While cinema is known for being a primarily visual medium, there is no doubt how much of an impact music can have on a film. Some of the most iconic scenes in history are remembered with a song attached. Sometimes the music choices are left to a director far after the screenplay is written. However, other times music is baked into the screenplay itself and how a scene may operate. In this article, you’ll learn when and how to write music into a screenplay so that you can create unforgettable scenes through music.Continue reading How to Write Music into a…
If you want to get those creative juices flowing, one of the best things you can do is make a writer mood board. This is basically a collage of images, words, and anything else that inspires you and gets you in the mood to write. Not sure how to make one? No worries – I’ve got you covered. Read on for tips on creating a writer mood board that will get you motivated to write. Continue reading How to Make a Writer Mood Board & Inspire Your Storytelling
Irony is everywhere, both in art and in real life. Ironically, this can make it all the harder to spot. As one of the most misunderstood rhetorical devices, irony can remain elusive for even the most skilled artists and hawk-eyed audience members. In this article, we’ll lay out some of the best irony examples and explain what makes them work, and what makes them ironic.Continue reading Irony Examples — 3 Forms of Irony in Literature and Film
We’ve all heard of irony. We hear phrases like “Isn’t it ironic how…” incessantly. And yet, for all its ubiquity, irony remains a tricky term that gets misused over and over again. Understanding what irony means, and what it doesn’t mean, can allow you to further appreciate its use in storytelling, and apply its lessons to your own writing. So what is irony? And how can we use it?Continue reading What is Irony — Definition, Examples & Types Explained
What is an unreliable narrator? We expect the narrator of a film to guide us through the journey and tell us the truth. But what happens when the narrator’s credibility is thrown into question? When we can’t even trust the narrator, it changes our perception of the film.When done well, an untrustworthy narrator can create more complex characters, flesh out pertinent themes, and develop plot twists people talk about for years to come. We’ll provide you with the unreliable narrator definition as well as the different types of unreliable narrators in case you’re thinking of including one in your next…
Most movies tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Many of those narrative features tell the story of a single individual that can span a certain amount of time, ranging from a few days to a few decades. Some of those focused narrative movies are also memoirs, which can include original and adapted screenplays. But what is a memoir and how can you identify one?Continue reading What is a Memoir — Definition, Examples in Literature & Film
The best movies have stories that entertain us, connect with us, and keep us glued to the screen. That kind of compelling drama happens on multiple levels, through internal and external conflict. How you implement these tools will determine how effective your story is.Continue reading How Internal Conflict and External Conflict Can Energize Your Story
T he act of storytelling has always been with us. Anthropologist Joseph Campbell took stories from around the world and found they all shared the same basic structure. Campbell's Hero's Journey laid out each of the fundamental steps in this story structure. A few decades later, Dan Harmon took this same idea and created the Story Circle. In Dan Harmon's Story Circle, there are 8 essential steps that can guide almost any story from Fade In to Fade Out. Let's walk through each step with examples so you can apply this foolproof structure to your next great idea.Continue reading Storytelling Guide:…
Got a great script idea in your head but not sure how to condense it? That’s why you need a synopsis. But what if you don’t know how to write a synopsis?Continue reading How to Write a Compelling Movie Synopsis [with FREE Synopsis Template]
If you’re a screenwriter or a filmmaker, you may have heard the term “pre-lap” before. But what is pre-lap in screenplay format, and how can you use it effectively in your scripts? Let’s dive into the definition, when to use them, and how to format them properly in your screenplays.Continue reading What is Pre-Lap in a Screenplay — Function & Format
