Betsy the Gremlin

Writing about writing to avoid writing her writing.

Screenwriting

All about the craft of writing scripts.

  • What Makes A Strong Character?

    There are obviously lots of factors in to what makes a great story, both on the page and on screen. Is your plot interesting? Are your settings and locations easily explored by the reader so they want to dive right into your world? Does your writing splash off the page and keep the reader wanting Read more

  • Beat Sheets, Everything You Need to Know

    If you’ve done any research into writing a screenplay you’ve probably heard the term beat sheets. Even more likely, you’ve probably encountered my nemesis, Save the Cat*. Blake Snyder’s critically acclaimed book details exactly how to write a screenplay that’ll sell. It’s got the formula and all the tricks of the trade that’ll make you Read more

  • Disaster Movies and the Gremlins Who Love Them

    I have a guilty secret; I love disaster movies. Disaster movies in any iteration are my bread and butter. Natural disasters and manmade disasters, you name it, I love it. From earthquake to terrorist attacks to avalanches to nuclear reactors failing, I want it all. Ultimately it’s about normal people thrust into completely wild situations. Read more

  • Extra Messy Narrative and the Way to Clean It Up

    Narrative is a funny thing. Films and books follow a storyline, usually linear, that forms the basis of the plot’s narrative (save for a few artsy pieces, which we don’t need to get into). Events in a story connect one after the other until the story is over. In a movie, something from the scene Read more

  • The Voice and Writing Spectacular – Your Fascinating Hollywood Signature

    Let’s talk voice. If you have been writing for any amount of time, and doing any amount of research the chances are high that you’ve come across the term, ‘voice’ or ‘voices’. There are lots of things about having a unique voice in the industry – the abstract ‘voice’ – and making sure your voice Read more

  • The Three Essential Rules of Successful, Effective Editing!

    I’ve learned one really important thing when it comes to writing, which is entirely different than editing. This trick makes a world of difference whether you’re writing a screenplay or a TV pilot or a novel or memoir or blog or ad copy. If you’re writing, you need to be doing this one thing. In Read more

  • How to Work and Write and Not Go Crazy

    Finding a balance between following your dreams and working to pay the bills. Writing is amazing if you love it. But for most of us trying to break into the business, it isn’t lucrative. (In fact, I wrote a whole dang post about things I do to manage my money specifically so writers can keep Read more

  • Rage! Vexation! Empurpling! – Writing Effective Anger.

    Anger is a weird emotion. It’s very basic — compare it to envy or trepidation or love — but that does not mean it is necessarily easy to write. It can be both basic and enormously complex. Anger sucks. Being angry is hard and raw and weird. As with most things, even though the concept Read more

  • Kids Like Pizza: Writing Realistic Children!

    Let’s talk about the differences between writing children in screenplays and novels, versus writing adults! This post is part of the Dialogue Doctor Series, where I talk about writing effective dialogue! I wish I could say writing child characters was the same as writing adults but I’d be wrong. Further still, I wish I could Read more

  • The 6 Worst Screenwriting Mistakes You Can Make

    Are these common mistakes holding you back? [This post contains affiliate links; clicking and purchasing from these links helps support this blog so I can continue to bring you more great content!] I read and edit scripts professionally (as well as for my other writing friends, because that’s what friends do), and I’ve noticed some Read more