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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.
Spooky Screenplays: 5 Frighteningly Good Horror Scripts
October 25, 2019Halloween is just around the corner and that means binge eating candy in between visits from trick o’ treaters and binge watching late night horror ...
8 Books Every Screenwriter Should Check Out
September 6, 2019Screenplays, 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 ...
10 Great Screenplays from 1999
July 5, 2019Many 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 ...
Great Techniques to Write a Script with an Unexpected Ending
October 5, 2018Don’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 ...
6 Tips On How to Sell Your Screenplay
May 18, 2018You’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 ...
Scheduling Screenwriting: How to Find Time to Write
February 9, 2018Great writers often insist the best way to improve your writing is to keep practicing your craft. We all know that devoting time to writing ...
Paid Script Coverage Services – The 2 Biggest Benefits and Drawbacks
December 29, 2017Script 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. ...
4 Screenwriting Tips to Help You Eliminate Sexism in Movies
November 9, 2017We see gender inequality in film all the time, but where does it start and how can we work to eliminate it?
Screenplays often implicitly ...
4 Ways Screenwriting Workshops Hone Your Craft
May 26, 2017While discussing her experience at New York Film Academy, NYFA LA screenwriting student Janet Odogwu Butters stated, “When I first came out here, I thought ...
How to Write a Scene for Film
March 24, 2017Screenwriting is a visual medium that requires a writer to create words on a page that can be transformed into images on the big screen. ...
Anatomy of an Adapted Screenplay
March 4, 2017Novels 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 ...
Great Films for Learning to Write Dialogue
February 25, 2017Writing dialogue that is believable and natural can be a challenge. Each character in your script should sound distinct and different from the other characters. ...
Screenwriting 101: What Plagiarism Is, What It Isn’t, and How to Protect Yourself From It
October 8, 2016Plagiarism 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 ...
Unpacking Billy Wilder’s 10 Screenwriting Tips
August 6, 2016Few screenwriters have the pedigree of Billy Wilder, renowned as one of the most creatively gifted filmmakers of American cinema’s Golden Age.
As well as being ...
So What Exactly Is A Logline (And Why Do I Need One?)
November 11, 2015The 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 ...
Screenwriting Tips: How To Nail Supernatural Realism
November 11, 2015A penchant for the supernatural seems to have snuck in through the back door of the screenwriting industry recently, with a resurgence in movies and ...
8 Essential Book-To-Screen Adaptations Every Screenwriter Should Watch
October 5, 2015When 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 ...
Adapting Short Stories for Film: Screenplay Do's And Don'ts
September 22, 2015Short stories, by their very nature, can be excellent sources of concise and punchy narratives and as a result lend themselves very well for the ...
6 Proven Ways to Smash Writer's Block
August 25, 2015Ah, 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 ...- Should You Upload Your Screenplay Online?
May 20, 2015Screenwriters 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 ... 
5 Films That Play Out The Monomyth
May 14, 2015A lot of people think that there are only a handful of stories out there to tell, and every script falls under one of those ...
7 Essential TED Talks on Storytelling
April 29, 2015Since the dawn of time, humanity and storytelling have gone hand in hand. The only thing that has changed over the millenia is the way ...
6 of the Best Screenwriting Competitions You've Never Heard Of
April 28, 2015Screenwriting 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 ...- 5 Ways Film School Makes You a Better Screenwriter
April 27, 2015While some people are naturally great storytellers, or can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, writing can seem as foreign to them as ...
How to Write Dialogue in Film
March 5, 2015It 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 ...- 10 Great Websites To Download Movie Scripts
January 12, 2015If you want to write movie screenplays, you need to read movie screenplays – it’s just as essential as batting practice for professional baseball players. ... 
From Film School With Love: 007 Ways to Write a James Bond Film
December 10, 2014The new cast and title of the 24th film in the official James Bond series was announced this past week. Spectre, Sam Mendes and Daniel ...
How To Write Underdog Sports Movies In Ten Easy Steps
November 19, 2014Few 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 ...
Five Biggest Screenwriting Myths Debunked!
November 10, 2014Everyone 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 ...
How Screenplay Sequences Underpin Three Act Structure
October 30, 2014When 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 ...
How Important is Scientific Accuracy in Sci-Fi Screenwriting?
October 15, 2014Last 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 ...- Screenwriting: Screenplay Format to Meet the Industry Standard
October 1, 2014Writing a screenplay is no easy feat but transferring your story and characters into a professional screenplay format can be very rewarding. If done correctly, ... 
How To Write A Phone Conversation In A Screenplay
September 26, 2014Writing a phone conversation into a script can be challenging to screenwriters. The mastermind behind the script needs the phone conversation to fit the context ...
Writing Tips: How To Write A Flashback
September 19, 2014Flashbacks are creative ways to give the audience information about previous events that is needed in order to develop storylines and to understand the actions ...
So You Want To Be Among The Screenwriting Masters?
September 8, 2014If 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 ...
Screenwriting School: Do You Need It?
August 5, 2014The 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, ...- Paid And Free Scriptwriting Software Reviews: What Are The Choices?
July 3, 2014Offering scripts on the back of crumpled napkins only happens on TV, but if you want to sell your script, properly formatted writing will show ... - How To Master The Structure Of Script Writing
June 12, 2014Although writing a short story, play, or novel is not easy, turning a story into a script ready to be filmed is exacting and demands ...
Q&A with NYFA Screenwriting Alum Miguel Ángel on Switching Careers and His Award-Winning Script ‘The Pink House’
October 7, 2020After spending years in his career as a journalist, Spanish native Miguel Ángel Parra realized it was time to make his dreams come true and ...
Q&A with New York Film Academy (NYFA) Screenwriting Student Jacob McFadden
March 6, 2020New York Film Academy (NYFA) Screenwriting student Jacob McFadden is a military veteran with many talents. McFadden has studied acting, music, and now studying screenwriting ...
Q&A With New York Film Academy (NYFA) Screenwriting Alum Lena Murisier
January 24, 2020New York Film Academy (NYFA) Screenwriting alum Lena Murisier has been very busy since graduating last fall. The Swiss-born writer has been pitching her television ...
A Q&A with NYFA's Screenwriting Chairs
January 25, 2017In 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 ...
Q&A With Screenwriting Grad Nick Oktaras
March 16, 2015NYFA: Hi Nick, would you mind telling us a bit about your background and what drew you towards screenwriting? Why did you decide to study ...
Q&A With Screenwriting Grad Lucy Luna
March 12, 2015NYFA: Hi Lucy, would you mind telling us a bit about your background and what drew you towards screenwriting? Why did you decide to study ...
Find A Story You Believe In: Q&A With Screenwriting Grad And Filmmaker Jon Mann
January 21, 2015NYFA: 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 ...
It All Starts With The Script: An Interview With Chika Anadu
June 26, 2014NYFA: 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 ...