There is no denying that Covid-19 has changed the way we consume digital content, which means that the distribution of films has also shifted with the speed of light. Filmmakers in pre-pandemic era were usually “uncomfortable” picking only digital distribution, somehow having this crazy cloud over their project making them believe that they failed because…
Filmmaking and Writing
Is Putting Yourself in Your Character’s Shoes a Good Development Choice?
I’ve been thinking about characters a lot recently. Usually, that type of free association wondering opens up a gate to my favourite way of developing projects and ideas: asking questions. How, as writers, we create characters, build them, nurture them, find stories for them or simply let them go when there isn’t enough love to…
What Not to Do While Marketing Your Film?
Of course, it’s essential to know what to do while marketing and promoting your film. It’s also equally important to know what not to do. Below is my list of the things to avoid. 1. Don’t buy email addresses or followers on social media. This isn’t your audience. 2. Don’t be an asshole to people…
Writing Down the Bones
“Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg is one of my favourite books. I’ve read it several times and each time I re-read it, I seem to discover something new, exciting, and inspirational, while expanding my understanding of the writing process even further. Natalie’s spiritual approach to writing resonates with me on so many levels;…
How to Build/Create Your Character’s Bible?
Building a characters’ bible is always optional and not an essential element of the screenwriting process that could ever stop you from getting started on your script. Not every screenwriter creates the characters’ bible, just like not every screenwriter works with an outline or a treatment. All those screenwriting tools can speed up the writing…
How to Incorporate Characters Secret Life into Your Screenplay?
The character’s secret life illustrates all that happens to them before the scene or the film/story begins. Knowing your character’s secret life is intended to assist writers in creating engaging and authentic characters. Even when you develop the fascinating secret life for your character, keep in mind that most of that will never make it…
The Devil Is in the Details
I’m sure we all know this phrase, and many writers and screenwriters talk about small details that distinguish characters from one another and make them unique, one of a kind, memorable and most importantly, authentic. Giving the characters small details will make them come to life. The characters that have minor quirks are automatically much…
How to Create Compelling Characters?
I hate when someone tells me that the characters, which I created aren’t compelling without giving me any specifics in which way they aren’t compelling, or not offering any words of wisdom that would help me turn things around for my protagonists. Such useless feedback is just garbage that confuses writers, shakes their confidence, and…
Can Your Story Surprise and Be Inevitable at the Same Time?
How many times have you seen a film and could easily predict what was going to happen next? The plot was unsurprising, the characters unoriginal, and it felt like you’ve seen that story many times over. Of course, no one wants to write predictable stories with flat characters, but sometimes the pressure from other people…
When The Story Takes Over
I wasn’t planning to write about exploring new story ideas this week, but since I keep preaching about being flexible with life, spending and, of course, creativity, flexibility should also apply to me. So, in the spirit of flexibility, I’m here to report that this week something pretty exciting happened. I haven’t been in the…