Your movie starts with the VERY FIRST image on the screen!

The power of image is demonstrated over and over again in film as we use our minds to scroll back over movies that have affected us deeply. Whether it is the famous dying words of Citizen Kane - ‘Rosebud’ that sets the story in motion. Or the loop-de-loops of the flying bug at the beginning of ‘Men in Black’ or the shelf of toys at the opening of Monsters Inc. Each image starts us on our journey with the hero/heroine -leading us into their world.

In the case of Monsters Inc, the shelf loaded with toys is a red herring. It’s put there to lull you into believing you’re inhabiting a human world. A safe world, a world where nothing scary can happen; AND then, POW. In minutes you’ve been up-ended into a world that isn’t human at all - a MONSTER world that actually preys on our most vulnerable element - our children.

So, if you’re engaged in the act of creating a screenplay, I ask you; what IS the first image that flashes onto the screen at fade up? Will it land us exactly in the middle of the world in which the story takes place? Or, will it simply be used to lure us in and have the rug pulled out from under our feet moments later.

The act of writing is all about making choices and that first image is only one in a long series of story choices that will shape your audiences reaction to the film you’re crafting. So give it some serious thought as to how you will use that first image. Is it bait? Or is it a straight forward spring board into your story. Does it set the tone, the mood or the era for us? What does that first image accomplish?

The same is true of how we (as the audience) encounter your hero/heroine for the first time. In Monsters Inc, the first time we see James P. Sullivan (Sully) he’s sleeping. Nothing could be more innocent than that. The writer’s are telling us that Sully is as innocent and likable as the little children he spends every night scaring into tears.

Those first moments are important. Use them knowingly and with care; from them springs your story!

I hope this helps. And good luck with your writing. I can’t wait to read the result!

Writing, and espcially SCRENNWRITNG is all about making choices!

CHAPTER ONE of the Screenwriting Essentials Online Tutorial & workbook discuss STORY CONCEPT and idea.

From the very first IMAGE you see on the screen you are telling your audience what to expect in this visual journey they are about to embark upon with you. That first image is the first step on the journey. I always say that writing is about choices and your choices for telling your story start with that very first image. Make sure you're clear about what you're saying.

Every artist faces a similar decision making process whether it’s a oil painter, a photographer or you the screenwriter. Visually speaking, you compose each scene - you choose the location (what does it say) to the viewer? You choose the apparel of each actor (to some extent - what does that say?) You choose the WORDS they speak. What is going on beneath the words that actually come out of the actors mouth? Are they saying ‘I LOVE YOU, I love you... while they shower each other with trash from a nearby garbage can?

Now that doesn’t mean that you become a ‘control freak’ as a writer. You leave many, many choices to the director and the actor and the set designer and the locations manager. BUT, WHEN IT”S IMPORTANT to our understanding of the story or the emotional landscape of the heroine/hero you create concrete details in your cinematic story choices that make that clear.

There is a power and a responsibility in every story choice you make as a writer. With proper planning - you can learn to revel in the choosing - not be frozen in place - unable to act; or stymied with indecision.


I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!

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Older writers are always telling new ones -WRITE what you know.... what the heck does that mean?

Write what you know is probably the oldest piece of advice there is for aspiring writers.  But just because it's old doesn't mean it's bad.... or necessarily good.  Here's my take on what it means.

Writing what you know doesn't mean that if you janitor at night to pay the bills while you learn the craft of writing...  you only ever get to write about janitors.  What I do believe 'writing what you know' refers to is emotional honesty.

Screenplays are driven by the ups and downs of the main character's quest.  The ups and downs refers to both the storyline (action) but the heroine/heroes emotions too.  And this is where many new writers come up short.  They often side-step tackling the really big emotions.  Oh sure, we see death scenes, sex scenes, pillage scenes, car chases - but what we don't see is REAL, GENUINE gut-wrenching emotions that arise from these events.

Often, the new writer doesn't show us the 'fallout' from these events in our hero's life - when its exactly that exploration of emotional subtext to events that makes film REAL to us the audience. It's that bond of shared emotional experience that connects us to the quest of the hero/heroine in the end.  So, 'write what you know' means writing from a place of emotional honesty.  Either take the risk to write from your very own place of emotional experience or take the time to really understand and empathize with someone who has lived the experience you are going to write about.

LIVE it, (the emotion) and FEEL it, if you're hope to write it and ultimately convince your audience to believe it... and then WRITE it; put that emotion on the page.  We all have a 6th sense concerning emotional honesty.... discover yours, and write from THAT place for compelling screenplays.  That's my take on what the phrase - write what you know - is really advocating to new writers.

I hope this helps.  And I wish you luck with your screenplay - and hey, let me know when you've completed it. I'd love to read your work!