John and Craig host another round of the Three Page Challenge where they look at listener pages and offer feedback on what’s working and how to avoid common pitfalls. They discuss writing gore, finding your tone, and introducing a character’s problem.

We also follow up on villains, pirates and European script consultants. We then ponder a long-nagging question: why do all action heroes have names that begin with J?

In our bonus segment for premium members, we talk about our experiences with anesthesia and how people are knocked out in The Last of Us.

Links:

• Has Anyone Ever Actually Tied a Damsel in Distress to a Railway Track? by Karl Smallwood
• Pirating the Oscars 2023: The Final Curtain Call by Andy Baio
• Why Are All Action Heroes Named Jack, James, or John? by Demetria Glace for Slate
• Follow along with our Three Page Challenge Selections: Flotsam by Sam Darcy, Sockfoot by Jesse Allard, and Spark by Rachel Thomas
• Pijja Palace
• how I found the ‘so no head’ vine road in 15 minutes by RAINBOLT
• Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
• Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
• Gift a Scriptnotes Subscription or treat yourself to a premium subscription!
• Craig Mazin on Instagram
• John August on Twitter
• John on Instagram
• John on Mastodon
• Outro by Richie Molyneux (send us yours!)
• Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.

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You can download the episode here.