John August

Three Page Challenge

Rigorous, structured daydreaming

Episode - 79

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How-To, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Writing Process

Craig and John take a look at an old post that found new life this week when it got picked up on Twitter and Reddit. We go beyond the bullet points to look at the process of writing a scene, from asking the basic questions to getting the words on the page.

1. What needs to happen in this scene?
2. What’s the worst that would happen if this scene were omitted?
3. Who needs to be in the scene?
4. Where could the scene take place?
5. What’s the most surprising thing that could happen in the scene?
6. Is this a long scene or a short scene?
7. Brainstorm three different ways it could begin.
8. Play it on the screen in your head.
9. Write a scribble version.
10. Write the full scene.
11. Repeat 200 times.

Through this lens, we look at three new entries in the Three Page Challenge.

LINKS:

* [@RyanRivard](https://twitter.com/RyanRivard)’s How to write a scene [graphic](https://twitter.com/johnaugust/status/306566727867711489/photo/1)
* The [Reddit post](http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/19ehyv/for_fellow_aspiring_screenwriters_how_to_write_a/)
* The [original 2007 blog post](http://johnaugust.com/2007/write-scene)
* Three pages by [Josh Golden](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/JoshGolden.pdf)
* Three pages by [Kate Powers](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/KatePowers.pdf)
* Three pages by [Andre McGee](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/AndreMcGee.pdf)
* How to [submit your three pages](http://johnaugust.com/threepage)
* [Waking Mars](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waking-mars/id462397814?mt=8) for iOS
* Homeland on [Amazon Instant](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008QTV3X0/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) and [Blu-ray](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LAJ17M/?tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* OUTRO: [New York (Daviglio cover)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz6QsE1dhfU)

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_79.m4a).

**UPDATE** 3-8-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-79-rigorous-structured-daydreaming-transcript).

How screenwriters find their voice

Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page

Aline Brosh McKenna joins John and Craig for a conversation about what writers mean by a “voice,” and how it develops.

For some screenwriters, their voice develops long before their craft, leading people to label them as “promising” even though the scripts themselves are a mess. Other writers get all the technical stuff right from the start, but have a hard time finding something distinctive about how they write.

From there, we segue into a look at three new Three Page Challenges, easily our most contentious session yet, with wildly split opinions.

All this and Craig’s confession in the new episode of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* [Aline Brosh McKenna](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0112459/) on IMDb, and her [first appearance on Scriptnotes](http://johnaugust.com/2012/the-black-list-and-a-stack-of-scenes)
* [Spy: The Funny Years](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KZHGR4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001KZHGR4&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* [Recitative](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recitative) on Wikipedia
* Three pages by [James Topham](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/JamesTopham.pdf)
* Three pages by [Cheryl Laughlin](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/CherylLaughlin.pdf)
* Three pages by [Chris Vieira](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/ChrisVieira.pdf)
* OUTRO: [Robot Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqLIl6-1ZEU) by some youth ministry conference

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_76.m4a).

**UPDATE** 2-17-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-76-how-screenwriters-find-their-voice-transcript).

People still buy movies

News, Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

With last week’s news that home video stopped its free-fall and actually grew a little bit in 2012, John and Craig discuss whether studios might ease off on one-step deals and other development austerity measures.

But while one bloodbath has been averted, this week’s batch of Three Page Challenges is particularly gruesome — but also pretty good.

Craig is too stubborn to admit that John’s workflow for generating both starred and clean PDFs is vastly smarter and better, but since John writes these episode blurbs, he gets the last word. Victory!

John also has a shocking announcement that changes everything: He’s become a single-spacer.

All this plus Craig’s encomium to his new car in this week’s Scriptnotes.

SPECIAL NOTE: We’d love to know a bit more about you, so if you could please answer a few questions at [johnaugust.com/survey](http://johnaugust.com/survey), we’d be super-grateful.

LINKS:

* Digital Entertainment Group’s [Year-End 2012 Home Entertainment Report](http://www.dvdinformation.com/pressreleases/2013/Year_End_2012%20cover%20note_FINAL_1.8.13.pdf)
* [Frankenweenie](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LAIIA8/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) four-disc set on Amazon
* LA Times on Wal-Mart’s [disc-to-digital service](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/disc-to-digital-at-wal-mart-is-simple-if-you-know-your-vudu.html)
* Three pages by [Al Ibrahim](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/AlIbrahim.pdf)
* Three pages by [Keith Groff & Jonathan White](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/KeithGroffJonathanWhite.pdf)
* Three pages by [Nick Keetch](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/NickKeetch.pdf)
* Three pages by [P.K. Lassiter](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/PKLassiter.pdf)
* Tesla [Model S](http://www.teslamotors.com/models)
* The WolframAlpha Blog on [what Craig can do with that hour John saved him](http://blog.wolframalpha.com/2012/11/02/what-could-you-do-with-an-extra-hour/)
* [The Scriptnotes Survey](http://johnaugust.com/survey): A minute of your day. A lifetime of good karma.
* OUTRO: [Electric Car](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/here-comes-science/id328953349) by They Might Be Giants on iTunes

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_72.m4a).

**UPDATE** 1-18-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-72-people-still-buy-movies-transcript).

The air duct of backstory

Fountain, Scriptnotes, Software, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed

John and Craig talk about perspective — both within a scene and the overall story. It’s not always obvious to the reader which characters are in the driver’s seat, so it falls on the screenwriter to make that clear.

We have four new Three Page Challenges this week, with genres ranging from horror to sex comedy. John begs you to never try to establish a character’s backstory by featuring them on a magazine cover.

All this, plus an update on John’s experience writing his most recent script entirely in Fountain, in episode 67 of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* [Hanukkah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah) on Wikipedia
* [Christmas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas) on Wikipedia
* [Krishna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna) on Wikipedia
* [Fountain](http://fountain.io/) is a plain text markup language for screenwriting
* [Take Fountain](https://app.glassboard.com/web/invitation/code/gsaiw) on Glassboard
* Three pages by [Hunter M. Altman](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/HunterMAltman.pdf)
* Three pages by [Kevin Wolfe & Adam DeKraker](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/KevinWolfeAdamDeKraker.pdf)
* Three pages by [Scott Gorsuch](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/ScottGorsuch.pdf)
* Three pages by [Shawn Morrison](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/ShawnMorrison.pdf)
* [Scanadu](http://www.scanadu.com/)
* [Gizmodo](http://gizmodo.com/5965143/holy-spock-the-star-trek-medical-tricorder-is-real-and-its-only-150) on Scanadu
* [Soulver](http://www.acqualia.com/soulver/) helps you solve on iOS and OSX
* INTRO: [Crystal Light commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWr9rZVvMN0)
* OUTRO: [Three Is a Magic Number](https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/schoolhouse-rock-vol.-1/id123015257) by Bob Dorough on iTunes

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_67.m4a).

**UPDATE** 12-14-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-67-the-air-duct-of-backstory-transcript).