As we tighten up our first acts for the next Scriptshadow contest, the First Act Challenge, which you can start submitting to tomorrow (YAAAYYY!!!), I want to take a trip back to the last contest, the “Anything Goes Showdown,” and look at some of the scripts that didn’t make it. I know how frustrating it […]

Is today’s thriller the best script of the 2021 Black List so far? Genre: Thriller Premise: A ride-share driver who’s just purchased his dream car, a 1969 Ford Mercury Cyclone, goes on the Tinder date from hell. About: Today’s writer, Stefan Jaworski, started writing for TV in Sweden. He has made a few inroads writing […]

Stop making excuses and just get the pages written Here are the previous “How To Write a First Act” posts… Day 1: Writing a Teaser Day 2: Introducing Your Hero Day 3: Setting up Your Hero’s Life Day 8: Keeping Your Scenes Entertaining Day 9: The Inciting Incident Day 10: Refusal of the Call Day […]

Genre: Drama Logline: A young woman struggling to find her direction in life begins to doubt the relationship she’s in with a successful graphic novel cartoonist. About: This movie has taken over the festival circuit the last year, winning every prize under the sun. It sits at a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and is the […]

The Final Essential First Act Ingredient: GSU! Day 1: Writing a Teaser Day 2: Introducing Your Hero Day 3: Setting up Your Hero’s Life Day 8: Keeping Your Scenes Entertaining Day 9: The Inciting Incident Day 10: Refusal of the Call Day 15: Dealing with Exposition Okay, let’s summarize everything we’ve learned so far about […]