Articles, thoughts and advice from Penelope Poole
How to use a beat board or beat sheet to outline your screenplay Many screenwriters use a beat board or beat sheet to plan and outline their stories before they even type FADE IN. Not to be confused with a storyboard, which are a different kind of visual tool used later in the filmmaking process, […]
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Character development Part 4 – Character Development for Television Writing for television, and to a slightly lesser extent, a limited series, is a dreamscape for writers who want to fully explore their characters in depth. In a half-hour pilot, you’re only going to be able to hint at your characters’ Wants, Traits, and FIaws, but
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Character development – Part 3 Describe Your Character Next, describe your character on first mention. You have limited action lines to introduce them, so make every word count. You already know to present your characters’ names in CAPS on first mention. Let the reader know as much as you can in that first encounter. When
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Character development Part 2 – How to name your characters Like every Legend, your primary characters need a first name and a last name. Even if their family name is never mentioned in your screenplay, you know they have one. And a full name helps make your character fully human. You’re the writer, so of
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Character development Part 1 – Building Legends Character development for feature screenplays can be a huge challenge for storytellers because you have less than two hours (90-120 pages in proper script format) to establish and demonstrate their Ordinary World, then usher them through their transformation. You already know your main character has to demonstrate ‘change,’
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Are your participles dangling? Lists to love.
I got my writing training as a print journalist decades ago. I’ve written and edited for a living for more than 30 years and I still overwrite sometimes. At the revision stage of my screenplays, I’m often surprised at the errors I made in early drafts.
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