Kalen at 2014-08-02 11:06:30:

I really enjoyed this series Scott. Actually seeing revered techniques in action, in a real script, is all you can ask for as an aspiring screenwriter. Occasionally I get frustrated with screenwriting advice (and I hate even saying that because I'm appreciative of anybody who's willing to divulge their secrets) because, ironically, there's too much TELL and not enough SHOW. People urge you to use subtext, yet never show you WHERE all the shining examples are, WHY it's used in the first place and WHAT exactly makes great subtext. The same goes for the traditional three-act structure, unpredictable characters, consistent tone and on down the line. It's great these things are being conveyed to us, but if we don't understand WHY and don't have examples, it's then difficult to truly incorporate them into our arsenal. So long story short -- yes, I greatly enjoyed this series and would love to see more of these types of articles in the future! And just to be clear, the above was in no way a criticism of this site, Scott. This is the best place on the Internet to go for SHOWING and not just TELLING. To me, this is the film school I never got to attend. :)

Scott at 2014-08-02 14:51:45:

Kalen, there are a lot of great screenwriters out there. Some of them interface with the public and provide insight into the craft and a lot of them do an excellent job. That said, as you note, identifying a writing technique and saying "Do that" is not necessarily an effective way to get writers to actually DO THAT. Why? Because they don't understand the underlying reasons WHY they should, let alone the next step, HOW they should. I may not be on Hollywood's A-list of screenwriters, but I have taught in my spare time for over a decade. And in that time, I have worked with literally thousands of writers in the context of hundreds of classes. As I write lectures or respond to questions, I'm always cognizant of that goal: Don't just say WHAT, explain WHY and HOW. You'll see that on this site, I hope, constantly. For example, with Reader Questions, I could easily just provide one paragraph: This is what you do. But my answers are typically a lengthy response that gets into WHY and HOW. The WHY and HOW is SHOWING, not just TELLING. That is ingrained in my consciousness as I compose blog posts or teach classes. So I'm glad you picked that up! And I'm glad you're receiving some benefit from the site. Comments like yours encourage me to press on, day after day, even when I'm pulled in five different directions by life. I'll try to carve out some time to do some more Screenwriting Lesson series.