John August

Three Page Challenge

Austin 2018 Three Page Challenge

Episode - 375

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

John and Craig review three new Three Page Challenge entries with the help of Lindsay Doran (producer of Stranger Than Fiction, Sense and Sensibility, Nanny McPhee, Dead Again) and Jewerl Ross (manager and founder of Silent R Management). They then invite the writers up to discuss the notes, including the importance of geography, setting up relationships, and the danger in feeding kittens to sharks.

We also answer listener questions about “emotional math,” breaking rules, the evolution of screenwriting and trying to be clever, but failing.

Thanks to the Austin Film Festival for hosting us and to our brave participants!

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 11-28-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Two Things at the Same Time

Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig look into simultaneity and how to visually articulate two things happening at once with the temporally-limited medium of written word.

We also explore how simultaneity can ramp up tension, fracture narrative and play with expectations. Then we apply what we’ve discussed to three new entries in the Three Page Challenge.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 10-11-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Relationships

Arlo Finch, Broadway, Formatting, News, Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page, Writing Process

John and Craig discuss the importance and basics of developing relationships in storytelling. Characters are nothing without relationships, like Woody without Buzz, Shrek without Donkey, John without Craig…

We then test these ideas about relationships against a fresh set of Three Page Challenges.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 7-31-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

What’s the Plan, Anyway?

Follow Up, Formatting, Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig speculate what Luke Skywalker’s plan might have been in the opening of Return of the Jedi. They consider heroes’ plans generally, the allowance we grant as an audience for opening sequences and the foul taste of “logic ketchup.”

We then engage in a long-awaited Three Page Challenge, focusing on scripts that play with point of view.

Links:

Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

You can download the episode here.

UPDATE 3-14-18: The transcript of this episode can be found here.