Screenwriting: Solve Your Story Structure Problems In 11 Steps - Pat Verducci [FULL INTERVIEW] [VIDEO]

Screenwriting: Solve Your Story Structure Problems In 11 Steps

 

by Pat Verducci 

 

0:00 - Great Movies Have These 3 Essential Story Elements
13:53 - Writing Can't Be Taught
26:29 - If I Don't Write I Don't Feel Good
34:28 - How To Find The Emotional Spine In A Screenplay
45:05 - Theme Comes Last In The Writing Process
55:20 - 11 Step Story Structure Made Easy
1:09:27 - Story Structure Is A Form Not A Formula
1:21:00 - A Writer's Job Is To Create Questions, Not Give Answers
1:29:58 - How To Figure Out What A Character Wants

Writing Coach, Teacher, Mentor and Screenwriter Pat Verducci teaches two Advanced Screenwriting courses at UCLA TFT. She has written scripts for Touchstone Pictures, Witt-Thomas Productions, and Walt Disney Animation Studios. She has also worked as a story consultant for Disney/Pixar.  She wrote and directed the feature film True Crime, starring Alicia Silverstone, and her writing credits also include documentary shorts for HBO and Showtime. She co-produced Somewhere Between, a feature documentary about four teenaged girls transracially adopted from China, and served as a story consultant on the Tinkerbell franchise for Disney. She is currently the script editor on several feature film projects for Film Victoria and Screen Australia, and is writing Citizen Bella, a documentary on the life of modern dancer Bella Lewitzky.  Verducci serves as a mentor at Cinestory and the Meryl Streep funded IRIS/New York Women in Film and Television’s Writer’s Lab for Women. She’s a member of the Writers Guild of America.

 

10 Writing Tips from Stephen King for Writers and Screenwriters by Stephen King

10 Writing Tips from Stephen King for Writers and Screenwriters

by Stephen King

 

Stephen King On Writing interview collection of Screenwriting Lessons with George Rr Martin and others. Many of his short stories and books were adapted into movies like The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, It, The Stand, The Shining, Carrie, Misery, Stand by Me, Pet Sematary,... 

0:00 - Intro
0:40 - If you don’t succeed get a bigger nail
1:28 - Write 6 pages a day
3:12 - Go where the story leads you
5:08 - The good ideas will stay with you
6:17 - First you read and copy other writers, then little by little you develop your own style
7:02 - Writing is self hypnosis, you need to have a routine
7:25 - Start with short stories and let them develop into novels or screenplays
8:27 - Learn to write for different mediums
10:27 - Look for ideas that you would really enjoy writing for longer periods
11:11 - Get immersed in your writing process until the outside world is gone
12:35 - Outro

 

 

About the Author 

Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high standing in pop culture, his books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published 64 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections. Wikipedia

 

 Stephen King Books at Amazon

Novel Beginnings: How To Start Your Book by Alexa Donne (Video)

Novel Beginnings: How To Start Your Book 

by Alexa Donne

 Beginnings, they're hard! How do you land a first page? First line? First act? What are some of the common pitfalls in book beginnings, things to watch and avoid?

I'm going over all the things to consider at the start of your book. Many agents, editors, and readers will only give you a page or two before they give up--so you want to make sure you hook them, keep your pacing up, nail that inciting incident, and get them into act two.

Some things I'm covering include first lines (do they matter?), first pages, starting in the right place, inciting incidents, info dumping, exposition issues, character development, plot beats, worldbuilding and more!

TIMESTAMPS

01:38 Starting in the right place
04:41 Exposition pitfalls
07:07 Info dumping & trusting your reader
09:14 Getting readers to care about your character/world
12:24 Inciting incidents
15:57 Examples of inciting incidents
17:31 Decision point/break into two
18:49 First impressions
20:18 Delivering on the promise of your premise/first pages
23:14 First lines (with examples)

 

First Person vs. Second Person vs. Third Person by Rebekah Bergman (Video)

 

 Who is telling a story, and from what perspective, are some of the most important choices an author makes. Told from a different point of view, a story can transform completely. Third person, first person, and second person perspectives each have unique possibilities and constraints. So how do you choose a point of view for your story? Rebekah Bergman explores the different ways to focus a story.

Meet The Creators

• Educator Rebekah Bergman
• Director Jérémie Balais, Jeff Le Bars
• Narrator Susan Zimmerman
• Animator Jérémie Balais, Jeff Le Bars
• Music Fred Roux 

 

 

How to Write Descriptively by Nalo Hopkinson (Video)

How to Write Descriptively by Nalo Hopkinson (Video)

 The point of fiction is to cast a spell, a momentary illusion that you are living in the world of the story. But as a writer, how do you suck your readers into your stories in this way? Nalo Hopkinson shares some tips for how to use language to make your fiction really come alive.

Meet The Creators

• Educator Nalo Hopkinson
• Director Joyce Stenneke
• Composer Cem Misirlioglu
• Narrator Susan Zimmerman

 

The Short Story is Sometimes an Under-appreciated Art Form

The short story is sometimes an under-appreciated art form. Within the space of a few pages, an author must weave a story that’s compelling, create characters readers care about and drive the story to its ultimate conclusion — a feat that can be difficult to accomplish even with a great degree of savvy. Yet many authors have mastered the art of the short story, turning condensed pieces into memorable works of literature that stick with readers long after they’ve finished reading.

Also see:

•  Free Classic Literary Fiction Novels

Writing Has So Much to Give by Anne Lamott | Writing Quote

Writing Has So Much to Give

by Anne Lamott

 

 I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do — the actual act of writing — turns out to be the best part. It’s like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.

 

 More Writing Quotes

 

About thr Author 

Anne Lamott (born April 10, 1954) is an American novelist and non-fiction writer. She is also a progressive political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher. Lamott is based in Marin County, California. Her nonfiction works are largely autobiographical. Lamott's writings, marked by their self-deprecating humor and openness, cover such subjects as alcoholism, single-motherhood, depression, and Christianity. Wikipedia

Born: April 10, 1954; San Francisco, California, United States

Occupation: Novelist non-fiction writer essayist memoirist 

Nationality: American 

Genre: Drama, humor, literary fiction, Reviews

  Anne Lamott at Amazon 

 

See more writing quotes here.