Click here if you want Hannibal?s page among your favourites

After reading more books and visiting more pages than I care to remember, I have one definitive opinion about them. They don?t practice what they preach. In fact, most of them do the direct opposite. Just to show you what I mean:

• They say that format should come into consideration late, then they tell you all about format.
• They write that agents are not necessary, but devote more energy to it than they do to plot and characters.
• They tell you that you shouldn?t watch just one type of movie. Afterwards they refer to their favorite film over and over again, dissecting it slowly. This film happens to be an art film that you never saw. Your favorite films never get mentioned.
• They talk about avoiding clich鳬 and then they give the same advice that everyone else gives.
• They start off interestingly, with great headlines, but after they start delving into their topics, they lose focus, and ultimately end up somewhere completely else.

I don?t mean to say that every single screenwriting site is bad or that there are no informative books out there. That would be arrogant, as well as wrong. Some of them are fine, and a small percentage of those are even very good. What I am saying is that most of them seem to be unedited, and that they have been written by people who write before they think.

But an even bigger problem is that very few screenwriting sites ever mentions writing for television, despite the fact that you probably watch more television than movies, and despite the fact that the television industry is a more collaborative creative medium than the film industry. That?s why this site...

• talks equally about film and television
• refers to films and series of every genre
• goes deeper than just format
• doesn?t complain about blockbusters and advertise art movies
• continues to ask questions till there is an answer that is usable
• keeps an optimistic view on the business and on the job
• cares about what you think. (E-mail me with your wishes, complaints and other important things.)

Plus, I will cover the day-to-day life as a screenwriter. What do you tell your relatives about your new story? What do you do when you?re experiencing writer?s block? And how do you survive a meeting?

The center of this site are the columns, or articles about screenwriting: the job, the theories, and the fun stuff. I will post these columns regurlarly, but probably not every day. Although they?re quite long and text-based, the columns are free, which is quite generous when compared to other script gurus. You can quote, borrow my theories, or use ideas posted here, as long as you state your source.

Enjoy your stay!

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Last updated: April 14th 2006

Two and a half years on the Net, and still the columns keep coming. The latest is about characters. As usual these days it´s in Swedish.

More to come soon...

The Plot Generator is still here Check it out - but beware, it too is in Swedish...

Previous articles can be found by clicking on the links to the left.

Check out the homepage of my short film at www.plastpappa.se.