Over the years I’ve read my share of unproduced screenplays by aspiring screenwriters, and I noticed that many of them lacked something very important — something that’s usually found in abundance in produced screenplays.

When I was in junior high I started writing short stories, but I wasn’t academically inclined and not a particularly good speller. My grammar was also less than stellar. This didn’t stop me; however, and I kept writing my short stories anyway (usuall...

Knowing what film genre you’re writing in is important for several reasons. Whether or not you’re playing into genre conventions or defying them, it’s useful to know what tropes have frequently appeared in certain kinds of films. Also when submitting...

In my article 5 Tips To Making Your Screenplay Look Professional, I wrote about how in an extremely competitive marketplace it's important for screenwriters to make their scripts look as professional as possible. In addition to having your screenplay...

Whether you’re an aspiring or professional screenwriter, chances are you might have more than one underproduced script in your arsenal. Although it’s good to be looking forward and to keep generating new concepts for new screenplays, sometimes an old...

Every year there’s a new wave of screenwriting contests that a writer can enter in the hopes of getting more eyes on their spec script. Some of these annual contests, like the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest, show winning scripts to A-lis...

The entertainment industry is in a constant state of flux and always has been thanks to emerging technology and evolving tastes. Whether you’re an aspiring or veteran screenwriter, it benefits you to be able to adapt to an ever-changing marketplace. ...

If it’s one thing I’ve seen aspiring screenwriters struggle with most over the years, it’s how to write naturalistic dialogue. Oftentimes their scripts might have good ideas or memorable sequences, but when the characters speak, their dialogue comes ...

In my article, Finding Your Voice, I wrote about my first major spec sale and how I attributed it to my voice among other factors. I explained that the voice is an essentially an X factor: a distinctive quality that can help your material rise to the...