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In previous articles we talked about Genre and Sub-Genre. Now let’s get a little more specific and discuss Paradigm. Like genre, a project’s paradigm is an effort to figure out the “what this is” of the story/movie. However, paradigm touches on whether or not a project fits with a common type of set-ups within a genre. Note that the paradigm can refer to the project’s creative side, the commercial side, or both. For example, thrillers are a genre. But among thrillers, there are movies that might be called “On-the-Run” thrillers. That is, a thriller in which our protagonist is hunted...

It’s important to understand sub-genre so you can better focus the development of your scripts. You need to know what you’re writing when you write it; you need to know what you’re selling if you’re going to sell it. Action-adventure. An action movie that includes an element of travel, exploration, mystery and problem-solving. The Indiana Jones franchise is gold standard, but more recently we can include the National Treasure films. Action-thriller. An action movie that is focused on grounded, “realistic” action, and isn’t working to deliver consistent laughs. The Bourne movies are action-thrillers, as are any Jack Ryan or Jack...

First as a development executive, and then as a manager, it was my job to find, develop, and shop screenplays. In the course of those experiences, it swiftly became apparent that the scripts that had the easiest time getting traction were those that were driven by a big, clear genre, and were just as clearly working to deliver the goods of that genre. Simply put, a comedy should be funny, a horror project should be scary, a thriller thrilling, an action script needs action, and so on. For example, if a script is intended to be shopped as a comedy,...

This article is going to discuss the pros and cons of screenwriting competitions. Are they worth the price of admission? Which is the best? Should you enter? Note: I have no affiliation with any of these contests, I was not paid to plug any of them, this is based off my personal experience and the experiences of other writers I know who have done well in them. Let’s start with the biggest question: Should you enter screenplay competitions? I say, whole-heartedly, YES, but I want to qualify that a little. I think screenwriting competitions are particularly valuable for writers that...

OH ME. OH MY! If you are a writer, then you know half of being a writer is re-writing. And whether you are work-for-hire, staffed on a show, working at the studio level, or just implementing notes from your peers or writers’ group – we all know what it’s like to pull up notes, and try to incorporate them into an existing script. In this article, I want to point out helpful ways to approach notes and how to implement them in a way that doesn’t leave you bashing your head against the keyboard. First, and this is likely the...