Screenwriter Blog Posts

Don’t Even Think About Selling Your Screenplay Until You Do These 7 Things

So, you’ve finally finished your screenplay! Congratulations! This is an exciting time in your career, and you’re probably anxious to get it on the market ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

Writing Screenplay Dialogue: 3 Crazy Ways To Improve It

Screenplay Dialogue: Lots of Crazy Ways to Improve The title of this article promises 3 crazy ways to improve your dialogue—but guess what? You’re getting ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

Selling A Script: How To Increase Your Odds

Maybe you’ve just completed re-writing the last page of your script. Now you’re excited about the idea of selling your screenplay to a studio or ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

Should I Put 1 or 2 Spaces Between Sentences?

In dialogue, how many spaces between sentences? Are there 2 blank spaces between the period and the next sentence? Or 1 blank space? Actually, Guy, it’s ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

How to Make Dialogue Better in Your Screenplay – Simple Tricks To Be Creative

Nothing kills a good story faster than bad dialogue. If your screenplay dialogue is predictable, if everybody speaks in the same rhythm, or if every ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

The Power of Persistence: Should You Give Yourself a Do It By or Quit Date?

One of the interesting comments I hear from time to time is that a writer is giving their screenwriting career another year or two to ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

5 Quick & Easy Ways To Establish Credibility In Your Query Letter

When you write a query letter, your first and foremost challenge is to summarize your 100+ page story to a paragraph-or-two-long pitch that gets people ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

Screenwriting 101: A Practical Guide for First-Time Screenwriters

Just finished your first screenplay draft? This practical guide for first-time screenwriters offers a step-by-step checklist to strengthen your concept, structure, formatting, and rewrites.

Written by

Melody Jackson

Great Sources of Good Story Ideas

Where do good story ideas for a screenplay come from? It could be anywhere! As a screenwriter, it’s a good idea to always be tuned ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

Three Screenplay Pitch Openings That Hook Audiences Instantly

When it comes time to market and sell your screenplay, you will need to learn to pitch your screenplay -- both on paper and out ...

Written by

Melody Jackson

Why Should I Use the Smart Girls Query Letter Service For My Screenplay Instead of Doing It Myself?

Screenwriters often ask me what the advantage is for using our query letter service instead of doing it themselves since there is no guarantee you’ll ...

Written by

Melody Jackson