John August

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Doing, not thinking

Episode - 178

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Film Industry, Follow Up, News, Scriptnotes, Three Page Challenge, Transcribed, Words on the page

John and Craig start the new year by discussing Chuck Palahniuk’s advice to avoid thinking verbs. Then it’s a new round of the Three Page Challenge.

We also do follow-up on the Sony hack.

Links:

* [The Year of Outrage](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2014/12/the_year_of_outrage_2014_everything_you_were_angry_about_on_social_media.html) on Slate
* [North Korea responds with fury to US sanctions over Sony Pictures hack](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/04/north-korea-fury-us-sanctions-sony)
* The LA Times on [The Interview’s opening weekend](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-box-office-the-interview-unbroken-into-the-woods-20141229-story.html#page=1)
* Chuck Palahniuk [on thought verbs](http://litreactor.com/essays/chuck-palahniuk/nuts-and-bolts-%E2%80%9Cthought%E2%80%9D-verbs)
* Three pages by [Mike Litzenberg & Bridge Stuart](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/MikeLitzenbergBridgeStuart.pdf)
* Three pages by [Meredith DePaolo](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/MeredithDePaolo.pdf)
* [Dunning–Kruger effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect)
* Three pages by [Mimi Jeffries](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/MimiJeffries.pdf)
* How to [submit your three pages](http://johnaugust.com/threepage)
* [D20 Critical Hit Mini Cake Pan](http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1cd7/?srp=5) and [Death Star Ice Mold](http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/f0b6/?srp=3) on Think Geek, and [Smarf L’Héroïque](http://shirt.woot.com/offers/Smarf%20L’H%C3%A9ro%C3%AFque?ref=cnt_ctlg_dgn_2) on Shirt.Woot
* [Critical Hit LED D20 Die](http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/deaa/) on Think Geek
* [Vitamin D3](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D) on Wikipedia
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes editor Matthew Chilelli ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_178.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_178.mp3).

**UPDATE 1-8-15:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2015/scriptnotes-ep-178-doing-not-thinking-transcript).

Cutting Pages and Fixing Holes

Film Industry, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Words on the page

It’s a clip show! John and Craig discuss cutting pages from your script, fixing plot holes, and what we’d do if we ran a studio. We’ll be back with all new episodes in 2015, the year of post-outrage rationality.

Links:

* Episode 28: [How to cut pages](http://johnaugust.com/2012/how-to-cut-pages-2)
* Episode 27: [Let’s run a studio!](http://johnaugust.com/2012/lets-run-a-studio)
* Episode 59: [Plot holes, and the myth of perseveraversity](http://johnaugust.com/2012/plot-holes-and-the-myth-of-perseveraversity)
* [The Year of Outrage](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2014/12/the_year_of_outrage_2014_everything_you_were_angry_about_on_social_media.html)
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes editor Matthew Chilelli ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_177.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_177.mp3).

Advice to a First-Time Director

Directors, Film Industry, How-To, News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig offer advice to a director taking the plunge, with guidance on both getting the work done and getting the performances you want. From there, we segue into a discussion of the Perfect Director, the next installment of our Perfect series.

We also pay a visit to the Logic Police, whose notes are often frustrating but sometimes correct.

But we couldn’t not talk about the messed-up situation with The Interview and North Korea. It’s a terrible precedent, but the mistake is putting the blame on any one studio. Without coordinated group action, it’s only going to get worse.

Links:

You can download the episode here: AAC | mp3.

UPDATE 12-29-14: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

Hacks, Transference and Where to Begin

News, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

John and Craig talk about where to start a story — how far back should you go? The decision about whether to meet the hero as a child, in their normal rut, or mid-crisis fundamentally changes the narrative, so it’s worth exploring fully.

We also discuss the psychological phenomenon of transference, and how writers’ desire for approval can lead to strange (and strained) relationships with executives and other authority figures. Finally, the Sony hack: was it a one-off, or will this be the first of many?

There are still a few tickets left for Thursday’s live Holiday show. Tickets available through the link below.

Links:

* [Get your tickets now](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/scriptnotes-holiday-show/) for the Scriptnotes Holiday Show
* The application period for the [2015 Sundance Episodic Story Lab starts tomorrow](http://www.sundance.org/programs/episodic-storytelling)
* [re/code on the “Unprecedented” Sony hack](http://recode.net/2014/12/07/sony-describes-hack-attack-as-unprecedented/)
* [Transference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transference) on Wikipedia
* [Google ReCAPTCHA](http://www.wired.com/2014/12/google-one-click-recaptcha/) from Wired
* [Endless Alphabet](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/endless-alphabet/id591626572?mt=8) on the iTunes Store
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Kris Gotthelf ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_174.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_174.mp3).

**UPDATE 12-15-14:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-174-hacks-transference-and-where-to-begin-transcript).