Want to write a Better Screenplay: 5 more quick tips
After an extended Australian summer holiday and focusing on writing a new screenplay I am back now in full swing for the new year and have 5 more quick screenwriting tips. Tip 1: Your main character must face set backs in the pursuit of their goal for without set backs …
The Importance Of Varied Screen Time – What I learnt From Making The Surrogate #3
With the release of my feature film ‘Surrogate’ I am doing a series of blogs on what I learn’t or what my writing process reiterated to me. Your screenplay isn’t just about creativity, it’s a working document that will guide the practicalities of a film production so you need to …
Another 5 Quick Tips To Writing A Better Screenplay
I got such a great response to my article titled “5 quick tips to writing a better Screenplay” I thought I would write 5 more. Tip 1 : Keep it secret When you start writing your first screenplay, don’t tell anyone, keep it to yourself and secretly plug away at …
‘The 5 Page Rule’ – What I learnt From Making The Surrogate #2
With the release of my feature film ‘Surrogate’ in 2022 I am doing a series of blogs on what I learnt or what my writing process reiterated to me. As I detailed in my last blog ‘Length Matters – What I learnt From Making The Surrogate #1’, when Beth King …
Length Matters – What I learnt From Making The Surrogate #1
With the release of my feature film Surrogate in 2022 I am going to do a series of blogs on what I learnt or what my writing process reiterated to me. When Beth King and I started writing Surrogate I set out a few parameters and one of those was …
5 Quick Tips To Writing A Better Screenplay
Tip 1: 2D = 1D – 10%…meaning…2nd Draft = 1st draft – 10% The first step of writing the 2nd draft of your screenplay is to cut out a minimum of 10%. If your 1st Draft is 100 pages then cut out 10 pages worth of scenes and dialogue. Trust …
5 Tips For Writing At Home
It feels like we are in Act 1 of an apocalyptic film! We are being bombarded with classic cinema images of overwhelmed hospitals once bustling cities now deserted medical staff covered head to toe in protective wear panic buying and fights breaking out over of all things TOILET PAPER and …
Oscar Nominated Screenplays You can Learn From
There is no higher profile competition in the film industry than the Oscars and the 5 films nominated for the 2020 Best Original Screenplay all told very different stories. These Screenplays are well worth reading. Reading Screenplays is the best way to improve your skills as a Screenwriter. Reading scripts …
“1917” Story Elements Breakdown
A screenwriter is a story teller so you need to understand and master the Story Elements to ensure your Screenplays work. These Story Elements are universal, cross cultural and found in all stories whether it’s a Rom Com, Thriller or Horror film. However a finished Screenplay doesn’t automatically contain the …
4 Reasons To Enter A Screenplay Competition
Is it a good idea to enter your Screenplay into a competition? The answer is yes! But… There is a caveat, which I’ll address in a moment. There are 4 main reasons for entering a Screenplay competition 1. Finishing A Draft Thinkers – Think Talkers – Talk Writers – Write! …
Three Act Structure Analysis Of Misery And Jaws
Following on from my video ‘Screenplay 3 Act Structure – The 5 Plot Points’ I thought I would breakdown in detail the 3 Act Structure with some film examples. For an an in-depth breakdown and explanation of the 3 Act Structure and the 4-5 Plot Points please watch this video …
[Three Act Structure] Act 1 breakdown of Ring
In recent posts I demonstrated how Act 1 of the 3 Act structure works for major films like Misery and Apocalypse Now. I’m getting a great response to these posts so I thought I would do it again for one of my favourite horror films “Ring”. But first, some background. …
David Willing
David Willing is a writer and director and founder of Screenplaymethod.com