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
© 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 © 2020 When you receive a critique, it's helpful to determine which comments pertain to one or all of the following: The story (the vision you have for your story — this may or may not be accurately conveyed on the page). The page as it’s written (the story that’s on … Continue reading Dealing with Critiques and Rewrites: The Story, The Page, The Theme
by Ann Marie Williams When you receive a critique, it's helpful to determine which comments therein pertain to one or all of the following: Your story (the vision you have for your story — this may or may not be accurately conveyed on the page). Your script as it’s written (the story that’s on the … Continue reading Dealing with Critiques and Rewrites: The Script, The Story, The Theme
by Ann Marie Williams This was originally posted back in April 2019, but NaNoWriMo seemed like the perfect time for a revisit (since the post pertains as much to novel writers as it does to screenwriters). I hope you enjoy and find it beneficial! In the writing world, you often hear terms like theme, concept, … Continue reading Writing Tips: The Differences Between Concept, Plot, Structure, Formatting, and Theme (and how they all interrelate)
Except from Screenplay Competitions: Tools and Insights to Help You Choose the Best Screenwriting Contests for You and Your Script by Ann Marie Williams © 2019 Finding the best version of my story often means having to delete beloved parts from my script. For the sake of the story, I’ll have to sacrifice a beautiful … Continue reading Rewriting Tips: Save, Delete, Test
Except from Screenplay Competitions: Tools and Insights to Help You Choose the Best Screenwriting Contests for You and Your Script by Ann Marie Williams © 2019 As a screenwriter, you need to be aware, not just of the pacing of your story, but also of the pacing of your script. The two should be the … Continue reading Writing Tips: Conveying Story and Pacing
Except from Screenplay Competitions: Tools and Insights to Help You Choose the Best Screenwriting Contests for You and Your Script by Ann Marie Williams © 2019 It’s important to realize that you don’t have to take every suggestion from every critique you receive. However, if you find that you’re disregarding all your critiques, then it could be because you’re too … Continue reading Dealing with Critiques and Rewrites: Try to Find Something Actionable in Every Critique You Receive
by Ann Marie Williams Sometimes, while reading through my script, I like to ignore the character cues before each chunk of dialogue. If I can't tell which character is speaking without the aid of the character cue, then that's usually a sign I need to rewrite the dialogue.
Except from Screenplay Competitions: Tools and Insights to Help You Choose the Best Screenwriting Contests for You and Your Script by Ann Marie Williams © 2019 A fundamental skill you need as a writer is the ability to be honest with yourself. No critique, including your own, will ever be as effective as it could … Continue reading Dealing with Critiques and Rewrites: Be Honest with Yourself
In the writing world, you often hear terms like theme, concept, plot, structure, and formatting. Each is important, and each affects the other. But there is little consistency in how they are defined. Even David Trottier (author of The Screenwriter’s Bible) states that plot, structure, and story are often used interchangeably. In screenwriting contests, these … Continue reading Writing Tips: The Differences Between Concept, Plot, Structure, Formatting, and Theme (and how they all interrelate)
Screenplay Competitions 