Tips for using fewer words for greater impact I am not against adjectives or adverbs. They can help emphasize a point. Add cadence and flow. Even create a poetic feel to dialogue and narrative. However, sometimes adjectives and adverbs can do the opposite. They can bog a story down, hinder the flow of a sentence, … Continue reading Writing Without Adjectives and Adverbs
I find it incredibly helpful to ask myself: "What happens in this scene that causes the next scene to take place?" For me, this is a pretty quick way to figure out if the pacing of the story is as tight as it can be, and if the plot and characters are moving the story … Continue reading Writing Tip: Cause and Effect
At one point in my writing journey I was working on a story and simply couldn't get the plot to... well, work. My Mom made the comment that I had to get to the point where I loved my characters, wanted to spend time with them, and cared about them. I knew this, of course, … Continue reading Do You Care About Your Characters?
By Ann Marie Williams © 2019 Many of the major screenwriting competitions begin releasing their written critiques to entrants around this time of year. So, I thought it might be helpful to post (or re-post) some tips for dealing with those critiques. However, these tips can be just as helpful for whatever format you're writing: … Continue reading Tips for Dealing with Feedback of your Story: Identify the True Source of the Problem
© 2021 by Ann Marie Williams Concept gets them in the door... Story gets them to stay... Characters get them to come back... Yes, it's a super broad generalization. But I think this general idea is worth considering... Concept Gets Them in the Door A potential audience will be drawn to a project (a book, … Continue reading Concept. Story. Character.
by Ann Marie Williams © 2021 Writing takes time. Simple, I know. But I didn't realize I hadn't fully accepted this until last year when I quit agonizing over how long it was taking to fix aspects of my story. Once I accepted that it would take a while, I started making breakthroughs far quicker … Continue reading Writing Takes Time
by Ann Marie Williams © 2021 As mentioned in my previous post, after finishing another season of screenplay competition judging, I'm taking a look at some of the more common issues I saw among submitted scripts. However, today's topic applies as much to novels as it does to scripts. That's because today I'm look at: … Continue reading Conveying Exposition Through Dialogue
After finishing another season of screenplay competition judging (something I always enjoy, and always learn from) I thought I’d focus my next posts on some of the more common issues I see among submitted scripts. First up: Script versus Story Something that stood out to me this past year was that nearly every script I … Continue reading Common Script Concerns: Script vs Story
Two "Simple" Questions to Ask Yourself by Ann Marie Williams © 2020 Some problems a story faces are easy to fix. But, sometimes I'll find myself deep into my work in progress, struggling to fix a fairly massive issue (or, at least, it sure feels massive when I can't find the solution). I don't mind … Continue reading When You’re Stuck on a Problem in Your Story…
Think through your script: is there a moment where the audience would say, “Now’s a good moment to get more snacks”? If so, probably a good idea to revise (or delete) that part of the script.
by Ann Marie Williams For the majority of a story, scenes should fall into each other like dominos. In other words, each scene should be the catalyst for the next. One domino (scene) causes the next to fall — a scene unable to play out without the one before it. This applies to the story … Continue reading Scenes are like Dominos…
by Ann Marie Williams Proper screenplay formatting requires that a certain amount of white space (a mix of description and dialogue) should appear on nearly every page of a script. Not only does this standard help measure the number of minutes the story will be once filmed, but it is also an accurate way to … Continue reading QUICK TIP: WHY SCREENPLAY DESCRIPTIONS NEED TO BE SHORT
by Ann Marie Williams © 2020 We're finally here! The last post in my week long discussion of concept, plot, structure, format, and theme — how each are unique, and how each affect one another. I've been giving my explanation of these terms, their role in storytelling, and how they interrelate with each other. As … Continue reading WRITING TIPS: WHAT IS THEME?
by Ann Marie Williams © 2020 Each day this week I'm discussing one of the following writing terms: concept, plot, structure, format, and theme. I'll give my explanation of the terms, their role in storytelling, and how they interrelate with each other since, even though each term represents a different attribute of story, they do … Continue reading WRITING TIPS: WHAT IS FORMAT?
by Ann Marie Williams © 2020 If you've been reading my last few posts, you already know that each day this week I'm taking a look at one of the following terms: concept, plot, structure, format, and theme. I'll give my explanation of the terms, their role in storytelling, and how they interrelate with each … Continue reading WRITING TIPS: WHAT IS STRUCTURE?
Screenplay Competitions 