May 2021 - The Story Department

Ready To Break Rules? One Word Will Tell.

December 19, 2021May 30, 2021 by Karel FG Segers

Nothing appears more appealing to the beginning writer than to break rules. And nothing is more annoying than hearing “Do this; don’t do that!”

Some will say that rules are essential, because without them there is only anarchy. But are there really any hard rules in screenwriting? And if there are, who sets them?

And what is wrong with anarchy?

FORMATTING TIP: Accent, dialect and foreign language in dialogue

July 26, 2021May 9, 2021 by Karel FG Segers

foreign language in dialogue - a tower of babel?

A powerful tool in creating distinctive characters is their language, using accent, dialogue and even foreign language. In the real world, everyone speaks in a way that is slightly different from everyone else. In sociolinguistics, this is called an idiolect. (from Greek idiōma ‘private property, peculiar phraseology’, and idios ‘own, private’) A few years ago I … Read more