Breaking into Hollywood isn’t hard to do, it’s practically impossible. We write our stories with the best intentions, embarking on a journey that may take years to accomplish. Writers carry out this monumental task with two goals in mind…completing the…
Screenwriters write what is called a spec script. The first step to writing a screenplay is understanding how to format a script. According to the Academy of Nicolls Fellowship (Oscars.org – http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/screenwriting-resources) there is no absolute standard for formatting a…
(original publication date: March 2005) Pitching a cartoon series to a network is Hollywood’s “backdoor.” Cable TV networks are more open to unsolicited material and unproduced writers than other markets in the entertainment industry. When you pitch a cartoon…
We all know that scriptwriting can be a hard and very long-term task. But the pay-offs of success are, of course, more than worth the effort. But if you don’t write your script in the right way, you could be…
20th Century Fox recently revealed the title to the 5th film in the Die Hard series: A Good Day to Die Hard. It’s always good to see a sequel that doesn’t go for the easy way out and just slap…
Romance Writers of America, an organization for romance writers, notes that every romance should contain two basic elements, “a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending.” So whether you are writing a novel or a screenplay, there are a few…
Nobody likes to see clichéd plots in movies. After all, everybody and his brother has pointed out the tried and tired plot that Avatar used, which was similar to a slew of movies like Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, and Fern…
The plot of any story is driven by the choices its protagonist makes. However, the other major factor that affects the plot is the setting–the time and location the story takes place. Not much thought is given to setting of…
Indie Publishing, the Path of Least Resistance Author of Infatuation and Disappear, Love
Wildly successful novelist Seth Grahame-Smith has three Hollywood adaptations in the works. His most buzzed about movie, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, will be released to theaters June 22, 2012 and stars Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia! and Captain America: The First Avenger)
Marketing Magic: A Do It Yourself Press Kit Can Help You Market Like The Pro’s. by James W. Layne, Jr. ©2006 The biggest challenge to any self publisher is marketing the product and the personality. No matter if you have…
October 11, 2009 What is a logline? A logline is a brief, but captivating one-liner used to advertise a movie or screenplay. Generally, the more high concept your logline sounds should increase the odds of the right people paying attention to…
Defending Your Art – by E. Hughes February 8th, 2006 Writers, filmmakers, actors, and others in the media and entertainment industry, at some point in their careers will have to defend their art. But when the artist bows to public…
Remember the old days when vanity publishers charged writers thousands of dollars to publish and distribute their own books? I can smell a vanity publisher a mile away. The goal of vanity publishing is to make money off of the…