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Every writer has to pitch themselves, but how do you do it without sounding like a tool? John welcomes back Pamela Ribon (Nimona, My Year of Dicks) for a big talk about small talk and general meetings. They offer practical tips on what to expect, how to get people to open up, navigating NDAs, staying true to yourself, and organically moving the conversation away from the weather and towards your work. We also look at a pernicious effect of underemployment (starting with a prompt from Ryan Knighton,) and answer listener questions on alternating POV, reusing adjectives, and giving your story beats cause and effect. In our bonus segment for premium members, we get meta as we discuss the modern podcast landscape and next era of Scriptnotes. Links: Scriptnotes Episode 700 – LIVE Pamela Ribon My Year of Dicks Rental Family trailer Japan's Rent-A-Family Industry by Elif Batuman for The New Yorker 37 Seconds Good conversations have lots of doorknobs by Adam Mastroianni Real Time Lightning Map Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) Who Is Watching All These Podcasts? by Joseph Bernstein for NYT Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

How dare you? That's the first question KJ asked Ally Carter, whose name is “synonymous with hilarious action and heart-pounding romance” (TRUE). Is KJ outraged? Hell no. It's a legit question. Ally's books are so so much fun, with wild action scenes befitting a Bond movie (or a Jason Bourne, OBVIOUSLY) and plots that trot the globe while dancing backwards in high heels and KJ really wants to know—how did Ally give herself permission to just go there? To write the dreamy, wild, sure it could happen but also we don't even care because we're so in it story that scares many of us (especially ex-journo KJ, who wastes far far too much time on such non dramatic questions as “but how would someone with that job pay for health insurance? and “technically, how much snow could that unit make in one night?). Also asked: how did you learn to write action so well? Do you take all kinds of crazy self defense classes? Or dissect movie fight scenes in slo-mo? Are you fun to watch a spy movie with, or terrible?I would have asked her if she used to BE a spy…but then she would have had to kill me.LINKSNational Spy MuseumThe Blonde Who Came In from the ColdThe Most Wonderful Crime of the YearThe Blonde IdentityAlly CarterAlly's rec: Netflix: The ResidenceInstagram @theallycarter The newsletterHey everyone, it's Jenny Nash. This episode happens to feature an Author Accelerator book coach. Author Accelerator is the company I founded more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. If you've been curious about what it takes to become a successful book coach, which is to say, someone who makes money, meaning, and joy out of serving writers, I've just created a bunch of great content to help you learn more. You can access it all by going to bookcoaches.com/waitlist. We'll be enrolling a new cohort of students in our certification program in October, so now's a perfect time to learn more and start making plans for a whole new career.Transcript below!EPISODE 460 - TRANSCRIPTJennie NashHey everyone, it's Jennie Nash, founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, the company I started more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. In October, we'll be enrolling a new cohort of certification students who will be going through programs in either fiction, nonfiction, or memoir, and learning the editorial, emotional and entrepreneurial skills that you need to be a successful book coach. If you've been curious about book coaching and thinking that it might be something you want to do for your next career move, I'd love to teach you more about it, you can go to bookcoaches.com/waitlist to check out a free training I have—that's bookcoaches.com/waitlist. The training is all about how to make money, meaning and joy out of serving writers. Fall is always a great time to start something new. So if you're feeling called to do this, go check out our training and see if this might be right for you. We'd love to have you join us.Multiple SpeakersIs it recording? Now it's recording. Yay! Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone. Try to remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All right, let's start over. Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers. Okay. Now, one, two, three.KJ Dell'AntoniaHey, I'm KJ Dell'Antonia, and this is Hashtag AmWriting the weekly podcast about writing all the things—short things, long things, pitches, proposals, fiction, nonfiction. We're the podcast about getting things done. And I'm going to be solo this week because I am interviewing, and I'm so excited to interview one Ally Carter, whose name, I'm stealing this from her bio, because it was such a great line—is synonymous with hilarious action and heart-pounding romance. And as someone who's read much of it, I can vouch kids. So Ally's most recent big book that you've probably seen around was The Blonde Identity . Her current book that you're going to want to go straight out and grab is The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold, and her other book that she wrote just for me—because it was like exactly what I needed in a book in that moment and I really appreciate it. I'm glad other people got to read it, but it was really, for me— The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year those are her adult books. She's got a ton of young-adult books, also with heart pounding action and hilarious...wait, heart-pounding romance, hilarious action. I feel those are exchangeable. And even some middle grade if you've got some kids who might be reading in those lines. So Ally does all the things, and we're going to find out how, and immediately be able to do it ourselves. Ha! Ally, thanks for coming.Ally CarterThank you so much for having me, KJ. I appreciate it.KJ Dell'AntoniaWe are super excited.Ally CarterI also wrote The Most Wonderful Crime [The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year] just for me, because it's— that's like, I love a mystery, and I pick them up, and I'm like, this would be great. Where's the romance? And then I love a romance, and I pick it up, and I'm like, where's the mystery? And so that's, that's how Most Wonderful Crime [The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year ] came to be. It is two great genres better together.KJ Dell'AntoniaAlso, it's writers in a—like writers in a mansion, with secrets and surprise identities, and things people can do that no one knows they can do, which is my jam. Yeah, really enjoyed it.Ally CarterThank you.KJ Dell'AntoniaThank you for that. Not that I didn't I love The Blonde Identity. My daughter has it right now, and she's super excited, because I can give her The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold, early, because I might have gotten an early copy. So she'll be reading that on the beach next week after she finishes the first one.Ally CarterThat is some good cool mom points right there.KJ Dell'AntoniaWell, it is, yeah, and they're rare. But that is a great thing about your—I mean, my daughters are 21 and 19, so they're older, but I would have given the blonde books and The Most Wonderful Crime to, you know, a 16... ?... like, they're not—not that I don't actually give some pretty steamy stuff to my kids, but if you're not somebody who does that, they're steamy, but they're not—anyway...Ally CarterYeah, there are books that, like, grandma and mom and daughter can all read togetherKJ Dell'AntoniaYeah, I was just going to say I would give them to my mom too. Yeah. I mean, they're just super fun. Because sometimes the better test is not “Would I give it to my daughter?” It's “Would I give it to my mom?”Ally CarterYou're exactly right. Agreed, agreed.KJ Dell'AntoniaSo my first question is this: how dare you?! Okay, and now you're like, wait, what?! No, seriously, like, your books are—the plots are so out there, and glorious, and outrageous, and the action scenes are wild, and they're sort of everything you fantasize about in a spy romance novel. And as a former journalist, I spend a lot of time sitting around staring at my plot thinking things like, yes, but how would this person have health insurance? And I feel like you've transcended that. So can you talk to me and all of us about how you've, you know, embraced this world of the wild, glorious, fun, and outrageous in your plotting?Ally CarterYou know, that's a—thank you. First of all, that's a lovely compliment. I really credit it toward, you know, how most things are in my life and my career—it was total accident and sheer dumb luck. So 20 years ago—I realized not long ago—like, literally 20 years ago this spring, I saw it. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. And I was, you know, big dumb kid, didn't know what I was doing, sheer dumb luck, had this amazing idea. And most of all, I had an amazing idea at a time when the YA [young adult] genre was just expanding exponentially—like the shelves of shelf space at Barnes and Noble was getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And so it was a big tent, and there was room for everybody. And so I was lucky in that I got in there. I was especially lucky because I had a brilliant editor named Donna Bray. And Donna could see, like the shift coming—like, she could see Twilight and the, like, the move to paranormal, and the move to, you know, moving away from contemporary fiction to genre fiction. And she was like, we have to get this out fast. And so we crashed it. And so I sold it in, like, April or May of 2005, and then I had to go to copy editing in October, and I had—I had 32 pages.KJ Dell'AntoniaSorry, (laughing)Ally CarterAnd a day job!KJ Dell'AntoniaOh, my goodness!Ally CarterSo I had the summer of absolute deadline. I would come home from my day job, I would eat a fast dinner, and I would write till midnight. But this was also back, like, before we really had smartphones in our pockets all the time—definitely pre, like, social media—and so that's what you did. And I'm like, man, if I did that every day, think about how much writing I would get done today.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah.Ally CarterBut because I was so fast, the turnaround there was so fast, I didn't have time to, like, go down a rabbit hole of, well, exactly what type of nylon cord would they use to rappel into such and such—you know, I just got—I made it up, and I got away with it. And so I realized that, you know, I would—I did do a lot of research on actual tradecraft.KJ Dell'AntoniaRight.Ally CarterSo the things like the girl—there's a scene where the girls have to go through the boy's garbage. And there's this—you know, there are scenes where they're, you know, planting bugs and those types of things. Those—I watched documentaries, I read a lot of, like, actual decommissioned, sort of old CIA handbooks and things.. The International Spy Museum has a wonderful reference section, and you can actually order...KJ Dell'AntoniaOh, that's cool.Ally CarterOld, like, World War Two training manuals and things. It's really greatKJ Dell'AntoniaI did not know that.Ally CarterSo I did do that. What I did not do was I didn't worry about, like, the brand name of what you might call it. So as a general rule, I tell my readers, like, the more specific something is in the book, the more likely it is I made it up. So when I'm like, well, then she did the one death ski maneuver—and, like, I don't know what the one death ski maneuver is, but they don't either—I made it up. But the actual sort of bones of what the school would teach and how they would teach, it was very accurate.KJ Dell'AntoniaWell, it must have come in handy because you have another school in the current book.Ally CarterYeah. And it's—it was a little harder, because it is, you know, it's not for kids, and so it has to have a little bit more of an air of sophistication. And I wanted to base it off of the actual CIA training facility, “The Farm,” which is at Camp Peary—which is in the book, what I couldn't figure out were things like, do they sleep in apartments? Do they have a dorm? Is there a are there barracks? Are there, you know, is there, like, a big cafeteria? Are they?KJ Dell'AntoniaVery few people will know what's real, and they can't tell you, right?Ally CarterThey can't tell me. And so I actually, when I was on tour for The Blonde Identity, I was in D.C., and I did a wonderful event, had hundreds of readers there, and they were like my Gallagher Girls who had grown up and now they all are spies. I mean, they like, literally work for the CIA. They're literally with, you know, "I'm with Homeland Security." You know, several of them were like, I can't actually tell you where I work, but you were very popular there and so, and I actually did a like, show of hands, like, if you can say so, how many of you have been to The Farm and, like, multiple hands went up.KJ Dell'AntoniaOh, wow!Ally CarterAnd I'm like we're talking when this is finished. So I got a little bit, but not very much, you know. And I guess the thing also with “The Farm” is, you know, they bring in, like, their actual undercover operatives to train there, but there are a lot of different groups that also use that facility. So, for example, I think I'm not dreaming this. I think this is true. Like, if you are an ambassador or an ambassador's family, and you and you are going, maybe not like the ambassador to London, but if you're going to, like, you know, someplace that could be a little bit dangerous, they'll send you there for, like, evasive driving training and things like that. So you get a little bit of training. So it's not just spies who train at Camp Peary, it's multiple groups.KJ Dell'AntoniaI have a new life goal now, which is to never need evasive driving training.Ally CarterRight?! And see, I kind of want to learn how to do it. I don't want to need it…KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah no, no but no, it's not to need it. I don't want to need it.Ally CarterI want to know how to do it.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah. Well, yeah, you could, you could use it. Yeah, I just—it. I miss—your books inspire the writer in me to remember, like you said, that very few people care what brand of nylon rope you would use to repel, and from there, it's a pretty short step to, you know, whether or not you can really stop a cable car halfway.Ally CarterYeah.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah, we're and we're not going to but.. It's just...Ally CarterAnd the way I see it is, if you are the person who knows what brand of rope it is... even if i get the rope right, i could get everything else wrong.KJ Dell'AntoniaYou're either not reading this, or you don't care.Ally CarterYeah. There... This is, this is not for them, probably.KJ Dell'AntoniaOr if it is, it they've they're there, like...Ally CarterThey're there.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat's fine.Ally CarterYou either buying in or you're out. And that's fine. And I—and nothing but respect to the people who do know that? Because now, I grew up on a farm, and so I can't read, like, cowboy books, because I'm like, oh gosh, geez Louise, of course, your barn burned down. You put that hay in there way too soon—you are you really baling green hay?KJ Dell'AntoniaThey're literally haying in my field right now.Ally CarterRight. You know, I'm like, seriously, seriously. This is, you know, you're, you're, you're not. You didn't do a semen test on your bull? Like—you know?"KJ Dell'Antonia"You are not milking that cow. I know how you're supposed to hold your hands."Ally CarterExactly!KJ Dell'AntoniaSee I did.Ally CarterYeah, I'm, I'm not, I'm not here for and so I'm, like, this is the same thing. Like spies have no reason be reading me. I have no reason reading the things that I do know about. Because it's, you know, it's, it's just, you're also, it's not exciting to me. And so I'm sure most spies, you know, there's a line in...KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah it's not a fantasy.Ally CarterYeah, so…KJ Dell'AntoniaIt can't be a fantasy, because you're too stuck on, you know, the...Ally CarterExactly, and so...KJ Dell'AntoniaThe reality that our hay baling chute is broken, and therefore we will need multiple people tomorrow to go around and pick up each individual bale…Ally CarterYeah.KJ Dell'AntoniaAnd put it on a flatbed truck, and drive to the barn, and take each individual bale off the flatbed truck, and then stack them in the barn. Y'all are missing my arm gestures, but Ally knows of which I speak.Ally CarterI know, I know those gestures. You got to buck it up with your knee. It's a whole—it's—it is not easy work. It is very hard work. And so…KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah, I'm hoping not to go out there, but I know I will.Ally CarterOh no, you don't want to do that, and you will itch for days.KJ Dell'AntoniaI've done it. I've done it for years and I know I'm going to end up there. It's my birthday tomorrow too.Ally CarterOh no, that's not the…Yeah, so it's the reality. I think it's very easy—also, when reading, as a reader—I hate it when it's very clear that an author has done a ton of research and they're not going to let it go to waste. Yeah. And so there's like, you know, they'll introduce the thing, and then they'll have, like, a paragraph explaining all of the things that they have learned. I'm like, this serves no purpose whatsoever.KJ Dell'AntoniaI also thank my editor for my leaving out the entire history of Prohibition-era alcohol rules between Kansas and Missouri in The Chicken Sisters.Ally CarterYep. See, if you, if you want to write that, the nonfiction is right there, you can— you've got it. So I like to do enough research to inform the story. And, you know, there are definitely things, you know, scenes and lines and wonderful things that have come from the research. But I never do research just so I know, like, what kind of rope it is.KJ Dell'AntoniaRight.Ally CarterI—you know, that's that I think then, then, then also, are you doing research, or are you procrastinating?KJ Dell'AntoniaWell...Ally CarterBecause I think most people are just procrastinating.KJ Dell'AntoniaWe all know the answer to that. So how about the action scenes? You write such great action scenes, but I am also not a reader who's like picturing, well, clearly at this point, he's upside down and her hand. You know, that's not how I read anything. I just kind of go (shwoop) through that. So how do you handle writing them? Are you like slowing down action films so you can dissect the movies?Ally CarterNo, I really don't like writing action scenes. They are hard, and it feels like I've done everything, like they're okay. Well, hey, here we are. We're doing that again, but there. They are. They come with the job. And so I think most of all, you just have to remember, sort of the blocking of it. Like, okay, who is where? The other hard thing that that comes and, you know, movies have it so much easier. Like, you don't need a name for the for the six bad guys, that black Willow...KJ Dell'AntoniaRight,, the one on the right, and the one behind... Yeah, yeah, no.Ally CarterAnd so I'm like, Okay, but how is the reader keeping these different so, you know, like, well, one of them has a has glasses, and the other one has a goatee. Okay, well, then from that point forward, I the author just call them glasses...KJ Dell'AntoniaGlasses and goatee. Right.Ally CarterAnd so you have to remember, like, okay, glasses is down. Goatees still at large, you know, or whatever.KJ Dell'AntoniaIs there a special copy editor for that?Ally CarterThey're not special, but that is definitely can fall into a copy editor's purview, especially things like during that fight sequence. Okay, well, it was 100 pages ago, but it was also yesterday that your heroine got shocked. Is she really fighting at full strength? Oh, ouch, you know. So that type of thing, because, again, reader wise, that's, that was, I've, that was the midpoint. I'm to the climax now. But timeline wise, no, that was yesterday.KJ Dell'AntoniaRight.Ally CarterAnd so the...KJ Dell'AntoniaAnd probably with some readers, reader wise, that was an hour ago.Ally CarterYeah! So...KJ Dell'AntoniaI mean you know, we're eating this up.Ally CarterExactly.KJ Dell'AntoniaSo much faster to read than to write.Ally CarterSo you have to think about those types of things. Like I wrote that two months ago, but nope, it's still right there.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah.Ally CarterSo that's the kind of thing that, you know, again, you can't really worry about in a first draft. Like, let that. That's future-use problem.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah. Now, in contrast to, you know, the wild plotting and the crazy, enjoyable, delicious action, your people feel, you know super, super real. They have, ah, big reasons for being the way that they are, but the feelings feel real. I think that is an amazing um, contrast. Do you start with the, do you start with, like, you know, the person's flaw, or what it would there's some term of art for this which I have forgotten. Or do you start with, I need a person who, or does it vary book by book?Ally CarterThank you. I, you know, it's I spend a lot of time with that.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat's why they work.Ally CarterThank you.KJ Dell'AntoniaNo, seriously, no one. I mean, The Blonde Identity would maybe be fun if it wasn't also, like, you really want her to figure out who she is, and you really want to know why is this happening, and what is up with and like, you want all that for the character you believe in, in her.Ally CarterAnd that's always I find as much about tone as anything, this particular sub- genre, it can go wacky or kooky really fast, like it's very easy. You know, I like to say that spy movies exist on a spectrum that range from get smart to Zero Dark Thirty.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah.Ally CarterAnything along that spectrum is a spy movie. But those could not be more different. And so are we? Are we doing like James Bond, like he's cool and suave, but he also has gadgets, or are we doing like he's, you know, kind of bumbling with gadgets? Or are we doing it's very realistic?KJ Dell'AntoniaWell are we doing Roger Moore James Bond, or are we doing … um…guy who now models for…Ally CarterDaniel Craig?KJ Dell'AntoniaThank you—oy vey—Daniel Craig, which are very different. James Bonds really…Ally CarterVery different James Bonds, because I've heard people the James Bond people talk about the Daniel Craig, James Bond doesn't exist without Jason Bourne.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah.Ally CarterThat's who they looked at and so all of these things, you know. And so when I'm trying to figure it out, and I think that's one of the hardest things about genre bending romance, whether you're bending fantasy and romance or horror and romance, or romance and mystery or romance and action, or whatever, you could only really write in the Venn diagram space, where there's overlap. And so I couldn't, you know, the realistic version of this is not something where people are falling in love, like it's, you know, it's too dark. And it's definitely not a comedy, definitely not a comedy. So you're, you have to find the place where, no, they're in real, actual peril. This is really terrible. This is... they really might dieKJ Dell'AntoniaAnd they understand that.Ally CarterAnd they understand that they get that and also, but they still have time to, you know, okay, well, now I'm going to, you know, now we're going to slow dance, you know, you still have to find those times. And the other thing is, you know, you have to figure out just where on the spectrum you want to be and lean into that. Like, if you want to write, like, the kooky, sort of Agent Cody Banks of it all, then you have to do that. But then you have to realize the other parts of the spy kind of world that you can't touch. And so it's—you're just—you're always threading needles. It's, it is a, it is a task of, of absolutely threading needles all the time.KJ Dell'AntoniaI think that, yeah, when it comes to tone, where on the spectrum do you want to be, is like, like maybe one of the greatest questions that I have heard. And it's just one that, you know, I think we all wrestle with.Ally CarterWell, and I've had people that really don't—people who should get it—who don't get it. So, you know, I was in a meeting one time with some Hollywood producers who were looking at some of my stuff, and I said, “Well, tonally, where do you want it to be?” And they were like, “What do you mean?” I said, “Well, do you want it to be like, you know, Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Bourne Identity?” And they said, “Well, those are the same thing.” And I was like…KJ Dell'AntoniaNo, no, no, no!Ally Carter“This meeting is over. Thank you very much”.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah.Ally CarterIt's... I don't understand how people don't get that, but to me, I spend 90% of my time worried about it. Oh, I remember now what I was going to say earlier. I got my start—and I'm never going to be, like, a full-time or big-time of this—but I've done some screenwriting. . And so there's a screenwriting podcast [Scriptnotes] by two guys who are very big, very dominant—dominant—screenwriter. One of them did, like, the Charlie's Angels movies and the Aladdin remake and all those. The other one does The Last of Us and a bunch of big, like, HBO shows. And, um, they always talk about "the Want song". So in every Disney musical, the first—the first song—sets up the world. It's "Belle," you know, like, you know, wandering through town. The second song is the "whatever she wants." And so, you know Moana, you know, "See the line where the sky and the sea meet, it calls me"—like, Moana wants to travel. She wants adventure. And so I spend a lot of time, when I'm setting up these characters, thinking about what their "Want song" would be. And so, like, for The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, her "Want song" is, "I want to be Eleanor."KJ Dell'AntoniaRight.Ally CarterYou know she wants to be Eleanor Ashley [from The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year], who is my, like, fake off-brand Agatha Christie, and so that's, that's what you have to think about a lot like, you know, what Alex [from The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold] wants is to sort of be free like she wants, she wants to be enough. She wants to pay her—you know? She has paid her debt for—you know, sort of having been born strong and healthy, where her identical twin has been born very, very sick. And so she, she wants—and she wants to never lay eyes on Michael Kingsley [also from The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold], ever again, who was her, you know, on again, off again, partner, slash love interest. And so that's—you know, that I always start with that, what is their wound? What is the thing that hurt them in the past that they're trying to get over? And what is their want?KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah.Ally CarterAnd almost always, what would they realize over the course of the book is that the thing that they want is not the thing that they need.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah.Ally CarterAnd so that's, that's an Ally Carter book. That's an Ally Carter character progress.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat's it. Now everyone can do it.Ally CarterYeah.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah. Oh, but if it were that easy, everyone would do it, right? Um, no, this... this is amazing and delightful. I hope really helpful for people. I got distracted by taking some notes on what you just said. So, people—for me, for the Post-its on my computer, as well as, oh my gosh, so many Post-its, so many Post-its—let's talk just a little bit about the difference between YA [young adult] and adult when you're—fundamentally—I mean, some people sort of switch genres entirely. You were writing very similarly toned books for different audiences. How? How do you think of that evolution?Ally CarterThat's—in a way—yes, I did switch audiences. In another way, they're the exact same readers. And so that's—that's an interesting and weird thing about YA is, about every three years, you have to make all new readers because they have grown up and they've aged out of you. And even if they haven't aged out of you, they have what I call "cooled out of you."KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah, yeah.Ally CarterAnd they're like, I liked those books when I was a little kid, and so current me can't possibly like those books, because those are little kid books. And so I was on the phone during the pandemic with my friend Rachel Hawkins and Rachel had written YA for a long time, and then she switched to adult. And I was talking about... do I...? What do I...? I need to sell something. Do I sell another middle grade? Do I sell a YA [young adult]? Like, what do I sell? And she says, you sell an adult. You sell an adult book that appeals to your Gallagher Girl readers. And I, I said, oh, Rachel, I've spent, you know, 15 years building a career in YA, I've got, you know... And she said, your readers aren't there anymore. They are the girls who read you when they were 12, ten years ago, and are 22 now. And I'm like, oh, that's right, they are. They've grown up. And so I—and I had the idea for “the spy twins” and had tried to do it as YA, and then at one point I even tried to do it as middle grade, and I could never make it work. And the problem wasn't, one of the twins wakes up with amnesia and somebody's trying to kill her—that I could pull off. The problem was, how and why is her identical twin on the run? And what does she have? And, like, you know, she...KJ Dell'AntoniaShe needs a longer history than you can have as a teenager.Ally CarterYeah, exactly. Like, is she actually working for the CIA, like, because then again, we get into Agent Cody Banks territory, then it's, you know, well, we've got a super-secret branch of the CIA who recruits kids. I'm like, no, you don't that's stupid. Like so...KJ Dell'AntoniaAnd she's been there since she was 10, and now she's on the lam.Ally CarterExactly.KJ Dell'AntoniaYou know, and then at age 12, she went rogue.Ally CarterYeah. And then you've got, like, well, no, you know, it's a Parent Trap situation, and one of them was raised by a spy and one of them was raised by ordinary people. I'm like, oh, maybe... I don't know, but, you know, I just couldn't quite make it work. And so I was talking to Rachel, and I said, what am I supposed to do? Just dust off that old spy twin idea, except now, instead of a super-secret organization, she's just on the run from the CIA? And then I was like, wait a second.KJ Dell'AntoniaWell yes!Ally CarterIf she's 30... she can—so every single problem and logic challenge that I had with that premise went away once those characters became 30. And so I just—and it was the easiest writing I've ever done. I feel almost guilty about how easy that book was to write; because I'd been, I'd been working at it and hammering at that idea for so long. And so it was almost like, instead of starting it at the beginning, I started it at the end of the writing process, where you have that one, like, little linchpin thing that you think, oh, but what if I do this? And then the whole plot just...KJ Dell'AntoniaRight.Ally CarterSo I started it there. I started at the...KJ Dell'AntoniaWow!Ally CarterDomino moment. And I'm spoiled, because it'll never be that easy again. But that's, that's how the transition went. And, you know, it's been great because my readers, they're so excited to see me. It's like, they're, I hear from readers all the time, they're like, you know, it feels like you wrote this just for me. I grew up with you, and now you're writing books for me again, and that has been very full circle and very, very fulfilling.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat, that's great. Well, you're writing them for me too. So, love that, and I think for a lot of our listeners—who I really think are going to enjoy this episode.Ally CarterThank you.KJ Dell'AntoniaSo before I let you go, can I ask you what you have read and loved lately?Ally CarterOh, sweet mercy. I have been so underwater, on a—on a book, and it's been the kind of—it's been the kind of deadline and the kind of book... You know how the old adage is so true that you never learn how to write a book—you just learn how to write the book you're writing right now. And so this one has just... and when I get that way, I don't enjoy reading because my inner critic can't turn off. But I will share a show that I loved, and I—they just announced that they're not doing a season two, and I'm heartbroken over it. And that is, on Netflix, there's a Shonda Rhimes show called The Residence, and it's a murder mystery set at the White House. You know, somebody drops dead during a state dinner. And it's got kind of a kooky detective and a wonderful, colorful cast, and it's very, very funny, but it also—it threads that tonal needle, where, like, no, no, there was a murder. This is still serious, but, oh, by the way, I'm going to go look at the body, but first I saw a bird I want to check out, you know. And so it's just—tonally and voice-wise—it does really amazing things. And so if any of your listeners are looking for a really great, like, eight-episode series, it's great. I could not recommend it more—The Residence on Netflix.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat sounds super fun. Well, I am in the midst of The Blonde Who Came In from the Cold. So, you know, I don't normally recommend a book until I know if the writer is going to stick a landing. But I feel quite confident in this one, and have enjoyed—as you can obviously hear from the podcast—the rest of Ally's work. So I am going to just push all of you listeners to, you know, head out there, grab the new one, grab the old one, and have a good time with them.Ally CarterAww, thank you.KJ Dell'AntoniaYou're welcome. Thanks so much for being here. Oh, should people follow you on social media? Do you do anything fun? Are you...?Ally CarterI do nothing fun. I'm not fun at all. I'm mostly on Instagram; I guess at this point I'm the Ally Carter over there. I have a couple of kind of defunct Facebook pages that I update occasionally. I just updated it for the first time, evidently, in two years. So that was fun. I'm on Threads very seldom. I used to be on Twitter and I still have that account I don't update it very often. Um, but yeah—and of course, my newsletter, like the newsletter is—I think we need to come back. We all need to get back to the newsletter, because it will deliver the news directly to your inbox. And so if you want to make sure you don't miss any like, you know, tour events, which, by the way, I'm coming to Boston on tour in a couple of weeks. So looking forward to that a lot. I think its Lovestruck Books? Is that Boston?KJ Dell'AntoniaProbably yeah.Ally CarterYeah.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat's the new romance bookstore there. I've been with Sarina a couple of times, and yeah, it's a great—it is a beautiful store. Like, every detail. Their bathrooms are phenomenal. That's how wonderful this store is. So, very cool. All right, I will link up the newsletter in the show notes, and yeah, about, you know, once every week, I decide to just cancel all the rest of my social media and only do my AmReading email. And then I imagine what my agent would say. And yeah, I don't do it, but...Ally CarterIt's, you know, and I feel like I'm such a broken record, like, oh, you know, go buy my book. Oh, go, you know, I'm going to be here on tour. Oh, this is how you get signed books. But—and I just say over and over and over again—and then inevitably, and this really happened to me one time, I was sitting at the LAX Airport waiting on a flight home, and I got an irate message from a reader that I never come to LA. And I was like, I did an event here last night—like, I was at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove or wherever—last night. And so we said, we—it feels like we are just beating a dead horse letting people know about these things, but it's so easy for things to get lost. And so...KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah! Jess tells the story—that's one of my other co-hosts—about, you know, someone who had come up to her, really one of her biggest fans, “Good new book.” And, “I get your idea, I love this, and I love that you wrote, like, knew a lot.” And then she said, “Oh, well, did you enjoy my latest book?” And they're like, “You have a new book?!”Ally CarterIt happens every time. And so, you know, it's—it's just part of the business at this point.KJ Dell'AntoniaYou've got to do it—it's just part of the business. All right. Well, thank you again...Ally CarterThank you.KJ Dell'AntoniaAnd as always, listeners until next week keep your butt in the chair and your head in the game.Jess LaheyThe Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perella. Our intro music, aptly titled Unemployed Monday, was written and played by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their time and their creative output, because everyone deserves to be paid for their work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

John and Craig descend into development hell to look at films that almost but never quite existed. Using both widely-publicized and little-known examples, they examine common patterns that keep movies frozen in script form. We also follow up on solar storms, writer education and genres people should see at least one of. We then answer listener questions on writing empathetically, late-career stamina, non-English dialogue, multi-part movies, and the Scriptnotes theme itself. In our bonus segment for premium members, if John and Craig were never paid to write in the screenplay format again, would they still do it? Links: Preorder the Scriptnotes Book! Birdigo on Steam Aurora by David Koepp Pale Flower Deep Red Suspiria Hands on a Hard Body American Movie Wonderland Hands on a Hardbody the musical Cure Pulse Moft magnetic wallet stand Total Party Skill podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Steve Pietrowski (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

The Scriptnotes Book is real, and now available for preorder! John and Craig take a look through its 335 pages to explore the topics, guests and deep-dives we've assembled from over 1,000 hours of this podcast, creating what is sure to be your favorite bathroom book. Then it's another round of How Would This Be a Movie?, where we look at four stories in the news to see whether they're ripe for adaptation. Stories include a mother taking on the revenge porn industry, a wife navigating her husband's longtime crush, a government worker who was secretly recorded on a date, and the potential destruction of solar storms. We also answer a listener question on current filmmaking technology. In our bonus segment for premium members, what is kindness? John and Craig talk through what sets this undervalued quality apart from niceness and other traits we mistake for kind. Link: Preorder the Scriptnotes book! Send your pre-order receipt to Drew at ask@johnaugust.com A Mother's Revenge as told to Christina Cauterucci for SLATE Charlotte Laws' fight with Hunter Moore, the internet's revenge porn king by Carole Cadwalladr for The Guardian Help! My Husband's Manic Pixie Past Has Become a Full-Blown Threat to My Sanity, Dear Prudence column for SLATE SNL's What's That Name An Offhand Remark About Gold Bars, Secretly Recorded, Upended His Life by Lisa Friedman for NYTimes The Unseen Fury of Solar Storms by Henry Wismayer for Noema TRMNL Steve Ballmer: Developers The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Birdigo Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In this compendium episode, John and Craig set their focus on directors — and how to work with them as a screenwriter. They look at the inner-workings of the writer-director relationship, etiquette on set, how to communicate notes from pre-production through post, and outline the qualities of the “perfect” director. We also offer advice to a first time director, looking at how to prep a project, how to run a set, working with actors, and how to inspire a crew to make the best movie possible. In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John back in 2025 for advice about casting, and what to do when actors pass on your project. Links: Episode 4 – Working with directors Episode 176 – Advice to a First-Time Director Scrappy HyperCard Mount Wilson Observatory John's shorts God and The Remnants Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Segments produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit, Dept. Q) to offer their best advice to film students and the people who teach them. They look at ways to improve how we educate writers, and offer advice to an aspiring development executive. We also look at the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations of characters in Scott's new series, Dept. Q, follow up on the decline of sex in movies, and ask, what genres of movies should people see at least one of? In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Scott take a broader view of education in America to see what they've learned and what they would change. Links: Dept. Q on Netflix Scott Frank Scott's last time on Scriptnotes, Episode 476: The Other Senses Everyone Is Beautiful And No One Is Horny by RS Benedict for Blood Knife Scriptnotes 639: Intrinsic Motivation Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading by Nadia Asparouhova Elmore Leonard's Perfect Pitch by Anthony Lane for The New Yorker Richard Price's Street Life by Kevin Lozano for The New Yorker McDonald's AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants' Data to Hackers Who Tried the Password ‘123456' by Andy Greenberg for Wired Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nico Mansy (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Hey Hey! In this episode, we discuss the importance of knowing your reason "why". Why do you get up every morning to go to work? Why do you put out content? Why do you want to be the best at what you do?   Hosted and Created by: Michael Otule

John welcomes back Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers, Pretty Smart) to ask, how do you revive a dead genre? Using their upcoming movie The Naked Gun, they look at why the spoof genre fell apart, the challenges of introducing it to a new generation, and why turning genre tropes into jokes will always resonate with an audience. We also look at other genres they don't make anymore, follow up on Dogma 25, and answer listener questions on complicated rewrites and whether or not to hire a publicist. In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Doug and Dan look at the movies that Gen Z hasn't seen (and whether they even need to). Links: The Naked Gun in theaters August 1st! Dan Gregor and Doug Mand Doug and Dan's last time on the show, Episode 548: Made for Streamers Bottoms and Dicks: The Musical Melodramas: Now, Voyager, It Ends with Us, Spencer Sexual thrillers: Body Heat, Jagged Edge, (Bonus: Altered States, Dead Ringers) You Must Remember Thins: Erotic 80s Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Adult Romantic Dramas: The English Patient, Out of Africa, Past Lives, Materialists Mid-Budget Adventure Films: Romancing the Stone, The Lost City John's Aladdin residuals Breakthrough cholesterol treatment can cut levels by 69% after one dose by Hatty Willmoth for BBC Science Focus One dose of experimental drug nearly wipes out stealthy cholesterol in ‘remarkable' trial by Erika Edwards for NBC News The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America's UFO Mythology by Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha for WSJ Calvin Kang on Ingstagram Weekend Read 2 Top movies that Gen Z have never watched revealed – including Oscar-winning classics from The Sun UK Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Ryan Gerberding (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.  

John and Craig plant the idea for setups that have the most satisfying payoffs. Different from exposition, setups introduce ideas and concepts to an audience, priming them for a later revelation. They look at the sleight of hand required to have your setups deftly planted, take root in your audience's mind, and grow into something delightful. But first, we look at the new California tax credits, the 2025 WGA annual report, follow up on AI and VFX, postmodernism, and verticals. We also answer listener questions on music videos and outing yourself to potential employers. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at the New York Times' new list of the 100 best movies of the 21st century. We all know Craig loves pitting movies against each other, so there's definitely no umbrage here. Links: The Best Movies of the 21st Century by NY Times California lawmakers approve expanded $750-million film tax credit program by Samantha Masunaga for LA Times WGA Annual Report – employment and earnings, residuals Michael Graves How ReelShort CEO Joey Jia Used a Chinese Trend to Disrupt the U.S. Entertainment Industry by Chad De Guzman for Time Magazine Sundance Labs Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild DJ Snake, Lil Jon – Turn Down for What Madonna – Vogue a-ha – Take On Me Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye Phil Collins – Don't Lose My Number 30 minutes with a stranger by Alvin Chang for The Pudding Chris Perkins Mike Birbiglia's top ten movies of the 21st century Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In this craft compendium, John and Craig take a look at everything you need to make your bad guys compelling, memorable, and the perfect antagonist for your story. Using some favorite villains as examples, they look at the importance of understanding their motivations and offer seven tips for making a villain unforgettable. We also take a look at lackeys, henchmen and making sure your evil organizations are believable. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig shift their focus to monsters, and why even though those scary creatures are dangerous, they're not always the villain. Links: Scriptnotes Episode 75 – Villains Scriptnotes Episode 590 – Anti-Villains Scriptnotes Episode 465 – The Lackeys Know What They're Doing Scriptnotes Episode 257 – Flaws are Features Every Villain is a Hero Writing Better Bad Guys Screenwriting and the Problem of Evil Mama The 1000 Deaths of Wile E. Coyote by T.B.D. Why do good people do bad things? by Daniel Effron Why some people are willing to challenge behavior they see as wrong despite personal risk by Catherine A. Sanderson The Monsters Know What They're Doing blog and book Austin Powers deleted scene, “Henchman's Wife” Redshirt 7 Tips for Creating Unforgettable Villains How Christopher Nolan writes a movie on our YouTube! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Segments produced by Stuart Friedel, Megana Rao, and Drew Marquardt. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome author Stu Horvath to look at the rich history of tabletop role playing games. From Stu's collection of over 2300 RPGs, they look at the evolution of collaborative storytelling, interactive narrative design, and the communities of players they inspire. We also discuss the complicated influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft on the world of D&D, and how the need to escape their derivative influences pushed RPGs to new heights of world-building and storytelling. In our bonus segment for premium members, Stu leads us down down down to discuss a surprisingly recent narrative staple: dungeons. Links: Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath VintageRPG.com by Stu Horvath D&D 5th Edition Amateur press association (APA) Little Wars by H.G. Wells Peter Cushing painting his minifigs Chainmail by Gary Gygax & Jeff Perren Chaosium Tunnels & Trolls Dread RPG Fiasco Scriptnotes episode 142: The Angeles Crest Fiasco Critical Role Alien: The Roleplaying Game Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game Traveller 2024 D&D Player's Handbook Blackoath Entertainment Thousand Year Old Vampire Tales From the Loop RPG Honey Heist WWDC live translation She Used to Be Mine performance and vocal coach reaction Kolchak: The Night Stalker Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

How do you write science fiction when technology is moving so quickly? John and Craig welcome back journalist and screenwriter Max Read to look at the trickiness of predicting the future, how our imagined futures can affect our reality, and ways that writers can protect their work from becoming dated before it's even released. We also follow up on the new Dogma manifesto, words we don't have in English, questioning ChatGPT, and answer listener questions on hosting your scripts on your website, offline writing software and how to find the time to goof around. In our bonus segment for premium members, Max walks us through his Letterboxd lists and proposes a new, niche film genre. Links: Max Read's newsletter Read Max and his Letterboxd Dogma 25 Explodes at Cannes by Annika Pham, Marta Balaga for Variety Maze by Christopher Manson Blue Prince Graham's source for Egypt's GDP and John's sources Neal Stephenson William Gibson Red Rooms This Strange Mutation Explains the Mystifying Color of Orange Cats by Gayoung Lee for Scientific American The Simulation is Failing. by Jessica Mazin r/OneOrangeBraincell Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It's edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

New forms of video creation are coming to disrupt the entertainment industry, but will they succeed? John and Craig look at verticals and Veo 3 to see where we might be heading, and what our industry's past innovations might tell us about about the future. We also look at Memorial Day's banner box office, and answer listener questions on bereavement during production, momentum, scene geography and how to fight motion smoothing. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig travel back in time to find which moments in history they wish they could see in person. Links: Highland Pro student licenses! Collaborate on a tabletop RPG with John! Tom and Jerry and Hanna-Barbera Accidental Triplets with the Billionaire on Reel Short A Mistaken Surrogate for the Ruthless Billionaire on GoodShort WebToon Werewolf Billionaire CEO Husbands are Taking Over Hollywood by EJ Dickson for Rolling Stone Veo 3 fake news example by Alejandra Caraballo on Bluesky More Veo 3 examples by Promptastic on Bluesky Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50 The Last of Us Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Steve Pietrowski (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It's edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back writer, director, and comedian Mike Birbiglia (Don't Think Twice, Sleepwalk with Me) to take a look at several true news stories and ask, how would this be a joke? Stories include run-club haters, a conflicted bone marrow donor, and the coyotes roaming San Francisco. We also look at how Mike developed his new Netflix special, The Good Life, and answer listener questions on taking an idea from a podcast and knowing when you've broken a story. In our bonus segment for premium members, Mike walks us through how he's able to market his work without it feel like marketing. Links: Mike Birbiglia The Good Life on Netflix Mike's previous episodes: 121, 168, 261, 427, 443, and Working it Out: Screenwriting Advice You'll Actually Use Episode 660 – Moneyball Ira Glass on Mike's podcast Working it Out Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk The Run Club Haters by Melissa Dahl for Curbed I Hadn't Heard From My Dad in Over a Decade. Now He's Returned With a Brazen Request. I'm Actually Considering It. from Slate's Care and Feeding The Coyotes of San Francisco by Heather Knight and Loren Elliot for NY Times Coyote Vest Everybody's Live with John Mulaney Chris Fleming Blue Prince Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription! Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It's edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig dig through the mailbag to answer some of our trickiest listener questions. They lay out their best advice for first-time feature directors — from picking department heads to making sure your movie actually gets seen — and look at how to adapt Craig's “How to Write a Movie” for structuring a TV series. But that's not all! Do you owe your writer's group access to your contacts? How do you break out of the mailroom? Where should high-school students start? How far can adaptations stray from the source material? And how do you remain professional in the middle of a dumpster fire? We also follow up on tariffs, mysterious birds, and a different set of 36 Questions. In our bonus segment for premium members, we play John's new game, Strong Opinions, where we all have to guess each other's true feelings about things we didn't know were controversial. Links: Scriptnotes on YouTube! Strong Opinions game Hollywood Unions letter to President Trump The Curious Case of the Pygmy Nuthatch by Forrest Wickman Foggy Brume on Twitch 36 Questions, the podcast musical Austin Film Festival My First Movie: 20 Celebrated Directors Talk about Their First Film Orange T-shirts are back! Aqua voice dictation software Ghost Town by Fireproof Games Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help from Sam Shapson. It's edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.  

John and Craig look at how writers and their characters handle the obstacles they encounter. They outline proven techniques for solving problems both in life and on the page, why it's important to see characters solving problems in a story, and how taking big swings can open up exciting possibilities. We also follow up on episodes that focus on a single character, long takes, making your phone less interesting, words we don't have in English, present the definitive guide to the lunch run, and look into this stupid movie tariff thing. In our bonus segment for premium members, John is back from Egypt and Jordan, and ready to answer all of our questions about tombs and travel in the Middle East. Links: The Production Assistant's Guide to the Lunch Run Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Note On Long Takes by Aidan Moretti Video tour inside the Great Pyramid of Giza Donald Trump Says He's Pursuing 100% Tariffs On Movies Produced Outside U.S. and John Voight's proposal Sustainability by the Numbers by Hannah Ritchie Solving for Climate The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show by Rusty Lake Birdigo Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes writer, director and playwright Leslye Headland (The Acolyte, Russian Doll) to ask, why are stage plays so challenging for screenwriters? Using her recent Broadway play Cult of Love, they look at different approaches to scene description, heightened and simultaneous dialogue, and strategies for adapting stage plays to film. We also chart Leslye's career from theater kid to auteur filmmaker, her approach to time loops (because how could we not?), and answer listener questions about music cues and long scripts. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Leslye compare notes on how to keep up with what's on stage, and what to do if you missed a production. Links: Leslye Headland Cult of Love – selected pages Bachelorette the play and the movie Fanny and Alexander John by Annie Baker Original Cast Album: Company Stephen Sondheim Waiting for Godot John Cassavetes Tár screenplay by Todd Field Arthur Aron's 36 Questions Eva discloses her autism on Survivor Making Movies by Sidney Lumet On Filmmaking by Alexander McKendick Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Alicia Jo Rabins (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes writer and showrunner Eric Kripke (The Boys, Supernatural) to look at planning out a multi-season series. They chart Eric's early career from shorts to showrunner, how he developed Supernatural, his process for structuring seasons of The Boys, and how great TV shows stick the landing. We also answer listener questions on lone character episodes and emulating comic panels on screen. In our bonus segment for premium members, Eric spills on everything blood, guts and gore. Links: Eric Kripke on IMDb and Instagram The Boys Battle of the Sexes short film Minions on the Seine! Strange Darling The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back Aline Brosh McKenna to tackle the issue of idea management. What do you do with all those half-formed ideas and how do you decide which ones to pursue? They share best practices and their approach to middle-of-the-night inspiration. We also discuss how screenwriters' quotes are determined and answer some listener questions on alternatives to D&D, crediting improv and rain in the second act. In our bonus segment for premium members, DVDs hang in the balance as John and Drew sit down back in 2025 to ask, should Drew get rid of his physical media? Links: Dungeon World Kids on Bikes Crazy, Rich Asians Pay Disparity Searching for Bobby Fischer After Dark My Sweet God (1998 short film) Reg Ex Crossword Puzzle Soothe Massage App Assassin's Creed: Odyssey Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Victor Krause (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig break out of coverage to look at oners and long shots, cutting through any directorial showboating to compare the pros and cons and cons and cons of those unbroken takes, offering ways to decide when they are necessary or purposeful, and how to recognize when it's better to cut. We also look at changes to Sundance and the Nicholl Fellowship, answer listener questions on house lights in movie theaters, Oscar voting, improv movies, and share a few horror stories from John and Craig's early career. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig look at their relationship with their phones and consider dumbing down. Links: HBO's The Last of Us Podcast Sundance is moving to Boulder, Colorado! Changes to the Academy Nicholl Fellowship Adolescence | The Studio Meryl Streep and Viola Davis in Doubt The Alien RPG by Free League Assassin's Creed: Shadows The Show 25 The DIY Dumbphone Method by Casey Johnston Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In this episode from 2012, John and Craig sit down with producer and former studio executive Lindsay Doran (Sense and Sensibility, Stranger than Fiction) at the Austin Film Festival to explore the producer's relationship with the screenplay. The look at how the role of producer has changed, the ideal development process, how she developed Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, and staying true to your values in a fickle business. In our bonus segment for premium members, Drew joins John back in 2025 to consider the value of a good alumni program, and how an alma mater that under-delivers can be the pits. Links: Lindsay Doran on IMDb The original episode transcript Perfectly Happy, Even Without Happy Endings by Carrie Rickey for the New York Times (including a great photo of Lindsay's hair) Lindsay's TEDx presentation: Saving the World vs Kissing the Girl Scriptnotes, Episode 17: What do producers do? Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Stuart Friedel. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome writer and showrunner Tony Gilroy (Andor, Michael Clayton) for an in-depth look at crafting a second season of a hit TV show. They look at ways to find your season's structure, setting your production up for success, controlling the energy your audience spends on information, and how to wrap up your story before the show eats you alive. They also answer listener questions on what to do when a movie that's similar to yours is wildly successful, and whether being a movie critic could hurt your writing career. In our bonus segment for premium members, Tony sticks around to ponder which words we wish existed in English, and how we'd use them in our scripts. Links: Tony Gilroy Here's a recap of Andor Season 1! Andor Season 2: Trailer 1 | Trailer 2 | Special Look Episode 680 – Writing Action Set Pieces with Christina Hodson I'm Not a Robot short by Victoria Warmerdam I'm Not a Robot short by Jason Speir Stephen Schiff Startpage A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs Raindrop Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig sit in project purgatory and ask, what do you do when the only answer you're getting is “maybe”? They share advice on how to gently check in without annoying people, recognizing the soft pass, the unexpected benefits of patience, and what to do when you're the person holding up the gears. Then it's another round of the Three Page Challenge, where John and Craig give their honest feedback on three listener-submitted scripts. We also follow up on script supervisors and the encroaching perils of AI production. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig spill the telltale signs that a movie or TV show has had reshoots. Links: Follow along with our Three Page Challenge Selections! SCRAMBLING by Tania Luna, LUMP by Leah Newsom, and THE DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS by J. Bryan Dick The King of Tars Sesame Street The Goes Wrong Show on Prime Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Christina Hodson (The Flash, Bumblebee) to ask, how do you to construct a great action sequence? Using examples from three different movies, they discuss what good action looks like on the page, how to keep your reader from getting bored or confused, and why production can sometimes blow your plans to smithereens. Then it's a round of How Would This be a Movie?, where we take four stories from the news and pitch how we might adapt them for the screen. Stories include a mysterious painting, a train trapped in a blizzard, a teen who sued his parents, and zombie colleges. We also follow up on director's chairs and mammograms, and answer listener questions on side characters and creating a healthy work/life balance. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Christina examine the do's and don'ts of introducing yourself to a stranger through email. Links: Christina Hodson That New York Times article with John and Christina Bamboo Director's Chair Birdigo on Steam Action samples: Aliens, The Bourne Identity and Rise of the Planet of the Apes David Koepp's Jurassic Park screenplay David Benioff's Troy screenplay A Man of Parts and Learning by Fara Dabhoiwala When a Deadly Winter Storm Trapped a Luxury Passenger Train Near the Donner Pass for Three Days by Robert Klara A U.K. Teen's Parents Sent Him to Ghana. He Took Them to Court. by Lynsey Chutel Zombie colleges? These universities are living another life online, and no one can say why by Chris Quintana Mike Birbiglia The Onion in print Padraic Murphy's Research Department Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Vance Kotrla (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Liz Hannah (The Girl From Plainville, The Post) to ask, how do you know if a character can carry a story? They look at ways of identifying your protagonist, defining privileged storytelling power, and the choices to make when figuring out which characters can hold narrative point of view. We also look a the phenomenon of the “Stranger in the Room,” follow up on writing during crazy times, brain trusts, plays vs movies, the phrase “begs the question,” and the usefulness of sharing your pronouns. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Liz explain the difference between East LA, West LA, and why the valley might beat them both. Links: Liz Hannah on IMDb and Instagram Episode 676 – Writing while the World is on Fire Slate Culture Gabfest The Post | Screenplay Episode 128 – Frozen with Jennifer Lee Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 on Disney+ Highland Pro The Girl From Plainville on Hulu The Dropout on Hulu “The Stranger in the Room” by @toddalcott on Threads Episode 399 – Notes on Notes Dragonsweeper by Daniel Benmergui Dare I Say It by Naomi Watts Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome producer Dan Etheridge (iZombie, High Potential, Party Down) to look at how non-writing producers develop projects, coordinate across departments, and maintain the tone of the show as directors come and go. We offer practical tips for making the most of video village, regardless of your role, and solutions for the scourge of directors chairs. Highland Pro, John's next generation screenwriting app is now available now for Mac, iPad and iPhone! We discuss what's new and what's coming next. We also answer listener questions pitching multiple projects, writing on tablets and how to launch an app. In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Dan look back on their experience officiating weddings, and offer advice for those about to marry people. Dan even officiated John's wedding! Links: Highland Pro | Download on the App Store Dan Etheridge on IMDb Buck Rodgers' robot sidekick [The Tom Thumb locomotive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thumb_(locomotive) Statpage and DuckDuckGo I Miss the Music from Curtains Curule Evercast Scripto Night Moves, Prime Cut, and Scarecrow Lorelei and the Laser Eyes on Steam Diplomacy Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars by Daniel Wallace Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Richard Barrett (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig decipher mystery box shows, where the premise and audience experience involve solving the puzzle of what's really happening. They look at strategies for revealing clues and information, being mindful of the audience's expectations, and the importance of the emotional journey inside the labyrinth. We also announce a new video game, discuss what we can learn by revisiting old projects, follow up on unlocked pages and home automation, and answer listener questions on live instruments, pulling story from D&D campaigns, and where to draw the line between INT. and EXT. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you set boundaries when you feel like you're always supposed to be writing? That's not rhetorical — we need help. Links: Birdigo on Steam Lutron HomeWorks and Home Assistant The Prisoner (1967) Scriptnotes, Ep 296: Television with Damon Lindelof Patrick Wilson, Jordan Donica Leading Industry Reading of Revised, Broadway-Aimed Big Fish on Playbill.com Falling Slowly scene in Once Life and Trust Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.  

How do you keep doing creative work when the world is falling apart around you? To sift through the despair and doubt, John welcomes back legendary Scriptnotes guest, writer-turned-psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo. They discuss the many feelings that catastrophic events can bring up in artists, the personal narratives that often inform those feelings, and how to keep moving forward when you feel like the band on the Titanic. We also follow up on AI, and answer listener questions on competing with brain trusts and how to support a friend embroiled in controversy. In our bonus segment for premium members, Dennis guides us through the best examples and worst mistakes of portraying therapists on screen. Links: “Am I Just Fiddling While Rome Burns?” by Dennis Palumbo for Psychiatric Times Scriptnotes 99 – Psychotherapy for Screenwriters ShotDeck River Runner Global At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, and Instagram Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Craig welcomes writer and showrunner Joshua Zetumer, creator of the limited series Say Nothing, to explore the process of dramatizing real events — particularly when the subject matter can be volatile. They discuss how to keep a sprawling historical epic from feeling like a lecture, keeping a consistent tone, humanizing complicated people, and how not to get sued by the people who were really involved. They also answer listener questions on following up with people after the fires, charting the emotional journey of the audience, and whether writers need to cite their sources when writing about real events. In our bonus segment for premium members, Craig and Joshua pretend to be civil engineers and ask, how can we make Los Angeles function better? Links: Say Nothing Joshua Zetumer Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe Difficult Men by Brett Martin Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Hearken well! John sitteth in discourse with the learned Robert Eggers, weaver of dreadsome visions (The Witch, The Lighthouse), whose latest labour bringeth forth Nosferatu from the mistes of antiquity. Together, they dost unravel the craft of breathing newe life into the ghastly count of olde, how Robert didst hone his vision through toil and cunning in his firste labours, and the summoning of terror moste unholy upon the silver'd screen. We do also taketh to hand the queries of our faithful listeners on the perils of o'ermuch detail in one's scribings, on what may be done when one doth feel oneself a dullard, and whether those who spin tales be ill-fitted for matters of courtship and love. In our boon segment for those of premium patronage, Robert doth speak of his fervent love for the wheeled steed and pursuits beyond the shaping of moving pictures. Links: Robert Eggers Nosferatu | Screenplay Robert Eggers' shorts Hansel and Gretel and The Tell-Tale Heart The Girl with the Needle Making School Cafeteria Pizza from the 1980s & ‘90s Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Guy Fee (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt with help this week from Zoe Black, and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Structure is the fundamental skeleton of every story ever told, so why does it flummox so many writers? John and Craig outline what structure really is, ways to find it in your story, and how to keep it from tying your brain in knots. We also look at ways to find nuance in our appreciation of movies, follow up on erotic fiction, and answer listener questions on how to work with a director and point of view shots. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig measure the helpfulness of their wearable body monitors. Links: Weekend Read on the App Store Oscar nominations 2025 IVF Mixup movies: Parallel Mothers, Maybe Baby, Good Newwz, Daughter from Another Mother Manhunt The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood How to like everything more by Sasha Chapin Growing a Human: The First 30 Weeks by Maggie Appleton 2024 Player's Handbook Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Guy Fee (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.  

After a difficult few weeks in Los Angeles, John welcomes writer, director and actor Jesse Eisenberg to peel apart the complicated human reactions to grief and loss. They look at how both collective and personal grief inform the characters of Jesse's latest film, A Real Pain, and reflect on the ongoing LA fires and the loss of David Lynch. They also explore Jesse's evolution as a writer, directing himself as an actor, and answer listener questions on artistic signatures and simultaneous perspectives in action. In our bonus segment for premium members, Jesse and John look at the creative opportunities and frustrating restrictions of making radio dramas and audiobooks. Links: A Real Pain | Screenplay Jesse Eisenberg WGAW Wildfire Resources David Lynch Mongolia by Jesse Eisenberg, Tablet Magazine Jesse's plays The Revisionist and The Spoils Network of Time Floyd Collins the Musical Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads and Instagram Outro by Nico Mansy (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

After a week of devastating fires in Los Angeles, we're revisiting John's conversation with Anna Jane Joyner and Quinn Emmett from Good Energy Stories on how to talk about climate change on screen. They discuss opportunities for writers to inspire change, raise awareness, and capture the environmental concerns of our time. We follow up on disability representation in Hollywood with the release of the Cost of Accommodations report from the Inevitable Foundation. In our bonus segment for premium members, we talk about asking people for money, whether it's to finance a movie or launch a campaign to save the planet. Links: The Original Episode 547 and its transcript Stanislav Petrov, The Man Who Saved the World Documentary How Much Does it Really Cost to Make Hollywood More Accommodating for Disabled Talent? by Abbey White for The Hollywood Reporter Inevitable Foundation Good Energy Stories Playbook David Robert Ted Talk on Climate Change Years of Living Dangerously Clip with Anna and her Dad Subscribe to Important, Not Important First Reformed Dana Fox and The Lost City Russian Doll Season 2 Redactle Game Anna Jane Joyner and Good Energy on Instagram Quinn Emmett on Instagram Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Jade Carda (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig look at three extraordinary news stories and ask, How Would this be a Movie? Stories include the United Healthcare CEO assassination, a small town's process for licensing fortune tellers, and a harrowing I.V.F. mixup. We also follow up on AI, Flightplan's source material, Craig's Belfast accent, and answer a listener question on the order of surnames for writing partners. In our bonus segment for premium members: Hey Alexa, play John and Craig's conversation about home automation. I don't think she heard– HEY ALEXA, PLAY JOHN AND CRAIG'S CONVERSATION ABOUT HOME AUTOMATION. Links: The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White The Conundrum of the Workshops by Rudyard Kipling OpenAI's controversial Sora is finally launching today. Will it truly disrupt Hollywood? by Wendy Lee for LA Times I Went to the Premiere of the First Commercially Streaming AI-Generated Movies by Jason Koehler A timeline of the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and search for his killer by Michael R. Sisal and Cedar Attanasio for Associated Press How do you license a fortune teller? by Paul Debole An I.V.F. Mix-Up, a Shocking Discovery and an Unbearable Choice by Susan Dominus for NYT Magazine Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground by Stu Horvath Your Consciousness Can Connect With the Whole Universe by Manasee Wagh for Popular Mechanics Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

In this episode of No Film School, GG Hawkins and Jason Hellerman chat with John August, an acclaimed screenwriter, podcaster, and software developer. Known for films like Big Fish and Aladdin, as well as co-hosting Scriptnotes with Craig Mazin, John August discusses his career, the evolution of screenwriting tools, and how he's simplifying life for writers with his app, Highland. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins, Jason Hellerman, and John August discuss: John's journey from journalism major to one of Hollywood's most recognized screenwriters How working across different mediums—from novels to musicals—has shaped his storytelling The philosophy behind creating Highland, a screenwriting app designed to keep writers in the flow Practical advice for writers starting out in today's industry Memorable Quotes: “Your ability to have an idea but then actually articulate the idea… to yourself, to your team, and to the audience is so fundamental and so important.” “When I see something in the world that bothers me, I try to fix it. My instinct is to get involved and figure it out.” “A screenplay is a luxury. You know you have about 120 pages. There are constraints, and those constraints help you figure out what's important.” Resources: John August on IMDb Highland App Scriptnotes Podcast Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web: No Film School Facebook: No Film School on Facebook Twitter: No Film School on Twitter YouTube: No Film School on YouTube Instagram: No Film School on Instagram Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John welcomes Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Homeward Bound) to talk about her experience writing animated features, from the parallel processes of writing and production to her paltry paycheck for Beauty and the Beast. They consider the blurring lines between live-action and hyperrealistic CGI, as well as the history of animation writers' exclusion from the WGA. We also answer listener questions about whether there is such a thing as a bad character want and how to manage story days within a screenplay, which prompts exploration of wardrobe changes, thinking in terms of color rather than time and Linda's penchant for naked characters. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew look back on their goals for 2024 and discuss how to make New Year's resolutions you'll actually accomplish. Links: Linda Woolverton Episode 92: The Little Mermaid Shanghai Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. This POV video of the ride is definitely a spoiler. Climate Central Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megan McDonnell. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.  

Live from the Austin Film Festival, John joins panelists Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia) and Erica Harrell & Desirée Proctor (The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners) for an in-depth discussion on working across movies, tv, comics, plays, videogames and VR. Moderated by Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther), they discuss what led them to new mediums, the storytelling strengths each medium offers, and building a career that moves between them. In our bonus segment for premium members, the panelists answer some video game specific questions, including how to stand out as a writer to the major game developers. Scriptnotes audio provided courtesy of ©Austin Film Festival Links: Austin Film Festival's On Story Writing Across Mediums panel at the Austin Film Festival Evan Narcisse on Bluesky Jordan Mechner Erica Harell Desirée Proctor Nuclear Power by Desirée Proctor & Erica Harrell The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners on Steam, Meta store and Playstation Prince of Persia games Spy magazine Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Many of the biggest AI models have been trained on film and TV dialogue, and writers are furious. John and Craig explore the legal, ethical and philosophical implications of this revelation, our emotional reactions to it, and offer strategies for picking the right hills to die on. But first, we follow up on the definition of horror vs. thriller, generational narcissism, and young people's ambition. We also answer listener questions on when to bail on a script and how to approach your first contract. In our bonus segment for premium members, we dig into the philosophical implications of Craig believing we live in a simulation, and whether that necessarily implies a creator. Woah, man. Links: Flightplan (and The Lady Vanishes) There's No Longer Any Doubt That Hollywood Writing Is Powering AI by Alex Reisner for The Atlantic Vince Gilligan Statement on AI to USCO Lunchables The Serenity Prayer Jon Batiste hears Green Day for the First Time Tini's Mac and Cheese on TikTok Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome Brian Jordan Alvarez & Stephanie Koenig (English Teacher) and Jac Schaeffer (Agatha All Along, WandaVision) to join them for a live holiday benefit for Hollywood HEART. They discuss constructing Agatha All Along from blue sky to the Witches' Road, “protagonizing” a villain, breaking in through YouTube and maintaining a working relationship with your best friend. We also play a new game, the Christmas Song Three Word Challenge, with former Scriptnotes producers Megan McDonnell (Dark Matter, The Marvels) and Megana Rao (Unstable). In our bonus segment for premium members, we answer an all-star round of audience questions in maybe the best Q&A we've ever had. Thanks to our fantastic audience, everyone at Dynasty Typewriter, and Hollywood HEART for putting the event together. Links: Hollywood HEART Jac Schaeffer Brian Jordan Alvarez and Stephanie Koenig Agatha All Along Fleetwood Mac – Silver Springs (Live) English Teacher A Spy Movie on YouTube Sitting My Old Ass The Downeaster “Alexa” The Later Daters on Netflix Sun lamps Thin Mint bites A Man on the Inside on Netflix Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes playwright, novelist and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to discuss having his first two movies — Challengers and Queer — produced a single year. After charting his journey from playwright to screenwriter, we compare two drafts of Challengers to look at how the story changed during a hasty development, including crafting that iconic three-way. We also explore adapting William S. Burroughs' novel Queer, and the film's approach to showing sex on screen. In our bonus segment for premium members, Justin looks back on his time as a viral YouTube potion seller, and the value of that creative outlet early in his career. Links: Justin Kuritzkes on Instagram and YouTube Challengers and Queer Justin's novel, Famous People Challengers – Production Draft Challengers – First Draft Queer by William S. Burroughs Potion Seller 3000 Miles to Graceland Why does my sign look like it has been burned? by Perth Graphics Centre Know Your Enemy podcast Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig take a deep dive with the Devil, exploring the unholy trinity of satanic films: Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen. They look at how these three horror classics work, where our modern conception of Satan comes from, and the future of the Devil on screen. We also answer listener questions on character arcs in horror, what separates horror movies from thrillers, and why the spooky stuff rarely gets awards attention. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig offer their nominations for the antichrist of our times. Links: Rosemary's Baby – Screenplay The Exorcist – Screenplay The Omen – Screenplay Gifted by Simon Rich Say Nothing Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.  

John and Craig analyze the iconic 1995 comedy Clueless, and why they're majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with it. A contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma set in Beverly Hills, Clueless follows protagonist Cher as she tries to do ‘good' through make-over montages and match-making attempts. We discuss how the movie sets up the characters in the first ten minutes, why Cher's voiceover works so well, and how Clueless ushered in a new era of teen movies. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig share their own experiences learning to drive and how they're preparing to teach their teenage daughters driving. Links: Clueless Clueless Script Episode Transcript 8D sound example Creme Mains hand creme O'Keefe's Working Hands cream Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram and Mastodon Outro by Ryan Dunn (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Megana Rao. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig explore character agency in everything from scenes to entire series. They look at what agency looks like on the page, which characters should have agency, and what to do when you feel your characters sleepwalking through the plot. We also strategize ways to move forward after the recent US election, and answer listener questions on writing sign language, screenwriting software for the blind, and how writing credits work when your TV series gets turned into a movie. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig escape to a world where where the story is always on rails — Disneyland! Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter Even Under Trump, California (Yes, That Hellscape) Will Keep Moving the World Forward by James Fallows for WIRED The Great Big Book of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle of History's 100 Worst Atrocities by Matthew White And Yet It Moves by Ken White Martha on Netflix Replacement ear pads for Sony MDR-7506 headphones The Quantum Geometry That Exists Outside of Space and Time by Charlie Wood for WIRED Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, and is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig look at how writers (and other humans) handle the anxiety of uncertainty, from election nights to green lights. We'll talk through strategies for navigating situations where your circle of concern doesn't match your circle of control. Then we travel back to the 1980s and 90s, when many studios were run by ambitious strivers in their late 20s and early 30s. As the decades have passed, the players in these positions have held onto their posts, leaving the next generation stuck mid-ladder. We discuss what impact the aging of Hollywood has had on its output, and where the new guard might find an opening. We also ask, is development wage theft? And answer listener questions on reusing material written for a different project, and the cost-plus model of production. And in our bonus topic for premium members, what aspects of pandemic life have we incorporated into our daily routines? Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter AlphaBirds Game Night at Village Well The Big Squeeze: Why Everyone in Hollywood Feels Stuck by Mia Gallupo for the Hollywood Reporter ‘Development is Wage Theft': Pilot Season Death Morphs Into Year-Round Hell by Elaine Low for The Ankler Isle of Arrows Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte Mr. McMahon on Netflix Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig make their triumphant return to the Austin Film Festival for a wild night full of Emmy winning writers. They welcome Shōgun co-creators Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks to look at their process for structuring a series-long adaptation, keeping translations eloquent and accurate, and writing together as a married couple. We then welcome Susan Soon He Stanton (Succession, Dead Ringers) and Megan Amram (The Good Place, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin) to discuss staffing on shows and crafting jokes. We also invite two audience members to play a new game: IMDB Sweeney Todd. In our bonus segment for premium members, the panel answers audience questions on adaptations, a crossover with Succession and The Good Place, entering Hollywood from outside the U.S., and navigating Hollywood's current contraction. Links: Austin Film Festival Scriptnotes LIVE! December 6th at Dynasty Typewriter Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks Megan Amram Susan Soon He Stanton Decoder Ring – “The Wrongest Bird in Movie History” Vote Out Ted Cruz Brick App r/TVTooHigh Bliss Lau A Dream of Islands by Gavan Daws Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt, with special help this week from Chris Csont and Megana Rao. It is edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig answer twenty listener questions on craft, career, and the future of the industry. Questions include: How do you correct well wishes you haven't earned? What kind of relationship should you have with the person who created your source material? How do you keep your reps invested? What's going on with that Stereophonic lawsuit? And are writers retreats helpful or a total waste of time? In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig celebrate the new D&D Player's Handbook by looking back through every edition since 1978. Like the handbook, it gets less dense as it goes. Links: Scriptnotes LIVE! at Austin Film Festival Drew's Emmy certificate Why AI Isn't Going to Make Art by Ted Chiang for The New Yorker The Stereophonic Lawsuit Rachel Bloom's “Death, Let Me Do My Special” on Netflix Warner Bros. Studios Burbank Save Scarecrow Video in Seattle Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

Why is screenwriting so difficult, even for the smartest people? John and Craig look at the relationship between intelligence and wisdom, the kinds of problems writers attempt to solve, and the unmeasurable skills that screenwriters need to succeed. Then it's another round of the Three Page Challenge, where they give their honest feedback on three listener-submitted scripts. We also follow up on Moneyball, green envelopes, shorts, script coordinating, and what Craig means by writers being “calculating.” In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you talk about movies and TV shows without spoiling them? John and Craig reason out how to dance around the twist that the two leads are actually the same perso– oh, shoot! Links: Quote-Unquote Marketing Director – Apply Here! Veteran Script Coordinator on YouTube Why aren't smart people happier? by Adam Mastroianni Middle Aged Man – SNL FLUNGE by J Wheeler White, COWS by John and Mark DiStefano, and NEVER DIE ALONE by Yeong-Jay Lee The Cutting Edge Strange Darling My Old Ass Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John and Craig welcome back Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Fleishman is in Trouble) for a deep dive on 2011's sports drama Moneyball. What makes Moneyball work? Is it a traditional underdog movie, or does it break all the rules? Is Billy Beane a hero or a villain? What advantages do sports movies give you, and how much do you have to explain to your audience? How are movies like this developed? And how can you not be romantic about baseball? In our bonus segment for premium members, John, Craig and Taffy dig further into the ways money is used to determine a person's value. Links: Moneyball on IMDb Moneyball screenplay Taffy Brodesser-Akner Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Scriptnotes LIVE! at the Austin Film Festival Highland Pro Austin launch party – sign up here! ABBA Voyage Opti-V fireplace Ken Medlock Imprint App Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.  

John and Craig are on opposite sides of the world this week, so they're revisiting an episode from 2016 to look at the many psychological barriers facing writers tackling big projects, and offer practical strategies for actually getting the work done. They also discuss the then-upcoming election (same as it ever was), and answer a listener question about how autism spectrum disorder might impact a screenwriting career. In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Drew reflect on what's changed in the eight years since this episode last aired, and then like all conversations in 2024, they just start talking about Moo Deng. Links: Episode 271: Buckling Down – Transcript Inevitable Foundation Forest, Snowstorm and Howling Wind ambiance tracks Julia Roberts To Star In Feature Film About PTA Mom Framed For Drug Possession by Nellie Andreeva for Deadline Here's How to Finish That F*ing Book, You Monster by Chuck Wendig Wikitravel The Writers Guild Foundation Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Pedro Aguilera (send us yours!) This episode was originally produced by Godwin Jabangwe. Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.

John welcomes back Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) to look at three stories of real people with too much money and ask, How Would This Be a Movie? Stories include strategies for dating Leonardo DiCaprio, the rise-fall-rise of inventor Palmer Luckey, and a council built to give away a fortune. We also go feral over Marielle's new movie Nightbitch, as she shares the joys of adapting something that feels personal and her tricks to directing dogs and children. But first, we take a look at a new study on which movies studios are developing, and share exciting news for those joining us at the Austin Film Festival. In our bonus segment for premium members, Marielle and John remember the terror, nerves and euphoria of premiering your movie at film festivals. Links: Nightbitch | Official Trailer Marielle Heller Highland Pro Austin launch party – sign up here! MacGruber on Peacock Hollywood's 10 Percent Problem by Matt Belloni at Puck Dating a Celebrity – Thread by bo.predko American Vulcan by Jeremy Stern for Tablet How to Give Away a Fortune by Joshua Yaffa for The New Yorker You Get to Be Fulfilled Now by Teresa Jusino Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones by Priyanka Mattoo Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription! Craig Mazin on Threads and Instagram John August on Threads, Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon Outro by Spencer Lackey (send us yours!) Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Email us at ask@johnaugust.com You can download the episode here.