As part of my graduation requirements for the Stonecoast MFA program, I delivered a presentation on writing fight scenes. [1] Though it was well received, the biggest criticism was that I didn’t include a handout. I promised to post my notes, and four years later, I finally got around to it on this blog as […]
Last (for now) in a series on writing fight scenes from the perspective of a fight director. In which I rewrite one of my fight scenes according to my own advice. If you haven’t yet read Writing the Fight: Analysis, you’ll want to catch up on that first for context. In that post I picked […]
In which I reveal the greatest book on screenwriting ever published, the greatest book on screenwriting never published, and a couple of runners-up. But first, a history lesson. Syd Field essentially created the three-act structure for screenplays, and most books on screenwriting from the 80s and 90s were devoted to holding up or rejecting “the […]
Every writer at some point entertains the idea of working with a partner. And the beginning-er the writer, the worser the reasons. Ultimately, there’s only one good reason to partner with someone, but let’s start with five bad ones. [1] Spoiler: they all boil down to some variation of you think it will be easier […]
One of the challenges of directing a sword fight is that modern audiences simply don’t perceive swords as weapons; they think of them as costume pieces or props. Too often, when the villain threatens our hero with a sword, no one fears for the hero—they’re excited for the upcoming sword fight. They’re thinking in terms […]
Eighth in a series on writing fight scenes from the perspective of a fight director. Most of this series is drawn from my graduate presentation, They Fight: Writing the Fight Scene, from the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing program. [1] I mention this because I want to talk about the presentation itself for a moment. […]
Seventh in a series on writing fight scenes from the perspective of a fight director. In which I dissect one of my old fight scenes, and it does not fare well. Here’s a version of the Young Siward fight from Macbeth (Act V, Scene 7) that I wrote a few years ago as an exercise: […]
