What goes into writing a great movie script?

Cut everything that is not a payoff, or a setup for a specific payoff. “Omit needless words.” Think about the sparseness of joke telling, or Grimm Brothers.

A scene should change valence from beginning to end. Up to down, down to up.

Leave holes. Write and unwrite. Put it in, take it out.

Do women really cheat more than men?

What you leave unwritten is as important as what you write. SUBTEXT.

Research the facts and then throw away the research.

Actors give better feedback than writers do.

What should I do if a girl whom I love asks me to be her friend?

Audiences are smarter than you think. Something about turning down the house lights makes their IQs go up.

Learn to tell a story orally and not through writing. Try telling your story to a friend.

The DSM 5 is a wonderful character compendium.

Taylor Swift Spotted at Nashville Wedding In Gorgeous Blue & Pink Dress - Just Jared

Only God gets it right the first time. Rewrite everything.

Make sure to pack enough explosives into the rocket.

All rules are made to be broken, but you damn well better know WHY you’re breaking them.

Harvard gastroenterologist shares 4 bloat-busting tricks that actually work - Times of India

Conflict is your power source; without it you have no drama and hence no script.

Your primary job is to create situations. Modern actors will fuck up your dialogue, despite whatever your contract says.

Outline everything. Use story beats. Keep character’s mouths taped up, until they absolutely MUST speak. Write the script and the dialogue at the last minute, after you’ve revised the hell out of the outline.

See photos: Miguel Angel Jiménez wins the Principal Charity Classic - The Des Moines Register

Don’t direct from the page. Everyone, from the director on down, wants to be part of the process of making movies. Let them do their work.

To develop a unique voice for each character, try interviewing your characters.

People choose what to see based on the high concept. Make sure to deliver an ending consistent with the high concept -- it is what the audience paid for.

Which animal has the best sense of smell? - Live Science

A critical function of storytelling is wish fulfillment. This is why video games are so popular. “That protagonist is JUST LIKE ME.”

Use status to help drive conflict. King Lear/fool. Upstairs/downstairs.

Maintain a slush pile/idea file. When you are ready to write, choose the best seeds to plant.

10 candidates who could fill the Dallas Stars’ head coaching vacancy - Dallas News

Primary characters must change polarities. Secondary characters can change less.

Get up there yourself. Be in a movie. Take some acting (not writing) classes. Learn how a trained actor approaches a text. Learn why actors take roles. They do as much if not more than the writer does.

Write in reverse time. Major characters need to change polarity; minor characters may remain the same at the end.

Injuries force USMNT to make roster changes as the Gold Cup nears - The Washington Post