Fostering an Environment for Brilliant Ideas

Why do most of your brilliant ideas happen while you're in the shower? Or when you're about to fall asleep? Or in your dreams...or while you're cooking...or while you're in class (or at the office) daydreaming? There is an answer found in an exciting, emerging area of science.   Read More

New Script Ideas from Unexpected Sources

Spending time to sit and think, or to take a walk, seems increasingly difficult in a society that prizes busyness and multi-tasking. In particular, for A-type go-getters, intentionally carving more time to think without doing several things at once can seem like “wasted time.” But there’s a reason other than simply generating more ideas why daydream-type thinking is crucial: it’s the type of ideas that are generated – namely associative thinking.   Read More

I Get It...but What Is It? How to Define Your Original Television Pilot

Before you get anyone to read your brilliantly executed pilot script, you must first pitch them the idea for the series, and it must be clear, compelling, character-driven, and it must feel like a TV show, not like a movie. Put simply, the first thing you need to do is answer the deceptively simple question, “What is it?”   Read More

Logline Cliches to Avoid

When you read logline after logline, patterns emerge. These patterns reveal clichés based on expressions and idioms hammered into our heads in taglines we’ve seen on movie or show posters, or in voiceovers we've heard in trailers by the late, great Don LaFontaine.   Read More

What's Next for InkTip: Q&A with Jerrol LeBaron

InkTip was founded in 2000 before anyone turned to the Internet to find scripts or writers. With over 250 films made from scripts and writers found through the site, InkTip remains the number one place to go online for your next project. Find out what’s to come from InkTip’s innovator, Jerrol LeBaron, in this exclusive interview.   Read More

Getting Up to Speed: What You Need to Start Writing a TV Pilot

Scripted television is exploding. And if you are a screenwriter with experience primarily in the feature-length form, then you would do yourself well to start learning how to write a pilot.   Read More

Your Synopsis Should Not Be These 3 Things...

The synopsis can vary wildly from writer to writer. Because I’ve seen such a variance as far as length and philosophy in synopses, I must state that the important thing to remember is that the synopsis is not written for the writer but for the reader. Yet many synopses I’ve read seem to ignore the reality of a typical script reader’s workload.   Read More

Q & A with Robert McKee

Robert McKee’s name is as synonymous with screenwriting as Tony Robbins’ name is for personal development. Educating scores of writers, filmmakers, actors and more since 1984, Mckee has cemented his legacy teaching storytelling both in person and through his tome “Story.” Here, McKee answers some questions, including the ever-present “Should you write what you know?”   Read More

Spice Up Your Supporting Characters

You thought of an interesting premise and made sure your protagonist completed the hero’s journey. But your script still reads dry. It tends to drag. On top of that, you might have ideas for who can play the lead role, but you haven’t been able to think of whom else to cast for the other roles. One thing you’ve neglected: your supporting characters.   Read More

Why Talented Writers Fail Part 3: Action Through Pain

Why do we let process get in the way of getting what we want? And on that note, what do we really want? The conclusion to our series on “Why Talented Writers Fail” goes into why we must re-evaluate what we want and how to get there. How does pain relate to our success? Last time, we looked at four roadblocks that obstruct writers from capitalizing on their talents.   Read More