Craft-based articles.
What is an Active Protagonist? An active protagonist is a main character who is not merely affected by the world around them, but affects that world too. Their actions, both …
Whether you’re an experienced writer, a recent film studies grad, or a casual cinephile who walked out of a theater and thought, “I could do that,” crafting great movie ideas …
When writing Christmas films there’s multiple sub-genres and elements to consider to make it the perfect holiday watch. It’s no secret that there are a range of elements to cover …
What is Historical Fiction? At face value, the definition of historical fiction is simple: a fictional story set against a real time period in the past. It is when we …
What is Dramatic Irony? Simply put, dramatic irony is a form of irony. It is both a literary and theatrical device used when the audience knows more than the characters. …
What is a Gangster Movie? The gangster movie is one that focuses on narratives of organized crime and gangs. A crime sub-genre, it may follow stories of large criminal organizations …
Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts’ articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Saul Goodman …
What is a MacGuffin? A MacGuffin is a type of plot device that is essential to driving the plot but not necessarily important within the story as a whole. Story …
Hiring a Screenwriter: An Overview What do you do when you can’t push through writer’s block? You’ve been working on a screenplay for months or years and you can’t make …
With a wide variety of screenwriting podcasts available, there’s plenty of content for screenwriters to learn from. You can learn the best of screenwriting with insightful success stories, or the …
An essential principle not only to screenwriting but also the wider fundamentals of storytelling, plants and payoffs are one of the most effective ways of involving the audience and embedding …
Introduction to the Five-Act Structure In this article, we’ll look into one of the most popular dramatic structures that screenwriters often utilise in order to create an exciting script: The …
What is a Fish Out of Water Story? A ‘fish out of water’ story is the idiom referring to a character who is removed from their daily lives and forced …
Our review scores for the Neil Gaiman MasterClass: Lessons – 7/10 Workbook – 7/10 The Community – 8/10 Value – 7.5/10 Overall Verdict – Thumbs Up! What is MasterClass? MasterClass …
The monster genre is one of cinema’s classic creations. And the monster itself is a creation that can haunt the imagination of audiences long after the credits. But what does …
Likeable characters are often at the heart of great TV and film. But what makes a likeable character? In this article, we’ll look at the keys to writing a likeable …
The art of telling a story is ultimately narrowed down to its basic structure. And Dan Harmon’s Story Circle is an example of one of many story structures. These different …
There is a timeless formula to writing a murder mystery that shows no sign of waning in popularity. This isn’t to say that writing a murder mystery script, let alone …
Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts’ articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Kendall Roy from Succession. What is an Original Character? …
The slasher movie sub-genre could be considered one of the most controversial sub-genres in cinema. With its stark violence, it’s often the subject of discussions around the effect of slasher …
What is a Police Procedural? A police procedural is a sub-genre of the police drama. It’s also often referred to as an inverted detective story or a ‘howcatchem‘. Police procedural …
A movie that not only follows one protagonist but two always feels like one with an added layer of depth and substance. In the screenwriting world, this kind of movie, …
Why is a Twist Ending Effective? The best movie twist endings often completely change the dynamic of the film; from its characters, to its themes, to the narrative as a …
Welcome to Industrial Scripts’ Truly Original Characters series, an ongoing sequence of articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article focusses on Daryl …
What is a Spy Movie? It should not surprise people to find Greek storytelling structures and character types in spy movies. The genre of spy and espionage has a long …
Our review scores out of 10 for the James Cameron MasterClass: Lessons – 9.5/10Workbook – 7/10Community – 7/10Value – 10/10 Overall Verdict – Two thumbs up! Who is James Cameron? …
Most will remember Hamlet’s famous speech, the one example of a soliloquy that has been painfully etched into many students’ memories – “to be or not to be”. And conveniently …
Dialogue is difficult. And writing dialogue between multiple characters adds pressure as there is a lot to juggle. It can be a struggle for any writer whether you’re a novice …
What is a Deus ex machina? It sounds like something technological and complex. But it’s actually quite simple. Well, have you ever just been watching a film totally invested, your …
Character bios can be an essential part of writing your character. There is no story without a character, just as there is no character without a character bio. Every writer …
Writing is hard, there’s no denying it. Sitting down staring at a computer, typewriter or piece of paper and putting words together to create a story is difficult. It can …
Welcome to Industrial Scripts’ Truly Original Characters series, an ongoing sequence of articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article focusses on Beth Harmon from The Queen’s Gambit. …
The comedy genre has boundless opportunities. It has an evergreen appeal to audiences, especially in dark times. We all need the tonic of humor and a light-hearted premise at some …
Most TV series, whether comedy or drama, have a bottle episode at some point. And they can often take pride of place in the series’ history. They can serve as …
The market for stories has a wealth of new entrants every year. This is of little help to most writers who do not need any further reminders that they are …
Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts’ articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Tyler Durden from Fight Club. What is …
In this series, we’ll take a look at great, well-known scenes from films and TV. We’ll analyse these scenes to figure out what makes them work so well, what they add …
Genre mashups, also known as genre hybrids, are a tricky business to get right. The balance between the genres will need to be spot on for it to be successful. …
Where do you start with Aaron Sorkin? His screenplays are the best way to get to know why he is so revered as a screenwriter. However, we’ve compiled some Aaron …
Coming up with a title for your screenplay is no picnic. You need a title that sums up your story, stands out and rolls off the tongue. Or at least …
There is a lot of advice on the screenwriting process but screenplay research and the act of finding, gathering and implementing information into your writing is a little more shrouded in mystery. …
Writing Subtext: What is Subtext? In its simplest terms, subtext is what lies beneath. Writing subtext in a screenplay is all about conveying the underlying opinions, meaning, themes and metaphors …
At some point, we have all delved into the fantasy genre, whether that is through books, TV shows or movies. It’s a genre with a wealth of scope, opportunities and …
Writing Time Loops Time loop movies have been popular since their classic, most famous origin, Groundhog Day. This style has risen in popularity particularly within the last decade due to …
Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts’ articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Eleven from Stranger Things. What is an Original Character? …
With true stories increasingly leant on in both movies and TV in recent years, movie memoirs have practically become a genre all on their own. These movies will typically be …
What Are AI Movies? Narratives focusing on artificial intelligence have been used repeatedly in books, films and TV throughout the 20th Century. Most conventionally, AI movies present artificial intelligence as …
Using ‘setting as a character’ is a phrase you’ll often hear in screenwriting circles. But what does it mean? An easy way into this concept is to think of how …
Writing Dystopia Writing dystopia has become something screenwriters are increasingly drawn to in recent years. The dystopian movie is in itself a classic genre. However, this genre seems to have …
What is a Final Battle? Final battles occur throughout many films and TV shows. They’re the moment in the story where your protagonist or antagonist can either win or lose …
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