Friday, October 09, 2020
Nanowrimo Prep: free mini-course!
Friday, August 07, 2020
Elements of Act One: SELMA - New video!
This week I'll go through Act I of SELMA to demonstrate the Story Elements we’ve been talking about, and then do some more general posts on the Elements of Act II before we go on to demonstrate thoses elements in several movies.
Start with the Introduction to SELMA, here:
As we’ve been talking about, movies are traditionally structured in eight 15-minute sequences, for a 2-hour movie. That’s approximate! SELMA’s Sequence One is 16 minutes long.
In Act One you will tend to see these Key Elements:
Opening Image
Meeting the Hero/ine
The Hero/ine’s Special Skills
The Hero/ine’s Desire
The Opponent and Opponent’s Desire
The Hero/ine’s Ordinary World
The Inciting Incident or Call to Adventure
The Theme
The Stakes
Into the Special World
Introduction to Allies
We also may see:
Meeting the Mentor
Meeting the Love Interest
Bonding with Allies
Attacks by Opponent
SELMA packs a lot of those elements into Sequence One! Let’s see how the filmmakers manage it.
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The workbook is a full course in writing a novel or script in any genre. All the tricks I’ve learned in my years of writing and teaching—includes ten full movie breakdowns.
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.

- Amazon/Kindle
- Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
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You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
New Screenwriting Tricks for Authors video: Act I checklist!
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The workbook is a full course in writing a novel or script in any genre. All the tricks I’ve learned in my years of writing and teaching—including ten full movie breakdowns.
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.

- Amazon/Kindle
- Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
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You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here:
Monday, May 11, 2020
Writing in Lockdown - Screenwriting Tricks for Authors online
___________________________________________________________________
The workbook is a full course in writing a novel or script in any genre. All the tricks I’ve learned in my years of writing and teaching—including ten full movie breakdowns.
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy - available in e formats for just $2.99.

- Amazon/Kindle
- Barnes & Noble/Nook
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
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You can also sign up to get free movie breakdowns here: