Screenwriting - Student Resources

Designed as a complimentary resource for our Screenwriting School students, the screenwriting section of Student Resources compiles Q&A’s and interviews on the realities of being a professional screenwriter, informative articles on the latest trends in screenwriting, and how-to guides on particularly pertinent topics.

How To's
Industry Trends
Q&A

8 Books Every Screenwriter Should Check Out
September 6, 2019
Screenplays, whether for short student films or Hollywood epics, typically follow a fairly rigid format. However, the art of screenwriting, and what you’ll learn in ...
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From Book to Screen: Adapting Philip Roth’s ‘Indignation’
March 15, 2019
On Thursday, December 20, New York Film Academy (NYFA) hosted a guest lecture by producer, production attorney, and NYFA board member, Avy Eschenasy. Eschenasy is ...
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Great Techniques to Write a Script with an Unexpected Ending
October 5, 2018
Don’t you just love epic film endings that you never saw coming? These endings are the ones that stay with viewers for a long time ...
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6 Tips On How to Sell Your Screenplay
May 18, 2018
You’ve sacrificed countless hours of your social life and mental stability, poured your blood and sweat out onto the pages, and — let’s be real ...
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Scheduling Screenwriting: How to Find Time to Write
February 9, 2018
Great writers often insist the best way to improve your writing is to keep practicing your craft. We all know that devoting time to writing ...
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4 Screenwriting Tips to Help You Eliminate Sexism in Movies
November 9, 2017
We see gender inequality in film all the time, but where does it start and how can we work to eliminate it?
Screenplays often implicitly ...
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How to Write a Scene for Film
March 24, 2017
Screenwriting is a visual medium that requires a writer to create words on a page that can be transformed into images on the big screen. ...
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Anatomy of an Adapted Screenplay
March 4, 2017
Novels are terrific, but there’s something about the silver screen that transforms great ideas into pure theatrical magic. And many incredible films exist because a ...
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Great Films for Learning to Write Dialogue
February 25, 2017
Writing dialogue that is believable and natural can be a challenge. Each character in your script should sound distinct and different from the other characters. ...
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Screenwriting 101: What Plagiarism Is, What It Isn’t, and How to Protect Yourself From It
October 8, 2016
Plagiarism is rare — at least when we’re talking about the screenwriting industry.
The only reason it seems so prevalent is that the few occasions in ...
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Screenwriting Tips: How To Nail Supernatural Realism
November 11, 2015
A penchant for the supernatural seems to have snuck in through the back door of the screenwriting industry recently, with a resurgence in movies and ...
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Adapting Short Stories for Film: Screenplay Do’s And Don’ts
September 22, 2015
Short stories, by their very nature, can be excellent sources of concise and punchy narratives and as a result lend themselves very well for the ...
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6 Proven Ways to Smash Writer’s Block
August 25, 2015
Ah, writer’s block—the dreaded, famous nemesis of screenwriters who have an excellent script idea brewing in the back of their mind, but just can’t seem ...
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Should You Upload Your Screenplay Online?
May 20, 2015
Screenwriters often feel like they’re stuck between the rock of getting noticed and the hard place of not being taken advantage of.
When you’ve put in ...
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6 of the Best Screenwriting Competitions You’ve Never Heard Of
April 28, 2015
Screenwriting competitions can be a fantastic opportunity for both fledgling and professional screenwriters alike to raise their profile, and with a little bit of luck, earn ...
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5 Ways Film School Makes You a Better Screenwriter
April 27, 2015

While some people are naturally great storytellers, or can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, writing can seem as foreign to them as ...
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How to Write Dialogue in Film
March 5, 2015
It can take many years—even decades—to master the art of writing dialogue. Good screenplay dialogue can be as multi-faceted and complicated as the real-life human ...
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From Film School With Love: 007 Ways to Write a James Bond Film
December 10, 2014
The new cast and title of the 24th film in the official James Bond series was announced this past week. Spectre, Sam Mendes and Daniel ...
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How To Write Underdog Sports Movies In Ten Easy Steps
November 19, 2014
Few genre films follow the same beat-by-beat screenwriting path as sports movies—the rags to riches story of an athlete or team overcoming the odds and ...
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How Screenplay Sequences Underpin Three Act Structure
October 30, 2014
When it comes to screenplay structure, aspiring screenwriters are usually told by tutors and books, like Syd Field’s Screenplay, to focus on three acts.
What they’re ...
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Pixar’s Rules For Great Storytelling
October 29, 2014
Emma Coats, a former story artist at Pixar Animation Studios, tweeted a series of “story basics” a while back which not only illustrates the kind ...
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Screenwriting: Screenplay Format to Meet the Industry Standard
October 1, 2014
Writing a screenplay is no easy feat but transferring your story and characters into a professional screenplay format can be very rewarding. If done correctly, ...
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How To Write A Phone Conversation In A Screenplay
September 26, 2014
Writing a phone conversation into a script can be challenging to screenwriters. The mastermind behind the script needs the phone conversation to fit the context ...
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Writing Tips: How To Write A Flashback
September 19, 2014
Flashbacks are creative ways to give the audience information about previous events that is needed in order to develop storylines and to understand the actions ...
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So You Want To Be Among The Screenwriting Masters?
September 8, 2014
If your dream is to become a successful screenwriter, you’re going to have to be made of stern stuff. Becoming a working and respected screenwriter ...
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Paid And Free Scriptwriting Software Reviews: What Are The Choices?
July 3, 2014
Offering scripts on the back of crumpled napkins only happens on TV, but if you want to sell your script, properly formatted writing will show ...
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How To Master The Structure Of Script Writing
June 12, 2014
Although writing a short story, play, or novel is not easy, turning a story into a script ready to be filmed is exacting and demands ...
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10 Great Screenplays from 1999
July 5, 2019
Many great films are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year–1999 is considered one of the best years in recent history for quality cinema. Great films ...
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2019 Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay Nominees
February 22, 2019
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced the nominees for the 91st annual Academy Awards, to be given out during ABC’s televised ceremony ...
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2019 Oscars: The Best Original Screenplay Nominees
February 22, 2019
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced the nominees for the 91st annual Academy Awards, to be given out during ABC’s televised ceremony ...
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How Does ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Fit the Biopic Mold?
February 15, 2019
Bohemian Rhapsody, the story of rock band Queen and iconic frontman Freddie Mercury, has already won Best Drama at the Golden Globes and is a ...
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Ten Iconic Films Written by Screenwriting Legend William Goldman
November 16, 2018
William Goldman, one of Hollywood’s most influential screenwriters for several decades, passed away early November 16, at the age of 87.
In addition to writing several ...
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Paid Script Coverage Services – The 2 Biggest Benefits and Drawbacks
December 29, 2017
Script coverage, it’s been said, is one of those things about the film industry that nobody really learns about until they’re actually in the industry. ...
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4 Ways Screenwriting Workshops Hone Your Craft
May 26, 2017
While discussing her experience at New York Film Academy, NYFA LA screenwriting student Janet Odogwu Butters stated, “When I first came out here, I thought ...
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The Biggest Writers Guild of America Award Winners
February 21, 2017
February is an exciting time to be a fan of film and television. The BAFTAs arrive early in the month to honor the top British ...
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5 Brilliant Screenplays That Were Rejected … Repeatedly
October 8, 2016
In an industry dominated with rejection, sometimes a single “yes” is all it takes to change the face of cinema forever. Here are five truly groundbreaking ...
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So What Exactly Is A Logline (And Why Do I Need One?)
November 11, 2015
The definition of a logline: one line (or two at the most) which describes what your screenplay is about.
Job done. Simple, right?
Well, not really. As ...
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8 Essential Book-To-Screen Adaptations Every Screenwriter Should Watch
October 5, 2015
When in screenwriting school, you’ll likely at some point discuss the process of adapting fiction for the screen, which we’ve talked about at length in ...
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Top Emerging Screenwriters Of 2015
July 27, 2015
Even some of the most talented screenwriters making great strides in the industry get very little credit or recognition for their work—in fact, notoriously so.
Today, ...
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Diversity Programs, Initiatives & Incentives For Screenwriters
May 26, 2015
At the time of writing, Cannes 2015 is underway and it was touted by the organizers themselves as a festival that would look to redress ...
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5 Films That Play Out The Monomyth
May 14, 2015
A lot of people think that there are only a handful of stories out there to tell, and every script falls under one of those ...
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7 Essential TED Talks on Storytelling
April 29, 2015
Since the dawn of time, humanity and storytelling have gone hand in hand. The only thing that has changed over the millenia is the way ...
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2015 Oscars: A Look at the Nominees for Best Original Screenplay
January 22, 2015
From birds to boys to everything in between, the Best Original Screenplay nominees for this year’s 87th Academy Awards are a diverse, intriguing mix. Most ...
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10 Great Websites To Download Movie Scripts
January 12, 2015
If you want to write movie screenplays, you need to read movie screenplays – it’s just as essential as batting practice for professional baseball players. ...
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10 Reasons The Walking Dead Got Good
November 26, 2014
The Walking Dead ...
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Five Biggest Screenwriting Myths Debunked!
November 10, 2014
Everyone has tips and advice for aspiring screenwriters. Some tips, like bad rumors, spread so far and wide as to become hard certain truths, even if ...
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How Important is Scientific Accuracy in Sci-Fi Screenwriting?
October 15, 2014
Last year, a sci-fi film entitled Europa Report made its way onto online rental services to little fanfare outside of a few hardcore sci-fi and ...
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The Evolution Of The Sitcom: The Age of the Single Camera
September 24, 2014
If you don’t know what a single-camera sitcom is, you’ve almost definitely watched one at some point. While it’s been around for quite some time ...
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Evolution Of The Sitcom: How Friends Invented The Hangout Comedy
September 22, 2014
Twenty years ago today Friends debuted with a pilot that might as well have been called “The One Where that Show Became the Biggest Thing ...
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Screenwriting School: Do You Need It?
August 5, 2014
The Golden Rule cannot be understated: if you want to get better at writing, then write.
If you take nothing away from today’s post than that, ...
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A Q&A with NYFA’s Screenwriting Chairs
January 25, 2017
In honor of International Screenwriter’s Day a few weeks ago, resident NYFA reporter Joelle Smith sat down with the New York Film Academy Screenwriting School’s ...
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Q&A With Screenwriting Grad Nick Oktaras
March 16, 2015
NYFA: Hi Nick, would you mind telling us a bit about your background and what drew you towards screenwriting? Why did you decide to study ...
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Q&A With Screenwriting Grad Lucy Luna
March 12, 2015
NYFA: Hi Lucy, would you mind telling us a bit about your background and what drew you towards screenwriting? Why did you decide to study ...
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Find A Story You Believe In: Q&A With Screenwriting Grad And Filmmaker Jon Mann
January 21, 2015
NYFA: Hi Jon, would you mind giving us a bit about your background and what drew you to NYFA’s screenwriting program?
Jon Mann: Hi! Thanks for ...
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It All Starts With The Script: An Interview With Chika Anadu
June 26, 2014
NYFA: Would you mind telling us a bit about your background and what attracted you to filmmaking?
Chika Anadu: I was born and brought up in ...
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