Writing a script that’s too long is easy to do but can be difficult to fix. Nobody likes to delete moments they love. Here are our tips for making the hard (but necessary) cuts…

The options for where to start and end your story are limitless, but not all of them are the right choice. Look at TOP GUN: MAVERICK to see an example of how to choose where the story begins and ends.

Micromanaging an actor’s physical performance does not make for a great script or a great movie.

If you see a line of dialogue that says, “What are you doing?!”, that’s a neon sign pointing at an opportunity to make your writing better.

You know the details of your story inside and out, but are they actually in your script?

It’s hard to get an agent or producer to read your script. Every teeny detail must be right, or they’ll think you don’t care and will move on to the next thing in their stack.

You have them. I have them. David Mamet has them. Maybe he has fewer than I do, but probably not.

The number one problem most storytellers have is an insatiable desire to tell us stuff we don’t need to know just yet.

The foundation of good writing is good writing. That means: sentences.

Because emotion’s why everybody comes to the table, you better deliver one whale of a satisfying meal.

When you’re working on a rewrite, studying characters’ scenes in isolation makes problems with their relationship crystal clear.