Writers should always define their central character’s ‘want’ and ‘need’ – but the latter can often be missed. So how do you establish a character’s need / internal desire? BAFTA-winning producer John Yorke explains.
You’ve written your story, now how can you test whether or not it’s as good as it can be? John Yorke recommends asking 10 questions to check you’ve got your story straight: an approach as relevant to business stories as it is to dramatic narratives.
In this premium article John Yorke explores how Chernobyl’s makers ‘took something complex, grey, difficult and un-heroic and turned it into a classic Hollywood narrative shape’.
Published for the first time outside the UK, this is the Preface to the US edition of Into the Woods, in which John Yorke looks at how much nonsense has been written about screenwriting – and how you can tell the real rules of narrative from the fake ones.
Nailing down the theme of your work is an essential component to get right early on in the process. So here, John Yorke explores the critical areas of writing theme, characters and intertwining storylines.
You’ve perfected your first spec script and are ready to send it out to production companies. Congratulations on a huge achievement. So what’s the process? How do you get your work read and your talent noticed? Here, we explore the steps an aspiring writer can take towards success.