Spike Scarberry

Make no mistake, narratives are very much like a car. They need to be constructed in a specific way in order for them to go anywhere.

Shaky beginnings lead to problems down the road every time without fail.

Five more tips on how to not annoy your reader shall be yours. But listen well, because I'm only going to say this once ...

It’s scary to walk on the mat for the first time against an opponent taller and larger than you. And it’s scary to show people a story you’ve been obsessed with for weeks, months, and years on end.

Clearly there is a knowledge gap out there … there’s something that a hell of a lot of writers out there need to know, and they don’t know it right now.

Unless you’re writing only for you, you need to keep the audience in mind. Especially if that audience is the gatekeeper to all your hopes and dreams.

When Spike Scarberry threw down the gauntlet, insisting structure was more important than voice, Karin Partin Wells raised her hand to battle in a public debate.

If anyone wants to give me shit and bring up the "West Wing" example, let me ask you this—is your name Aaron Sorkin? No? That’s what I thought. Pipe down.

You’ve just signed your entire career over to a complete stranger. Whether you succeed or not in your chosen field is completely up to someone who you’ve known for about sixty minutes. What have you just done?

Other people told me my script was good, so you should like it, too.” This is honestly one of the most naïve notions I’ve ever heard.

You stand at the front of the room and begin talking. You lay out a brief overview, a bunch of plot points, dozens of characters, etc. You’re right in the thick of your spiel when you notice something alarming.

If you’re super entranced with a story, if you can’t wait to get home from your day job and work on it every single day, that’s going to come through in your writing, right?

Many facets of the Hollywood game are draped in shadow and secret. And as I see it, they really shouldn’t be.

This is a copycat industry—if something works, you can all but guarantee someone else is going to be right on your heels with the follow-up.

Too many writers try to reinvent the narrative formula. They think we, as readers, are bored with well-executed, simple stories. Well, let me tell you this, y’all: we ain’t.