I’m quite gratified, taken aback & humbled by the response my feature script has received in 2023. Here’s looking forward to an exciting 2024. Now, if there’s an enterprising exec producer out there who fancies bring this piece to life on the screen, I wouldn’t object.

Thrilled to announce that my feature script ‘Leave A Light On’ has been named a shortlisted finalist in the inaugural Mediterranean Screen Arts Academy screenwriting competition. Top 21 from over 1,100 entries! Huge congrats to all, but especially to winner, Mary Craven Adams.

Your screenplay makes a promise, both in the logline and by the end of Act 1. Tomorrow, I'll share with 10,000 subscribers why keeping that promise is so important. Interested? Subscribe to the Weekly Email below. 👇

Developing a new feature script: Leave a Light On – a psychological road-movie through a ravaged Britain. Strong early feedback. Open to producer chats re: BFI Early Development Fund. Poster below. DMs open. #Screenwriting #IndieFilm #BFI

Our schooling did us few favors when it taught us how to write. And less so for screenwriting. Tomorrow, I'll share with 10,000 subscribers why simple, clear, and specific isn't just good enough, it's better. Interested? The link to subscribe is in the replies. 👇

Sunday morning, I had a feature idea. It just walked into my head, almost fully formed. In hours, I’d entirely framed the story & characters. Yesterday, I crafted the script beats and outline. I’ve drafted half the script. I think it might be the best stuff I’ve ever written.

Delighted to pick up another award for this script. It’s one that’s close to my heart and certainly one of my strongest stories. I love it, so it’s deeply gratifying that others seem to love it too.

Some great gotchas to watch out for here.

Beautifully put by Tim. Something we all need to remind ourselves from time to time.

Wonderful advice from the ever brilliant, Tom.

This cover is perfection and the book is pretty good too 😂😘

Now even Clarks are gaslighting me.

Excited to launch this new opportunity with my good friends, Eric and Mark Williams, founders of Zero Gravity.

You've written a script full of great scenes, yet the screenplay falls flat. Why? You forgot to tell a story. Tomorrow, I'll share with 8,800 subscribers how to get out of the weeds and see the big picture. Interested? The link is below in the replies. 👇

Like most writers, my early screenwriting was structured mostly around plot. It didn't work. It wasn't until I started structuring around the character's emotional journey that things changed. This is one way I do that. 👇 I always want to simplify the process whenever possible. The more we simplify, the more confident and decisive our decision-making. So, with that in mind -- I try to identify the character's emotional and spiritual state of mind through each act and find the simplest way to describe that line of action. A favorite example is DIE HARD, where John McClane spends Act 2A just trying to call the cops. That's it. Everything follows that line of action. There are action scenes, plot twists, and executions, but that is the basic throughline of that act. John MacClane tries to contact the police. That character's external want should track with the character's emotional journey. Why? Because all character is: 1. What they want. 2. What they're willing to do to get it. Which is illustrated through their CHOICES. John McClane is still at the point where he wants, expects, and would rather rely on help. When he finally does alert law enforcement, we hit the midpoint and the famous line, "Welcome to the party, pal!" This is why the midpoint is so important. Not because it changes the stakes or the situation but because those changes change the character's direction. Die Hard in the simplest of terms: Act 1: He wants his wife to repent. Act 2A: He wants to find help. Act 2B: He needs to figure this out himself. Act 3: He is the only one who can save his wife. The character's emotional throughline drives the next action. Another example is from a project I sold. Even though it's an action comedy, I modeled the basic structure after a revenge film. Act 1: Orginal Sin. Act 2A: On the Hunt. Act 2B: Loss of Humanity Act 3: Regains Humanity The plot is underneath, of course, but this is the character's journey through the acts. An event at the end of each act forces a choice, and that choice initiates the shift to a new driving action. The Avengers is ultimately a buddy movie with the "team" at the center. Act 1: Assemble the team. Act 2A: Fight amongst themselves. Act 2B: Defeated because they are not unified. Act 3: Victorious because they are. Inside the throughlines are plot mechanics, tension, and great scenes, but the goal is to have the emotional journey dictate the driving action and describe it in the simplest of terms so you can let it guide your decisions as the storyteller. Note: while four throughlines are the most common, you're not limited to four. GROUNDHOG DAY has eight shifts in the character; one with each sequence. Sequence 1. He's a jerk. Sequence 2. Confusion Sequence 3. Fear and desperation. Sequence 4. Exploits his power. Sequence 5. Depressed and suicidal. Sequence 6. Uses his power for good. Sequence 7. Finds true humility. Sequence 8. Lives the perfect day. My writing grew exponentially when I stopped seeing stories as plot mechanics and more as character journeys with simple driving actions that carry great scenes and sequences. Like anything, this tactic works better for some projects and less for others, but if it works, I embrace it. I am always looking for big choices that narrow my later choices. This may sound counter-productive, but it's infinite choices that freeze you up! The more you can shrink the pool of possible choices that help your story, the better. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

Four goals in six NJ Copa FC appearances for @_amymeadows. Last night’s was a screamer!

Two days to SCREENPIT! Are your loglines ready? You never know who might drop in Screenpit emails a large list of producers/execs to alert them You can help by tagging an exec with one of our tweets about the event Wednesday 8–8 PST Rules found here: screenpit.org

TV show title sequences that you never tire of and will never skip through? For me it’s this (amongst others):

Hugely proud of @_amymeadows. 2nd appearance for NJ Copa FC - complete with an assist & a classy winning goal - in a 3-2 victory over table toppers Paisley Athletic. Great to see her using her creativity & dynamism to give some of the top players in her conference a torrid time.

So proud of my daughter @_amymeadows today. Made her USLW debut in New Jersey Copa FC’s starting lineup v AC Connecticut, and scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw.

Received the amazing news last night that one of my scripts is still in consideration for Birdie Pictures/Matriarch Productions’ Grass Routes comp. In the top 5% of almost 2k entries. Chuffed with that! Best of luck to everyone who’s still in the mix going to the final stages.