Final Draft Blog

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Sports Action: How to Write That Game Winning Play

November 21, 2016

Rocky’s grueling duel with Ivan Drago, the Permian Panthers' heartbreaking final drive in Friday Night Lights, Billy Chapel’s career-capping trip to the mound in For Love of the Game, Dottie Hinson's emotional last catch in A League of Their Own that...

Creating Setups and Payoffs That Stick

November 16, 2016

Creating setups and payoffs can feel a bit like courting your audience. When they’re heavy-handed and obvious, they’re like the hopeful beau who goes overboard to impress someone with concert tickets and a limo, only to hear crickets. But find the ri...

Capturing the Workplace in your Writing

November 15, 2016

What do you do to make ends meet? A question that invigorates some and worries others. Most people need to work to earn a living. They go into an office daily like Pam from The Office or Tess McGill in Working Girl. Chances are you've experienced a w...

Breaking History Part II: Finding Faults in Historical Figures

August 18, 2016

In our previous post on this topic, "Breaking History: How to Achieve Truth in Historical Storytelling" we covered one of the most common mistakes made in historical scripts: an unwillingness to change the details of an event to create a strong sense...

How to Capture the Essence of Summer in your Script

August 8, 2016

Ahh summertime. For many people summer means vacations, trips to the beach, and some much deserved time off. For others, it means everything stays the same except now it’s really hot and sticky. Whether or not summer means leisure time for you in you...

How To Be a Fan Of Your Own Work

August 2, 2016

It can be hard to separate yourself from your work. You try not to make it personal but, of course, it is. Your writing is the combination of your thoughts, your skills, your life experiences and your passions. To type that first sentence on a blank ...

How to Write a Coming-of-Age Superhero Tale

March 15, 2016

G.W. Freund and Daniel Bonjour set out to do two things with their winning spec script, Breedlove. The first was to tell a relatable, coming-of-age story. The second was to infuse the characters with raw, powerful emotions. The fact that the story re...

On Creating Character

December 3, 2015

Creating character is a process that will be with you from the beginning to the end, from fade in to fade out. It is an ongoing educational progression, an experience that continues expanding as you go deeper and deeper into your characters’ lives.

Desire: The Driving Force of All Successful Screenplays

December 3, 2015

For my entire career as a screenwriting instructor, author and consultant, I have held a single guiding principle: the essential component of all successful movies is the hero’s pursuit of a compelling desire.