John and Craig breakdown the ideal attributes of the “screenwriter” character. Looking at the ratio of craft to charm, they debate which combinations lead to success in Hollywood.

We also host a round of the Three Page Challenge. Samples this week range from stories on earthquakes to community theatre, but all feature surprising reveals. The guys offer advice on cutting scenes, introducing characters, and punching up dialogue.

In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig discuss a Vanity Fair article on film score production and rumors of ghostwriting for composers.

Links:

• Follow alone with our Three Page Challenge selections The Man Who Could be Macbeth by Daniel Brace, Pizza Boy by Mick Jones, Evergreenby Heather Kennedy, Scavenger by Phil Saunders.
• WGA East Settles Five-Day Strike Against G/O Media
• RSVP for the Animation Guild Rally Sunday 3/20 at 2pm in Burbank, CA
• ‘Copshop’ Screenwriter Sues Zero Gravity Management For Breach of Contract
• ScreenSkills To Fund Accessibility Co-Ordinators For British TV
• Behind the Tweets: “Rewrite Map” by Jeffrey Lieber on WGAW Connect
• Scriptnotes Episode 530: The One with Jack Thorne
• David Iserson’s Tweet on Great Scripts
• Touring the MOST EXPENSIVE HOUSE in the United States! on Youtube and The Queen of Versailles
• The Astrologer on Elden Ring
• “The Minions Do the Actual Writing”: The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made by Mark Rozzo for Vanity Fair
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Twitter
• John August on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• Outro by Joe Palen (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Megana Rao and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

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You can download the episode here.