Inneresting
The Perils of Coincidence
In 2007, John came back from a screening of Spider-Man 3 and used his reactions to point to the hurdles a writer can throw in their story's path when relying too heavily on coincidence.
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Highland
Creating Custom Themes in Highland Pro
In Highland Pro, you can change the colors of just about anything. Use one of our built-in themes, or create one exactly to your taste. In this short video, I explain how themes work, how to create a custom theme, and how to share your creation with others. Here&
Scriptnotes Recap
Scriptnotes Recap: Episode 680, Writing Action Set Pieces with Christina Hodson
This is only the third recap I’ve done, and I’m assuming that by this point you’re onto me. I highlight that we spoke with a celebrity filmmaker, offer pithy but ultimately empty insights about them, highlight a few bangers from the conversation, and then you click through
Highland
The Design Philosophy Behind Highland Pro’s /Lookup Feature
Highland Pro’s /lookup provides short, inline answers. Building it required early design decisions.
Highland
Introducing Highland Pro
Meet your new favorite writing app. Today we're launching Highland Pro, a groundbreaking writing tool designed to empower screenwriters, novelists, and creators of all kinds. Highland Pro offers a clean, distraction-free platform tailored to unlock creativity and enhance productivity. Developed by acclaimed screenwriter John August and his
Scriptnotes Recap
Scriptnotes Recap: Episode 674, The One vvith Robert Eggers
Robert Eggers shouldn’t do interviews. Don’t get me wrong, he was a delightful and generous guest. But after a decade of putting out exquisitely-crafted and painstakingly-researched films, I started to create this image in my mind of a tortured intellectual who speaks with a deep brogue,
Scriptnotes Recap
Scriptnotes Recap: Episode 672, Navigating Loss with Jesse Eisenberg
Last week on Scriptnotes, John welcomed writer, director and actor Jesse Eisenberg for an in-depth discussion on loss, finding your voice as a writer and how to get your movie made. Jesse Eisenberg was a dream guest. Not just because I’ve been a fan of his work for
Inneresting
Which Screenplay Should I Write?
In 2009, John answered a question about how to choose between the different stories competing for your attention, and gave an example of one time he didn’t need to choose just one. I know you have addressed this type of question to a certain extent, but I was left
Inneresting
How to Introduce a Character in a Screenplay
Just how early can you tell a script isn’t going to work? To me, it’s as the first few characters are introduced. If character introductions are not done artfully, the odds of anything else in the script being great are slim. That’s James Cameron’s terrific script
Inneresting
Why Most Scripts Never Become Movies
This week’s rebroadcast collects posts from 2006 and 2012 to consider how selling a script isn’t a guarantee, and why writing a film that never gets made is still work worthy of compensation. You’ve said that “most scripts don’t become movies, and a hundred things could
Inneresting
How to Write a Scene: A Step-by-Step Guide
This week’s rebroadcast includes a post from 2007 and a downloadable PDF version of the key points (suitable for hanging up where you write). Spend a few years as a screenwriter, and writing a scene becomes an almost unconscious process. It’s like driving a car. Most of us
Inneresting
Thinking About Story Structure
This week’s rebroadcast brings together a few posts about structure, and reasons to consider that there’s not only one way to plan out a story. How do you know when the story has good bones? I’m a 28-year old writer with a very old problem. I