HeyJaredThe Story Guy Newsletter
A free newsletter for creatives featuring tips, reviews, and articles about scriptwriting and filmmaking.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
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- Sep 30, 2026
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Latest issues
Using Theme to Create a Resonant Climax (opens the original)
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A plot must be climaxed, not only in a way that resolves all the character goals and conflicts, but alsoin a way that answers the key idea issue of the story. A climax must answer the main theme question of the plot.How many times have you seen a film where its climax and payoff were a dud? That often happens because the keythematic ideas in the script were not properly developed and climaxed. It is the climax and the final payoff scenes of a film that an audience most wants to and should talk a
The Key to Writing Good Dialog is Not about Focusing on Dialog (opens the original)
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When you create a script are you sometimes satisfied with its characters, plot, and the ideas that the story is dramatizing, but feel that the dialog just doesn’t cut it? That your dialog doesn’t convey a unique and intriguing person in a believable and dramatic way? Since dialog in script can easily be fifty percent of the story content that’s a big problem that can really hurt your story and writing career. The solution?Let me state bluntly:Most if not all dialog problems are not fundamentally
A personal update from me (opens the original)
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I have finally moved back to the States and am currently living in the Hot Springs Village area of Arkansas. My main reason to write to you is to note that from September 14 to October 12, I will be in Spain visiting history sites and art galleries, enjoying paella and sangria. With a good buddy, I plan to visit Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville, and Granada. If I can find the time and place are any of you a big art, history or story buff who is interested in meeting?Happy trails,Scottsam@scottam
How to Create Reversals to Rocket Your Story (opens the original)
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A reversal is a form of twist/reveal that involves a big change in the fortunes of the protagonist. This change is most often the sudden reversing of the protagonist from good to bad fortune. This change is also usually against the expectations of the character and of the audience. For example, we are cheering a hero about to attain his goal to capture the villain but instead he is captured by his nemesis.Reversals can be major ones, such as those at plot points, or smaller ones, such as those a
How to train your mind to solve story problems (opens the original)
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I once had a colleague assess the first draft of an adventure/romance script of mine set during the founding of Israel. One of his biggest notes re the script (there were also some big compliments) was that my act two crisis point (plot point two) was muddled. That’s a serious problem! Everything in act two must drive to this crisis point and in my script it should have been a clear, big failure point for the heroes. It wasn’t.In this newsletter, I don’t want to go into the actual concrete conte
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