I often cast my characters early on just to have a sense of who they are physically.

living, breathing entities that change throughout my writing. I will drop certain songs and add new ones.

If you want a more contemporary example, how about Zach Cregger’s 2022 breakout hit BARBARIAN? Another screenplay the experts say “turns structure on its head!”

PHASE 6: Writing the script

PHASE 3: Beat sheets

Finally, we come to draft six. The draft six rewrite is THE WRITING draft. I’m going through all my descriptions, all my language and syntax, all my turns of phrase, all

When you can write:

I don’t write extensive character backstories like some writers. But I do spend a lot of time and energy thinking about who they are, and how and why they’re in the world of my story.

“It’s an illusion that screenplays are all about structure; that if you can just have the right structure, you can have a good story.” It. Is. An. Illusion. Let me tell you once and for all what structure is. Every story from the first bedtime tale read to you to the latest MCU flick has the exact same structure. Beginning. Middle. End. That’s it.