The weekly practice a screenwriter CANNOT afford to skip.

Everyone says, "Keep writing!" but that's not enough to master the craft. Film & TV story structure is complicated. Make sure you carve out time to study it with intention.

Welcome to my Weekly Email Newsletter! Every week, I do a deep dive into an aspect of the craft and business of screenwriting from a (former) literary manager’s perspective.

Today’s post is for subscribers only. If you’re new here, I recommend checking out the free posts at this link to sample what this newsletter has to offer.

Otherwise, keep reading for my insights on how to level up your screenwriting.

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As a screenwriter, you should be writing every day.

But that’s not enough on its own.

You also need to watch films and reading their scripts. But there’s more to it than using this as an excuse to binge your favorite shows.

Take an active, studious approach to breaking down and understanding the stories that you seen on screen.

If you want to be a TV writer, make a list of your 50 favorite TV pilots.

(Go ahead, I’ll wait).¹

If you want to be a movie writer, make a list of your 50 favorite movies.

If you want to do both, you need to make both lists. 😉

Once a week, for the rest of the year, pick one and do the following exercise.

Don’t skip any of the steps. It should take you a whole afternoon or evening. Make it part of your weekend routine. This should be a priority if you’re serious about this career.

Step 0: Watch the movie or episode first.

I recommend doing this with movies or pilots that you are already super familiar with.

But you can do it with new releases too. Just make sure you watch the thing one time all the way through first for entertainment purposes. This is important because you want to make sure that you experience the story as an audience member before you study it closely as a student.

Have fun. Go on the ride. Take note of the parts you enjoy and the parts that bore you. At the end of it all, think about your experience as a whole. Did you enjoy the film? Why or why not?

How much of this was taste vs. the strengths and weaknesses of the story?

Once you’ve had a chance to watch it without overthinking too much, you may proceed with the homework.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Step 1: Read the script.

There are so many screenplays available for free on the internet.

If you live in Los Angeles, you can absolutely head down to the WGA library to access scripts. But gone are the days when this was your only way of reading how a project started on the page.

When I want to find a script, I usually just Google it.

Just make sure you’re not reading the *typed transcript* of a film. That’s not the exercise. The point is to see how the writer started with the story on the page, not how some blogger decided to record the movie for people to read after the fact.

Some great resources for scripts include:

• Deadline’s It Starts on the Page series

• Simply Scripts

• Your personal network (Sorry for always coming back to this, but other writers, especially those who work as assistants in entertainment, are GREAT resources for screenplays that might not be available online).

• If you have truly looked everywhere and can’t find a screenplay, email me at audrey@audreyknox.com and I will see if I can find it for you.

CAVEAT: Some companies (*cough cough* Marvel) keep their scripts under lock and key by penalty of death² for any employee who leaks them. You will just have to give up on finding these unless you are literally hired to work on one of the shows yourself.

Step 2: Watch the movie and follow along.

After you read the script all the way through, pull it up as you watch the film or episode.

Note how the sentences in the action lines are translated on screen. What did the movie gain through the actors’ performances or the editing? What does it lose when you don’t have access to the writer’s words?

Also notice which scenes are added, what was removed, and what was moved around. Try to figure out why these changes were made. Is the movie stronger for them? Do you think it had something to do with the budget? Does the on-screen version enhance, detract from, or change the emotional experience of reading the script?

Ask yourself which elements of the story work better on the page. Which work better on screen? Why?

As you do this, don’t be afraid to pause the movie. Talk through your thoughts with a study partner or journal the answers to these questions.³

Go beyond just pondering your thoughts in your head.

Articulate what you learned. This is essential to cementing the lessons that will improve your writing in the future.

Why is this step so important?

You will learn how to write in a way that effectively communicates your directions to everyone else in the collaborative filmmaking process.

You will learn to balance economy and style.

Seeing a bunch of different writers, genres, and stories go from script to screen will open your eyes to the possibilities for what a screenplay can accomplish.

You will calibrate your expectations for how much of a final draft will appear exactly as written, and you can see a variety of expert examples of how to paint a picture that guides all elements of production.

Step 3: Do a structure breakdown.

Analyze the story structure of the script as a whole.

For a movie, answer the following questions:

1. Who is the main character?

2. What is the inciting incident?

3. What goal does the inciting incident launch for the main character? (or what Mystery are they trying to solve?)

4. What are the stakes if the character does not achieve their goal?

5. Why is this goal is important to the main character?

6. What is the main character’s internal emotional wound?⁴

7. What is the main character’s internalized lie/negative worldview?

8. Which scene/moment ends Act One?

9. Which scene/moment begins Act Two?

10. What is the Ultimate Escalation?

11. What is the All-is-Lost Moment/Rock Bottom?

12. What is the Outside Information the character learns while at their rock bottom?

    1. Who tells them this information?

    2. Is this message the thematic statement of the movie?

13. Which scene/moment ends Act Two?

14. Which scene/moment begins Act Three?

15. What is the climactic moment of the movie?

16. Does the character achieve their goal?

17. Is the arc of the movie a positive one or a negative one?

18. Are any of these elements missing from the film? If so, do you think this was an intentional choice that enhances your experience? Or do you think it was an oversight that detracts from your experience?

19. What was your favorite moment of the movie? Why did you enjoy it so much?

For a TV pilot, answer the following questions:

Pilots are especially tricky to master because there are so many moving parts.

For best results, I recommend breaking down the pilots for shows you are intimately familiar with. Ideally you have watched the series all the way through to the end or even watched it multiple times.

I have also found it to be really interesting to go back and watch the pilot of a show *immediately* after finishing the season one finale.

Many of these questions become clear once you know where the story is going.

1. Who is the main character?

2. What is the inciting incident of the series?

3. What is the inciting incident of the season?

4. What is the inciting incident of the pilot?

5. What goal for the series does the inciting incident launch? (or what Mystery/Question are they trying to answer for the rest of the show?)

6. What goal for the season does the inciting incident launch (or what Mystery/Question are they trying to answer for the rest of the season?)

7. What goal for the pilot episode does the inciting incident launch? (or what Mystery/Question are they trying to answer by the end of the pilot episode?)

8. Does the Character achieve their pilot goal? (or what is the Answer to the pilot Mystery/Question?)

9. What are the stakes if the character does not achieve their goal in the pilot?

10. Why is this goal is important to the main character?

11. What is the main character’s internal emotional wound?

12. What is the main character’s internalized lie/negative worldview?

13. Which scene/moment ends each act break? (if applicable. An act break is where the commercial break happens).

14. What is the Ultimate Escalation of the episode? (aka how does shit hit the fan?)

15. What is the All-is-Lost Moment/Rock Bottom of the episode?

16. What is the Outside Information the character learns while at their rock bottom?

    1. Who tells them this information?

    2. Is this message the thematic statement of the episode?

17. Does the character make a sacrifice or change in a tiny but significant way?

    1. How does this shift hint at their character arc to come during the rest of the show?

18. Are any of these elements missing from the pilot? If so, do you think this was an intentional choice that enhances your experience? Or do you think it was an oversight that detracts from your experience?

19. What was your favorite moment of the pilot? Why did you enjoy it so much?

20. Who is your favorite character? Why do you like them so much? Do you want to spend more time with them? Why or why not?

21. What do you like about the world? Is it a place you want to live in (or if not, is it a place you are fascinated to watch others navigate through?) Why or why not?

Photo by Olena Bohovyk on Unsplash

Step 4: Determine the Theme.

Journal about the theme of the story.

What do you think was the writer’s Central Thematic Question (TV) or Central Thematic Statement (feature). How does this message align with the plot moments as they played out in the story?

For extra credit, look up interviews with the original writer. What do they say about the theme? Does it align with your experience? If not, why do you think that is?

Don't just do this exercise once.

Commit to doing it at least once a week, with different types of movies and different types of writers. You can and should absolutely go back and do this with the classics.

But trends and styles change with the times.

You should also take the time to analyze recently successful scripts and movies that you love, that audiences love, and that critics love.

Now that I am writing full-time, I intend to do this too. I am making a commitment to do more deep analysis once a week.

Would you be interested in reading my breakdowns?

Are there specific movies or TV shows you’d like me to break down as an example?

Or do you think it would be helpful to watch and read the same scripts every week and compare notes?

Let me know in the comments!

1. If you can’t think of 50 pilots that you love, get out there and do some research! How can you expect to be a top professional in an industry you aren’t fully immersed in?

2. I am barely exaggerating here.

3. This is why you cannot combine your weekly homework with viewing for pleasure. If you do, your spouse/partner/roommate/family will quickly grow to hate you.

4. For Extra Credit, answer this and the other character-related characters for everyone in the movie, not just the main character.