What goes into writing a great movie script?

A critical function of storytelling is wish fulfillment. This is why video games are so popular. “That protagonist is JUST LIKE ME.”

Only God gets it right the first time. Rewrite everything.

What you leave unwritten is as important as what you write. SUBTEXT.

A kid threw a stone at my car. I confronted his mom (who was nearby). She said, "You can't prove it was my son." How should I have reacted?

Write in reverse time. Major characters need to change polarity; minor characters may remain the same at the end.

People choose what to see based on the high concept. Make sure to deliver an ending consistent with the high concept -- it is what the audience paid for.

The DSM 5 is a wonderful character compendium.

Experts say THIS diet can significantly reduce blood pressure, even in people with diabetes - Times of India

A scene should change valence from beginning to end. Up to down, down to up.

Cut everything that is not a payoff, or a setup for a specific payoff. “Omit needless words.” Think about the sparseness of joke telling, or Grimm Brothers.

Make sure to pack enough explosives into the rocket.

I’m a 25 year old teacher teaching at boys school & I have colleagues younger than me. I caught one of my students telling her he wanted her as his teacher instead & it hurt my feelings. They compliment her a lot. It makes me jealous. What do I do?

Audiences are smarter than you think. Something about turning down the house lights makes their IQs go up.

Maintain a slush pile/idea file. When you are ready to write, choose the best seeds to plant.

Your primary job is to create situations. Modern actors will fuck up your dialogue, despite whatever your contract says.

Caffeine actually rewires your brain while you sleep - Boy Genius Report

Don’t direct from the page. Everyone, from the director on down, wants to be part of the process of making movies. Let them do their work.

Use status to help drive conflict. King Lear/fool. Upstairs/downstairs.

Learn to tell a story orally and not through writing. Try telling your story to a friend.

Consequatur corporis quos perspiciatis tenetur vel totam.

To develop a unique voice for each character, try interviewing your characters.

Outline everything. Use story beats. Keep character’s mouths taped up, until they absolutely MUST speak. Write the script and the dialogue at the last minute, after you’ve revised the hell out of the outline.

Get up there yourself. Be in a movie. Take some acting (not writing) classes. Learn how a trained actor approaches a text. Learn why actors take roles. They do as much if not more than the writer does.

NBA 2K26 Summer League 2025 tips off July 10 in Las Vegas - NBA

All rules are made to be broken, but you damn well better know WHY you’re breaking them.

Conflict is your power source; without it you have no drama and hence no script.

Research the facts and then throw away the research.

Scientists discover strong, unexpected link between Earth's magnetic field and oxygen levels - Live Science

Primary characters must change polarities. Secondary characters can change less.

Leave holes. Write and unwrite. Put it in, take it out.

Actors give better feedback than writers do.

I Love The Alters And All Its Weird, Annoying Clones - aftermath.site