Another month passed, i didn´t blog a lot since i´ve been abroad for some time, hopefully April will be better. Anyway, here my monthly list of read-worthy articles…

Screenwriting Structure part 12 - The Inciting Incident by The Unknown Screenwriter

Another part of the Screenwriting Structure series.

The Diablo Cody Backlash by Mystery Man on Film

So much buzz about a screenwriter (just because she has been a stripper?), Myster Man writes a great post about all the people who attack Diablo without a reason (rather than envy?).

Concept is King: Why Juno worked by Christina

Another post about Juno, it pretty much sums it up why it won the Oscar.

What Spec means by Alex Epstein

Alex answers a question of a reader and states what writing a spec really means.

How to explain quantum mechanics by John August

How to address a highly difficult topic in a screenplay, what does the audience really need to know?

Case against Character Arcs by Mystery Man on Film

Some examples where the inner character arc seems not that important.

Columbo Always Showed Up Late by Jane Espenson

When is the right time to introduce your main protagonist?

What does Copyright Protect by Alex Epstein

Alex answers a readers question whether it´s possible to copyright a character (like Superman).

If Major Studio Gave Notes on Juno by Ken Levine

A hilarious post: what would a major studio respond if Diablo sent in her screenplay rather than produce it the indy way.

Yes Virginia, there is a Nudity Clause by Alex Epstein

There are problems that you could run in if your movie / series screenplay contains nudity, not so much problems with the audience, rather with the actors.

No, I said, “Pitching” by Jane Espenson

Jane´s thoughts about how to pitch a project.

When to Stop Writing by Ken Levine

Most of the time screenwriters struggle with starting to write, but when is the right time to stop?

Shot an indie pilot. What´s next? by John August

A very good post about what to do with your indie pilot.

Rethinking Motivation by John August

Some hints about character motivation. What does the character want? What does the character need?

Well, the first month of the new year is over, and here are the posts i´ve found most valuable.

Should Authors Get a Percentage of Used Book Sales? by Lee Goldberg

Lee writes about residuals when a book is sold second hand. It´s an interesting topic i haven´t thought about yet, but then again, it doesn´t really affect me.

Your first 10 pages and the hook by The Unknown Screenwriter

This is part 10 of the series “Screenwriting Structure” from Unk, he discusses the important first 10 pages of a screenplay.

$400 filmmaking course on DVD by Alex Epstein

Alex answers a question from a reader of his blog whether to spend $400 on an filmmaking DVD or rather buy something else (like a camera).

Story2Oh! by Jill Golick

Jill started a very interesting project with a different approach to storytelling than writing a screenplay. I wrote about that project in an earlier post.

Originality Doesn’t Make Great Drama by Clive

Clive doesn´t blog very often, but when he posts an article it is absolutely worth reading. In this article he writes about the desire of indie filmmakers to create something “new and original”, and that this approach might not be the best all the time.

Your first 10 pages and the Ordinary World by The Unknown Screenwriter

Part 11 of the series “Screenwriting Structure” is about the ordinary world of the protagonist and therefore the setting of the movie itself.

Internet “Screenwriting” Searches by Matt Hader

Matt answers a few questions like “What are the chances of selling my spec?”, “Screenwriter’s starting pay?”, “Page to minute ratio?”, etc.

The Nines on BitTorrent and More on the torrents by John August

John writes about his exceptional opinion about downloading movies, this is a very interesting post since he speaks as a writer / director as well as producer.

Writing For Actors - part 1 by Clive

Another great article from Clive where he writes about some screenwriting mistakes indie filmmakers are willing to make when writing the first few scripts.

A revised first draft walks into a bar by Alex Epstein

A very interesting article about the producer / writer business relationship and the writing of revisions. It´s important for writers to have some kind of business safety net, Alex provides some tips.

Top Ten Format Mistakes by The Mystery Man on Film

Based on a screenplay someone sent to the Mystery Man for reading through he points out the top ten format mistakes.

The Nines on DVD by John August

An interesting post from John about what the DVD of his movie The Nines will contain (specials, interviews, etc.) and the compromises he had to make.

So there have been quite some interesting posts this month, and another great piece of news spread through the internet: Guillermo del Toro will (most likely) direct the Hobbit movies that Peter Jackson is about to produce. The full piece of news can be found here.

For quite some time i wanted to rewrite my article From idea to script - Part II since i thought it was not really up to date anymore and i improved lots of the techniques.

So now it was right about time, and the new version contains some really interesting new ressources, so if you liked the old article you will like this new one even more.

Besides the rewrite i finally managed to include my theater play Ritzen in my project overview.

And since this is my first post in 2008 (btw, i love this “new year” post: I blogged in 2008) i thought i´d include some goodie:

FOX Searchlight Pictures published the screenplays of some up and coming movies here. And since i a read a lot about Juno and wanted to know what all the buzz is about (you know, a screenplay from an ex-stripper and such) i was really happy to download the script.