Build An Audience For Your Filmmaking Blog
How would you like to have people from all over the world reading your blog content? Sounds pretty good, right?

This blog network allows you to syndicate your blog content so that other blogs or web sites can distribute or re-publish your articles, videos, photos, and podcast content. It's incredibly easy to set up your syndication feed and start sending all your great articles out to the world wide web. Read more...

Creating A Screenplay Concept
Every great screenplay begins with a story concept. For writers, it can often be a daunting task to create this concept. There's nothing more difficult than inventing conflict, characters, and action, and molding them into a beginning, middle, and end. There is a working methodology you can use to find a story idea and shape it into a compelling plot. This methodology consists of three steps. Read more...

Writing A Script Treatment
It is useful to write a script treatment before writing a screenplay. The treatment provides a rough overview of the screenplay and is stylistically similar to a short story. Read more...

How to Format a Screenplay
You've plotted your story, developed your characters, and written a scene-by-scene outline of your story. Now you're ready to write it in professional screenplay format. Keep in mind that a screenplay is visual and your characters' actions move the story forward from scene to scene. Actions show the audience what it needs to know. Your characters' dialogue supports the actions. Seeing a character do something is far more powerful than having him or her talk about it. Read more... 

Articles From Creative Screenwriter Magazine

Crafting the Marketable Screenplay
by Ron Suppa

You’ve got to be a spec scriptwriter to break into the film world today. Ron Suppa takes you through his method in crafting the marketable script. Other items: The decision on whether to move to Hollywood, acquiring adaptation rights, and making sure your script is special.

12 Ways to Impress Studio Readers

by Michael Lent

The basics you need to know to look the part of a professional. Just add incredible talent and hard work, and success is guaranteed.

Marketing Your Work

by Ron Suppa

First step: protect your work. Then sell it, baby. Ron Suppa discusses how to craft a winning query letter, sample literary release form, how to work with an agent, or if you don’t have one, how to market yourself as well as your script and how to pitch your idea.

Your 5-Year Plan for a Career as a Successful Scriptwriter

by Michael Lent

“Actions”, “goals”, and “cautions”: Michael Lent lays down a strategy for you to transition from your day job in Minneapolis, MN to a career as a Hollywood scriptwriter. Meet the mileposts along the way and progress towards your goal.

Marketing Your Script Without an Agent

by Michael Lent

If an agent doesn’t give you access, information or enthusiasm, then you’re better off without him or her. With a little practice you can do all those things yourself.

How to Get Meetings with Producers & Studio Executives

by Michael Lent

Most opportunities to advance your career come via research and perseverance with the ultimate goal of being face to face with a gatekeeper who can purchase your project. Michael shows you some ways that you can make that happen.

Deals, Contracts, and Options

by Ron Suppa

Option deal, development deal, step deal, net profits, former entertainment attorney Ron Suppa explains them all. Ron also describes the demise of the option agreement in Hollywood. As an alternative, Nancy Hendrickson suggests that you consider a “shopping agreement”.

After the Sale

by Sean Kennelly

Contracts are the last thing a writer wants to read. That’s why we have lawyers, right? We head behind the closed doors of business affairs to tell you what happens after you sell a script, when it happens, and what you need to know about your deal.

Second Act Troubles: Sustaining Your Scriptwriting Career

by Tom Matthews

Tom Matthews saw the first spec he sold turned into a major motion picture—Mad City—and then the fun began. Here he speaks candidly about the unforeseen challenges which can derail a career, and helpfully offers warnings the aspiring screenwriter needs to hear before that first sale.

Suggested Screenwriters Links:

Scriptwriting Secrets - A great site for learning all the mechanics of writing a decent script. Good use of examples of each element of the script.  Free

Creative Screenwriting - Lots of good resources, and information about screenwriting. Part of Creative Screenwriting Magazine.  Free

The Writers Market - The well respected staple source for writers wanting to sell their stories. Also, has lots of resources for members. For a dirt cheap monthly fee (a few dollars) you can access their database of reputable companies looking for written material of all types, including Movie, TV, Stage Plays,  and other scripts. Listings include - description of needs, guidelines for submission, and all contact information for each company.

Copywrite Your Script - Note: Best to use both sources

Writers Guild of America (WGA) - Commonly used by writers to copyrights their material.

US Copyright Office - The official government office to obtain copyrights.

Top of Page