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Getting Period Right

Episode - 703

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September 9, 2025 Scriptnotes

John and Craig ask, how do you keep your period films from being a boring history lesson? They offer ten tips to keep your setting from taking over your story, defining the scope of your research, and how to balance the reality of the era with what’s relevant to audiences today.

We also follow up on navigating industry connections and answer three period-appropriate listener questions on transitions across time, accurate dialogue, and how to handle historical sensitivities on the page.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig get into some toil and trouble as they give their rankings of the most iconic witches.

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  • Outro by Whit Morliss (send us yours!)
  • Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

Related Posts

  1. Small Plates
  2. Period Space
  3. Adapting The Wizard of Oz

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Each week, screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin discuss screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters, everything from the craft to the business to the best ways to get yourself writing.

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