From Farthest to Nearest: Writing Hitchcock Style
The classics are classics for a reason, and they’re always there to lean on to learn new techniques hidden in their brilliance.
Praise for the Unlikeable Character
I started to question my writing abilities, and indeed, my standing as a human being. Why was I drawn to these unlikeable people?
Should You Try Different Things in the Arts?
An age-old question hesitant creatives have asked for millenia—to explore new disciplines in the hopes of finding your niche—finally has a definitive answer ...
The Unfathomable Psychological Terror of Writing What You Know
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about this world is that who you are and who people want you to be aren’t the same thing.
How Can a Static Protagonist Compel an Audience?
Michael Corleone. Ferris Bueller. Beatrix Kiddo. John Wick. What do these four famous film characters have in common, other than that they all hail from classic movies?
The Maid in All of Us
What Netflix's "Maid" says about America, right now, lends it the overall edge that it possesses in nearly every moment of its being.
Writing a Truly Great Mystery
Is anything harder in the world of fictional storytelling than coming up with an ending to a mystery that no one sees coming?
Gutter Talk: Graphic Novel Technique for Screenwriters
A good writer pushes the reader to draw on their common experiences and fill in as much story as is logically possible while they’re in the gutter.
Where Does James Bond Go After Daniel Craig?
Does the Bond franchise continue along the grittier Craig path? Or does it turn Bond back into more of the gentleman spy from the original Fleming books?
Writing the Ensemble Pilot
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.
Calling All Writers: Monsters Wanted
Do most filmmakers consider it too gauche to center a film around a monster these days?
How NOT to Make a Documentary
Any good "how to make a documentary" guidebook would tell you to hire a qualified DP and sound mixer to get the best quality picture and sound. But we didn't have money—we just had each other.
Why Do So Many Sequels Suck?
When the lights go down in the theater, I’m always hopeful that a sequel will rise to the challenge of making more out of its task than just being a quick money-grab.
The Right to Re-Write
A professor told me there is a reason why we call this a screenplay, because you are supposed to play on the screen. As a screenwriter we are supposed to play on the page.
