# Screenwriting

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Category: Film
Slides: 32
Updated: 2026-05-17T20:51:52.312Z
Tags: film, screenwriting

## Summary

The Blueprint of Cinema Key sections include: Screenwriting; What Makes a Screenplay Different?; Screenplay Format; Three-Act Structure; The Hero's Journey; Alternative Structures; Character Development; Dialogue; Subtext: What Isn't Said; The Scene: Cinema's Building Block.

## Slide Outline

1. Screenwriting
2. What Makes a Screenplay Different?
3. Screenplay Format
4. Three-Act Structure
5. The Hero's Journey
6. Alternative Structures
7. Character Development
8. Dialogue
9. Subtext: What Isn't Said
10. The Scene: Cinema's Building Block
11. The History of Screenwriting
12. The Spec Script vs. the Assignment
13. Adaptation: Page to Screen
14. Television Writing: The Showrunner Era
15. The Screenwriting "Gurus"
16. Writing for Genre
17. Visual Storytelling
18. The Rewrite
19. Oscar-Winning Screenwriters
20. The Business of Screenwriting
21. Writing the Opening
22. Writing Memorable Villains
23. The Writer-Director
24. Collaboration and Credit
25. Pilot Writing for Television
26. Screenwriting and AI
27. Diversity in Screenwriting
28. The Screenwriter's Toolkit
29. Writing Process: How Professionals Work
30. The Greatest Screenplays Ever Written
31. Common Mistakes in Screenwriting
32. The Writer's Life

## Slide Transcript

### Slide 1: Screenwriting

- The Blueprint of Cinema
- Every film begins as words on a page. Screenwriting is the foundational craft of cinema -- the art of telling stories through images, dialogue, and structure, creating a blueprint that hundreds of collaborators will transform into a finished film.
- From three-act structure to non-linear narrative, from spec scripts to showrunning: the craft, business, and art of writing for the screen.
- 1 / 32

### Slide 2: What Makes a Screenplay Different?

- A screenplay is not a novel, a play, or a poem. It's a technical document designed to be performed and photographed -- a paradoxical form that must be literary enough to read compellingly yet functional enough to guide production.
- What a Script Contains
- Scene headings (location, time of day)
- Action/description (what we see and hear)
- Character names and dialogue
- Parentheticals (delivery direction, sparingly)
- Transitions (CUT TO, DISSOLVE TO)
- What a Script Does NOT Contain
- Camera directions (that's the director's job)
- Internal thoughts (unless voiced/shown)
- Extensive backstory prose
- Directing the actors' emotions
- Production design specifications
- "A screenplay is not a finished product. It is an invitation to others to collaborate."
- -- Paul Schrader
- 2 / 32

### Slide 3: Screenplay Format

- Industry-standard format is rigidly codified. One page equals approximately one minute of screen time. A feature script runs 90-120 pages. Format signals professionalism before a single word is read.
- INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY
- SARAH (30s, sharp eyes, paint-stained fingers) sits
- alone at a corner table, laptop open, staring at a
- blank screen. Her coffee has gone cold.
- A STRANGER (40s, rumpled suit) slides into the seat
- across from her without asking.
- STRANGER
- You're Sarah Chen. The writer.
- Sarah closes her laptop.
- SARAH
- I was. What do you want?
- STRANGER
- I want you to write something
- that matters. One last time.
- Sarah studies him. Something in his voice.
- 12-point Courier font. Specific margins for each element. Scene headings capitalized. Character names centered above dialogue.
- 3 / 32

### Slide 4: Three-Act Structure

- The dominant structural paradigm in Western screenwriting, three-act structure divides a story into Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution -- with turning points (plot points) at each transition.
- The Classic Model
- Act 1 (Setup) -- pages 1-30: Introduce protagonist, establish world, present the central dramatic question. Ends with Plot Point 1: an event that spins the story in a new direction.
- Act 2 (Confrontation) -- pages 30-90: Rising stakes, obstacles, complications. Midpoint raises the stakes. Protagonist is tested. Ends with Plot Point 2: all seems lost.
- Act 3 (Resolution) -- pages 90-120: Climax, final confrontation, resolution. The dramatic question is answered.
- This structure is descriptive, not prescriptive. Many great scripts deviate from it. But understanding it provides a foundation for intentional choices.
- 4 / 32

### Slide 5: The Hero's Journey

- Joseph Campbell's monomyth, adapted for screenwriting by Christopher Vogler in The Writer's Journey, maps archetypal story patterns found across cultures.
- 12 Stages
- Ordinary World
- Call to Adventure
- Refusal of the Call
- Meeting the Mentor
- Crossing the Threshold
- Tests, Allies, Enemies
- Approach to the Inmost Cave
- The Ordeal
- Reward (Seizing the Sword)
- The Road Back
- Resurrection
- Return with the Elixir
- Films That Follow It
- Star Wars -- The textbook example
- The Matrix -- Neo's awakening
- The Lord of the Rings -- Frodo's quest
- Black Panther -- T'Challa's journey
- Finding Nemo -- Marlin's transformation
- Critiques
- Overly formulaic if applied rigidly
- Male-centered narrative pattern
- Western cultural bias
- Not all stories are hero stories
- 5 / 32

### Slide 6: Alternative Structures

- Three-act structure is one tool among many. The most innovative screenwriters develop structures that serve their specific stories rather than forcing stories into predetermined shapes.
- Non-Linear
- Pulp Fiction, Memento, Arrival. Time as a puzzle the audience assembles. Reveals meaning through juxtaposition rather than sequence.
- Circular
- Groundhog Day, Run Lola Run. Repetition with variation. The same events recur with deepening understanding.
- Ensemble/Mosaic
- Magnolia, Babel, Short Cuts. Multiple storylines intersect thematically rather than through a single protagonist's journey.
- Episodic
- Boyhood, Moonlight, Nomadland. Vignettes accumulate rather than escalating toward a single climax. Life's rhythms over dramatic structure.
- Mystery Box
- Lost, Westworld. Withholding information creates forward momentum. The audience's desire to understand drives engagement.
- Minimalist
- Locke (one car), Buried (one coffin), My Dinner with Andre (one conversation). Radical constraint as structural principle.
- 6 / 32

### Slide 7: Character Development

- Great screenwriting begins with great characters. The audience must want to spend two hours with these people -- whether they love them, fear them, or are fascinated by them.
- Building a Character
- Want: What they're consciously pursuing (external goal)
- Need: What they actually require for growth (internal goal)
- Flaw: The thing preventing them from getting what they need
- Ghost: Past trauma that created the flaw
- Voice: How they speak -- distinct from every other character
- Character Arc Types
- Positive arc: Overcomes flaw, achieves need (Good Will Hunting)
- Negative arc: Succumbs to flaw, falls (Breaking Bad)
- Flat arc: Stays true, changes the world (Paddington)
- Disillusionment: Learns hard truth (Chinatown)
- "What does this character want? What's preventing them from getting it? What do they do about it? Answer those three questions and you have a scene."
- -- David Mamet
- 7 / 32

### Slide 8: Dialogue

- Screen dialogue is not realistic conversation. It's a carefully crafted illusion of natural speech -- compressed, purposeful, and revealing character through every line.
- Principles of Good Dialogue
- Subtext: Characters rarely say what they mean
- Distinct voice: Each character sounds different
- Compression: Enter scenes late, leave early
- Conflict: Characters want different things
- Show, don't tell: Actions reveal more than words
- Rhythm: Vary sentence length and pace
- Dialogue Masters
- Aaron Sorkin: Rapid-fire intelligence, walk-and-talks
- Quentin Tarantino: Digressive, pop-culture loaded
- Nora Ephron: Witty, warm, emotionally precise
- David Mamet: Staccato, profane, rhythmic
- Greta Gerwig: Naturalistic, overlapping, generous
- Celine Sciamma: Spare, weighted silences
- 8 / 32

### Slide 9: Subtext: What Isn't Said

- The most powerful moments in cinema often come from what characters don't say. Subtext is the gap between a character's words and their true feelings -- and it's where great acting lives.
- INT. KITCHEN - MORNING
- Tom pours cereal. Linda enters in her coat, keys
- in hand. A long silence.
- LINDA
- I'm going to the store. Need
- anything?
- TOM
- We're out of milk.
- LINDA
- Okay.
- She doesn't move. He doesn't look up.
- TOM
- Drive safe.
- LINDA
- Always do.
- She leaves. He puts the cereal back in the cabinet,
- appetite gone.
- On the surface: a mundane exchange about groceries. But every element communicates a marriage in crisis. The subtext does the real work.
- 9 / 32

### Slide 10: The Scene: Cinema's Building Block

- A screenplay is a sequence of scenes. Each scene must do at least one of three things (ideally all three): advance the plot, reveal character, or build the world.
- Scene Construction
- Enter late: Start the scene as close to its dramatic purpose as possible
- Leave early: End before the conversation concludes -- let the audience fill in the rest
- Conflict: Every scene needs at least two characters who want different things
- Turn: Something must change by the scene's end -- a shift in power, knowledge, or emotion
- Purpose: If you can remove a scene without affecting the story, remove it
- "Drama is life with the dull bits cut out."
- -- Alfred Hitchcock
- 10 / 32

### Slide 11: The History of Screenwriting

- Screenwriting evolved from silent-era scenario writers through the studio system's script factories to today's auteur-writers and showrunners.
- Silent Era (1895-1927)
- "Scenarios" -- brief outlines for improvisation. Intertitle writers were the first credited "writers." No standardized format existed.
- Studio System (1930s-50s)
- Hollywood factories employed dozens of writers simultaneously. Scripts passed through multiple hands. Writers had little power or recognition. The WGA formed in 1933.
- New Hollywood (1960s-70s)
- Writer-directors emerged: Coppola, Scorsese, Allen. The "auteur" could be the writer. Personal vision valued over studio formula.
- Spec Script Boom (1990s)
- Million-dollar spec sales: Shane Black ($4M for The Long Kiss Goodnight). Screenwriters became celebrities briefly. The market crashed by 2000.
- 11 / 32

### Slide 12: The Spec Script vs. the Assignment

- There are two paths to a produced screenplay: writing on speculation (hoping someone buys it) or being hired to write someone else's idea.
- Spec Scripts
- Written without a buyer
- Complete creative freedom
- Used as calling cards / writing samples
- Sold through agents to studios/producers
- Success rate: extremely low
- Famous specs: Good Will Hunting, Juno
- Assignments
- Hired to develop an existing property/idea
- IP adaptations (books, comics, remakes)
- Studio gives notes and direction
- Often multiple writers work on one project
- Writer may not receive final credit
- More reliable income, less creative control
- Today's landscape: IP dominates. Original specs are harder to sell but essential for breaking in.
- 12 / 32

### Slide 13: Adaptation: Page to Screen

- Adapting existing material -- novels, plays, true stories, articles -- is one of screenwriting's most common and challenging tasks. The question is never "how faithful?" but "what is the cinematic version of this story?"
- Adaptation Challenges
- Novels have interior monologue; film doesn't
- Compressing 400+ pages into 120 minutes
- Multiple storylines must be pruned
- Literary devices don't translate visually
- Fan expectations vs. cinematic needs
- Great Adaptations
- The Godfather -- Elevated the source material
- No Country for Old Men -- Near-perfect fidelity
- The Shining -- Radically reinterpreted King
- There Will Be Blood -- "Inspired by" (loosely)
- Drive My Car -- Short story expanded to 3 hours
- "The book is the book. The film is the film."
- -- Charlie Kaufman (who wrote Adaptation about the impossibility of adaptation)
- 13 / 32

### Slide 14: Television Writing: The Showrunner Era

- Television has become the writer's medium. Unlike film (where the director has final authority), in TV the writer-showrunner is the creative boss -- making it the most writer-empowering form in visual storytelling.
- The Writers' Room
- 8-12 writers break stories together
- Hierarchy: showrunner, co-EP, supervising producer, story editor, staff writer
- "Breaking" an episode: collaborative plotting
- Individual writers draft assigned episodes
- Showrunner rewrites everything for consistency
- Legendary Showrunners
- David Chase: The Sopranos
- Vince Gilligan: Breaking Bad
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge: Fleabag
- Shonda Rhimes: Shondaland empire
- David Simon: The Wire
- Michaela Coel: I May Destroy You
- 14 / 32

### Slide 15: The Screenwriting "Gurus"

- A cottage industry of screenwriting instruction has produced influential (and controversial) teachers whose principles shape how Hollywood thinks about story structure.
- Syd Field
- Screenplay (1979). Codified three-act structure, plot points at pages 25-27 and 85-90. Called "the most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world."
- Robert McKee
- Story (1997). Principles of storytelling across media. Famous 3-day seminar. Emphasis on "the gap" between expectation and result.
- Blake Snyder
- Save the Cat! (2005). 15 "beats" that all successful scripts share. Hugely influential in Hollywood. Criticized for promoting formula over artistry.
- The Counter-Argument
- Many working screenwriters argue that structural formulas are reductive. Charlie Kaufman, the Coen Brothers, and Barry Jenkins have all spoken against rigid structure. The best scripts often succeed precisely because they break the "rules" these gurus teach.
- 15 / 32

### Slide 16: Writing for Genre

- Each genre has its own structural conventions, audience expectations, and storytelling challenges. Understanding genre grammar is essential for both following and subverting conventions.
- Horror
- Dread before action
- Escalating threat levels
- Rules that can be broken/revealed
- The "Final Girl" tradition
- What you don't show is scarier
- Comedy
- Setup/payoff mechanics
- Character-driven vs. situation-driven
- Comedic escalation
- "Rule of three" for joke structure
- Timing on the page (white space = pause)
- Thriller
- Information control (what audience knows)
- Ticking clock creates urgency
- Red herrings and misdirection
- Twist must be fair (planted earlier)
- Protagonist under constant pressure
- Romance
- The "meet cute" as inciting incident
- Obstacles to union (internal + external)
- Contrasting values that complement
- "All is lost" before reunion
- Grand gesture vs. quiet truth
- 16 / 32

### Slide 17: Visual Storytelling

- The best screenwriting is cinematic -- it tells its story through images, actions, and visual metaphors rather than relying on dialogue to convey meaning.
- "Show, Don't Tell" in Practice
- Instead of: "I'm lonely" -- Show: A character setting two places at dinner, then putting one away
- Instead of: "He's dangerous" -- Show: Other characters subtly moving away when he enters
- Instead of: "She's changed" -- Show: She passes the bar where she used to drink without stopping
- Instead of: "They're in love" -- Show: They unconsciously mirror each other's gestures
- "If you can remove the dialogue and still understand the story, you've written a good screenplay."
- -- Attributed to various screenwriting teachers
- 17 / 32

### Slide 18: The Rewrite

- Professional screenwriting is rewriting. A script typically goes through 10-30 drafts before reaching the screen -- and that's before the director and actors begin their own adjustments.
- Vomit Draft
- Get it all out. Don't edit. Don't judge. Just write from beginning to end as fast as possible. This draft will be terrible. That's the point.
- Structural Pass
- Is the story working? Are the acts balanced? Does the protagonist drive the action? Cut or combine characters. Relocate scenes. Murder your darlings.
- Character Pass
- Does each character have a distinct voice? Are motivations clear? Is the antagonist as compelling as the protagonist?
- Dialogue Polish
- Trim. Sharpen. Make every line earn its place. Read it aloud. If you can cut a line without losing meaning, cut it.
- Page-One Rewrite
- Sometimes you must throw everything away and start over. This is normal. This is the job.
- 18 / 32

### Slide 19: Oscar-Winning Screenwriters

- The Academy Awards distinguish between Original Screenplay (wholly created by the writer) and Adapted Screenplay (based on existing material). Both categories honor cinema's finest writing.
- Most Decorated (Original)
- Woody Allen: 3 wins (16 nominations)
- Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder: Multiple wins as a team
- Quentin Tarantino: 2 wins (Pulp Fiction, Django)
- Jordan Peele: Won for Get Out (2017)
- Emerald Fennell: Promising Young Woman (2020)
- Most Decorated (Adapted)
- Billy Wilder: 3 wins across both categories
- Francis Ford Coppola: Patton, The Godfather
- Aaron Sorkin: The Social Network
- Charlie Kaufman: Eternal Sunshine (original), Adaptation (nominated)
- Barry Jenkins: Moonlight (adapted)
- 19 / 32

### Slide 20: The Business of Screenwriting

- Screenwriting is both an art and a trade. Understanding the business side -- agents, managers, guilds, credits -- is essential for a working career.
- The Career Path
- Write spec scripts (sample your voice)
- Get representation (agent + manager)
- Staff on a TV show or sell/option a script
- Build credits and relationships
- Move into producing, directing, or showrunning
- WGA Minimums (2024)
- Original screenplay: ~$80,000-$150,000
- Rewrite: ~$42,000-$80,000
- TV staff writer (weekly): ~$5,000-$7,000
- Residuals: Payments from re-use
- These are minimums -- top writers earn far more
- The 2023 WGA strike (148 days) won protections against AI replacement and mini-room exploitation.
- 20 / 32

### Slide 21: Writing the Opening

- The first 10 pages of a screenplay must accomplish an enormous amount of work: establish tone, introduce the protagonist, hook the reader, and promise what kind of experience follows.
- Great Opening Strategies
- In medias res: Start in the middle of action (Dunkirk)
- The world at rest: Normalcy before disruption (Jaws)
- Flash-forward: Show the ending, then rewind (Sunset Boulevard)
- Prologue: Thematic prelude before the story begins (The Dark Knight)
- Voice-over hook: Narrator draws you in (Goodfellas)
- First 10 Pages Must...
- Introduce the protagonist (or their world)
- Establish tone and genre clearly
- Pose a dramatic question
- Make the reader want to turn to page 11
- Demonstrate the writer's voice
- Be original (avoid cliched openings)
- 21 / 32

### Slide 22: Writing Memorable Villains

- A story is only as strong as its antagonist. The best screen villains are not pure evil -- they're the heroes of their own stories, with understandable motivations and genuine menace.
- Hannibal Lecter
- Cultured, brilliant, horrifying. Only 16 minutes of screen time in Silence of the Lambs, but dominates the film. Power through intelligence, not force.
- Anton Chigurh
- No Country for Old Men. Unstoppable, philosophically committed to his code. A force of nature rather than a conventional villain.
- Amy Dunne
- Gone Girl. The villain as narrator, manipulating audience sympathy. We're complicit in her schemes before we realize what she is.
- Principles of Great Antagonists
- They believe they're right
- They're at least as capable as the protagonist
- They have a personal connection to the hero
- They force the hero to change or die
- Their worldview is seductive enough to be dangerous
- 22 / 32

### Slide 23: The Writer-Director

- When one person writes and directs, the screenplay becomes a more personal document -- less a blueprint for others and more a direct vision statement. Writer-directors dominate art-house cinema and increasingly indie/mainstream work.
- Contemporary Writer-Directors
- Greta Gerwig: Lady Bird, Barbie
- Jordan Peele: Get Out, Us, Nope
- Celine Sciamma: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Bong Joon-ho: Parasite
- Paul Thomas Anderson: Phantom Thread, Licorice Pizza
- Chloe Zhao: Nomadland
- The Advantage
- Writer-directors can write "unfilmable" action lines -- poetic, evocative descriptions that communicate mood rather than literal instructions -- because they'll be the ones interpreting them on set. Their scripts read differently: more literary, less industrial.
- 23 / 32

### Slide 24: Collaboration and Credit

- Unlike novels, screenplays are rarely the work of one person. The credit system -- enforced by the WGA -- determines whose name appears on screen, a decision with enormous financial and career implications.
- How Credit Works
- "Written by" = sole writer of story and screenplay
- "Screenplay by" = wrote the dialogue/scenes
- "Story by" = created the original story/structure
- "&" = writing team (collaborated)
- "and" = separate writers (sequential work)
- WGA arbitration resolves disputes
- The Rewrite Problem
- Many studio films pass through 5-15 writers. Only those who contribute 33%+ of the final script (50%+ for original screenplays) receive credit. This means writers can work for months on a film and receive nothing on screen.
- The uncredited polish is one of Hollywood's open secrets.
- 24 / 32

### Slide 25: Pilot Writing for Television

- The pilot script is television's most important document -- it must introduce characters, world, and tone while functioning as both a standalone story and a promise of episodes to come.
- What a Pilot Must Accomplish
- Engine: Establish what generates stories week after week (the "franchise")
- World: Create a setting rich enough to sustain years of storytelling
- Characters: Introduce an ensemble the audience wants to revisit
- Tone: Declare the show's identity -- is this funny, dark, procedural, serialized?
- Hook: End with a reason to watch episode 2
- Premise: Communicate the series concept clearly in 60 pages
- Format: hour-long pilots run 55-65 pages. Half-hour (comedy) pilots run 28-35 pages. Streaming has relaxed length constraints but not structural demands.
- 25 / 32

### Slide 26: Screenwriting and AI

- Large language models can generate screenplay-formatted text, raising urgent questions about the future of screenwriting as a profession and an art form.
- What AI Can Do (2024-25)
- Generate properly formatted scenes
- Produce dialogue in various styles
- Create outlines and beat sheets
- Suggest alternative plot directions
- Translate scripts between languages
- Generate first-draft coverage/notes
- What AI Cannot Do (Yet)
- Create genuinely original perspectives
- Write from lived experience
- Understand cultural nuance deeply
- Sustain character consistency across 120 pages
- Make creative choices with artistic intent
- Know what story needs to be told
- The 2023 WGA strike established that AI cannot receive writing credit and cannot be used to undermine writer compensation.
- 26 / 32

### Slide 27: Diversity in Screenwriting

- For most of cinema's history, screenwriting has been dominated by white men. This is changing -- slowly -- as new voices bring stories, perspectives, and structural innovations that enrich the entire art form.
- Barrier-Breaking Writers
- Frances Marion: First woman to win Best Screenplay Oscar (1930)
- Dalton Trumbo: Blacklisted, wrote under pseudonyms
- Jordan Peele: First Black writer to win Best Original Screenplay
- Tarell Alvin McCraney / Barry Jenkins: Moonlight
- Lee Isaac Chung: Minari
- Celine Sciamma: Queer female perspective in mainstream cinema
- Why Diversity Matters for Craft
- Different life experiences produce different stories, structures, rhythms, and insights. When one demographic dominates, cinema tells a narrow range of human experience. Broadening who writes expands what cinema can be -- not just thematically, but formally and aesthetically.
- 27 / 32

### Slide 28: The Screenwriter's Toolkit

- Modern screenwriters use specialized software and resources. The tools have evolved from typewriters to AI-assisted writing environments.
- Software
- Final Draft: Industry standard
- Highland: Minimalist, Fountain format
- WriterSolo: Free alternative
- Arc Studio Pro: Collaborative cloud-based
- Fade In: Affordable professional option
- Essential Reading
- Screenplay by Syd Field
- Story by Robert McKee
- The Anatomy of Story by John Truby
- Into the Woods by John Yorke
- Actual produced screenplays (free online)
- Resources
- The Black List (annual best unproduced scripts)
- Script databases (IMSDB, Script Slug)
- Austin Film Festival
- Nicholl Fellowship (Academy)
- Sundance Labs
- 28 / 32

### Slide 29: Writing Process: How Professionals Work

- Every writer's process is different, but patterns emerge among professionals. The common thread: discipline over inspiration.
- Common Approaches
- Outline first: Detailed beat sheet before writing (most common)
- Discovery draft: Write to find the story, then restructure
- Card method: Scenes on index cards, rearranged on a board
- Treatment: Write the story as prose first, then adapt to script
- Dialogue-first: Write key conversations, then build scenes around them
- Professional Habits
- Write at the same time every day
- Set page goals (2-5 pages/day for features)
- Don't edit while writing the first draft
- Read one produced screenplay per week
- Finish everything you start
- Write multiple projects (don't put all hope in one)
- "I hate writing. I love having written."
- -- Dorothy Parker (and every screenwriter since)
- 29 / 32

### Slide 30: The Greatest Screenplays Ever Written

- According to the WGA's own list (2005), critics' polls, and industry consensus, these scripts represent screenwriting at its highest level.
- WGA Top 10
- Casablanca (Epstein, Epstein, Koch)
- The Godfather (Puzo, Coppola)
- Chinatown (Robert Towne)
- Citizen Kane (Mankiewicz, Welles)
- All About Eve (Mankiewicz)
- Annie Hall (Allen, Brickman)
- Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, Brackett, Marshman)
- Network (Paddy Chayefsky)
- Some Like It Hot (Wilder, Diamond)
- The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)
- Modern Masterpieces
- Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kaufman)
- Moonlight (Jenkins, McCraney)
- Get Out (Peele)
- Before Sunset (Linklater, Hawke, Delpy)
- The Social Network (Sorkin)
- There Will Be Blood (Anderson)
- Everything Everywhere All at Once (Daniels)
- 30 / 32

### Slide 31: Common Mistakes in Screenwriting

- Readers (the people who evaluate scripts for studios) report seeing the same problems repeatedly. Avoiding these patterns immediately elevates a screenplay above the majority of submissions.
- Structural Mistakes
- Starting too early (too much setup)
- Protagonist is passive (things happen TO them)
- No clear stakes (why should we care?)
- Second act sag (no escalation)
- Deus ex machina endings
- Multiple endings (can't commit)
- Craft Mistakes
- On-the-nose dialogue (characters say exactly what they mean)
- Camera directions in spec scripts
- "Unfilmable" writing (thoughts, memories without visual anchor)
- Dense action blocks (walls of text)
- All characters sound the same
- Over-reliance on flashback for backstory
- 31 / 32

### Slide 32: The Writer's Life

- Screenwriting is paradoxical: it's the foundation of a collaborative art form, yet it's created in solitude. It demands both ruthless discipline and wild imagination. It's the most essential part of filmmaking and often the least respected.
- "Nobody knows anything. Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work."
- -- William Goldman, Adventures in the Screen Trade
- The craft of screenwriting -- the ability to create entire worlds from nothing but imagination and a blank page, to make audiences laugh, cry, think, and feel -- remains one of storytelling's most demanding and rewarding disciplines. Every film you've ever loved began as a writer, alone in a room, asking: "What if?"
- End of presentation
- 32 / 32


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