Many aspiring screenwriters might not be aware of the term “through line” and how it’s frequently used in the development process. When I first broke into the film industry I wasn’t aware of the term myself, and I definitely wasn’t thinking of themat...

In my article 5 Clichés to Avoid in the Opening of Your Script, I stressed the importance of grabbing industry professionals in the first couple pages of your spec script. Whether it’s a feature screenplay or a television pilot, most managers, agents...

In my article about National Lampoon's Vacation, I wrote that one of the reasons for the film’s success was it paired the right character with the right story. Sometimes there is a tendency for screenwriters to focus more on plot and less on the prot...

Sometimes in life — when talking and expressing ourselves to the people around us — clichés are unavoidable. There are only so many ways to convey the most common feelings and situations that we all go through. When writing a screenplay, however, it’...

Conventional wisdom might discourage a writer to pen a spec script about an original superhero. It’s all about established IPs and superheroes that audiences have a history with, right? But a spec script is about more than just selling a script; it’s...

When television and film writer Ben Johnson Jr. found out he won Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest, he was thrilled but also hit with a sudden concern: How does he get from South Africa to Los Angeles?

Photo courtesy of Nick Wall/Focus Features. Graham Moore, Academy® Award-winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game, has made his feature directorial debut with the crime drama The Outfit. The film, which Graham also co-wrote with Jonathan McClain, f...

The thriller Shattered, directed by Luis Prieto (Kidnap) and written by David Loughery (Fatale), keeps you on the edge of your seat while also giving you some things to think about.

Did you ever wish there was a Christmas film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped by Martians, rocketed off to Mars, and inevitably gives everyone on the planet the Christmas spirit?