-up set, there’s a structure to humor that relates to dramatic structure. Over time, strong comedy builds. New jokes call back to previous jokes. By… Read More
Cutting with The Muppets
We ran into a problem while rehearsing for the table read of Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Ida Walker: The read-through ran longer than the block of studio time we had reserved for the recording. The traditional rule estimates that one screenplay page equals one minute… Read More
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Off to the side
I keep a mini legal notepad next to my keyboard when I’m writing scenes. It’s there for when I need a push on figuring out what to type next. For example, sometimes I’ll look at the wording of a line of dialogue and it feels… Read More
Counterpoint: In Defense Of Writing Without A Net
If you think staring at the blank page is intimidating, imagine staring at 100 blank pages. All at once. Sometimes, that’s what outlining feels like. You look at the outline, and you see the spaces where all the moving parts are supposed to go, but… Read More
Point: Outlining is Awesome
Seriously. A good, thorough outline makes actual writing feel effortless. All the hard work has been done! You know who’s in the scene, where it takes place, and what should happen. Maybe some of the dialogue is even set. Making a solid outline before you… Read More
Nice to Meet You
What is the purpose in a film of two characters meeting one another and introducing themselves? For one thing, it allows the audience to know the characters’ names. Also, some small bits of character information are often relayed in an introduction. But that’s all exposition. And… Read More
