The original post for this episode can be found here. John August: Hello and welcome. My name is John August. And this is Episode 388 of Scriptnotes, a podcast about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters. Craig is off in London working on Chernobyl, but luckily I have Matt Selman here to fill […]
Story and Plot
The Princess Bride
John and Craig host a live show at the WGA Theatre with a deep dive look at The Princess Bride. They discuss how the “abridged” structure brings us only the best parts of the story and what this means for the characters and world: less exposition and more time for the fire swamp, R.O.U.S., and […]
Plot Holes
John and Craig dive into plot holes: why they happen, how to fix them, why not to fix them, and how to turn them into opportunities.
We also respond to listener questions on outlining, servicing many storylines, and what screenwriting challenges go under-appreciated.
How Can This Possibly End Well?
Christopher McQuarrie makes a great point about action sequences: the question isn’t how it will end, but how it can possibly end well for the hero.
Splitting the Party
John and Craig talk about the trope of “Never split the party,” and why, as a writer, you often want and need to divide up your characters to better explore relationships, propel the story forward, give actors something to do, and simply fit everyone in the frame.
Professional Realism
John welcomes Derek Haas (Chicago Fire, 3:10 to Yuma, 2 Fast 2 Furious) to talk about writing accurate portrayals of different jobs, and when to sacrifice reality for storytelling. They also share their time-management strategies in honor of those New Year resolutions to get writing done.