Marti Noxon is a force in our business. Known for her sharp voice, social commentary, and darkly funny writing, all of which is tied together by a knack for complicated and richly drawn female characters, she's on TV's most important voices.

She's worked on everything from beloved genre projects like BUFFY to prestige crime dramas like SHARP OBJECTS, and she's here today to help us get a full and detailed look at the current landscape for writing in television.

Learn what we REALLY mean when we say story engine, what makes Marti quit reading a sample while staffing, and whether we should pitch with a bible, treatment, or one page when we take a show out. 

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Do you have a pen and paper? Might want to grab them now... Andrew Stanton wrote and directed Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, and Wall-E, all of which consistently rank among the best films of this century, and best animated films ever made. In live action storytelling, he's become a critically acclaimed director, working on shows like Stranger Things and Better Call Saul. Andrew is considered one of the finest storytellers working in our industry. Andrew has given lectures for TED and Google, and he's joining us today to help us in our own understanding of story.

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We had SUCH a great tangent on last week's episode, that we wanted to feature this conversation as it's own short MINISODE. Do you have a great character want that doesn't feel URGENT enough in your Act I? We're almost SURE it's because you haven't created a clear enough problem for your character yet. Listen to find out EXACTLY what we need...

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What do Voldemort, Regina George, and Hans Gruber have in common? They're great antagonists, of course! Whether it's an action movie, a comedy, or even a contemplative drama, story needs conflict, and antagonists CREATE conflict, so we're going to discuss what makes a great antagonist today on the show.

For NPR's FULL Coverage Of Die Hard: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/18/978734467/die-hard-welcome-to-the-podcast-pal

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Emotionally rich writing has always been a Hallmark for both Meg and Lorien in their writing, and on today's show, we dig into the meat of what makes it work and why. TSL family member Savannah Morgan hooked us up with the London Screenwriter's Festival, and moderated an AMAZING interview w/ Meg and Lorien where they got into all of it. It's an amazing listen!

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Kemp Powers is a playwright, screenwriter, and co-director, and this year, he's one of the most talked about writers in our business. Kemp has not one, but TWO highly talked-about films in the 2021’s awards circuit, Pixar’s Soul (which he co-wrote with Pete Docter and past guest Mike Jones, as well as co-directed) and One Night In Miami, which he adapted from his own play, AND which was just nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. As someone who has adapted a feature from previously existing work, AND written for one of our industry’s most coveted IPs (Star Trek), Kemp is the perfect guest to discuss the art of ADAPTATION in screenwriting.

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John August? Yes. THAT John August.

We're thrilled to feature Screenwriting PODfather John August, famous for many things. Among them, award-nominated studio juggernauts like BIG FISH and CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, to his critically acclaimed Screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes, which I'm sure most of you already listen to. 

Today John is answering YOUR questions about Worldbuilding in your writing. How do we balance concision, economy, and "necessary details." Why are so we naturally inclined to write in a master shot rather than up close?

We answer that question, and more, today on the show!

CHECK OUT SCRIPTNOTES: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scriptnotes-podcast/id462495496

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Emily Dickenson's poetry, The Girl w/ The Dragon Tattoo, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, these are all works we ALMOST didn't see because the authors ALMOST hid their work from the masses, and imagine the beautiful art we would've missed out on!

Writing is all about being vulnerable and putting yourself out there...so why are we so afraid to do it? What's at stake if we do, and more importantly, what's at stake if we DON'T? We ask all of these questions and more on today's episode, plus, a great question about dialogue.

Will you put yourself out there?

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Anne Lamott is one of culture's most celebrated voices when it comes to creativity and writing. Her book Bird By Bird is a modern classic (Ed Solomon says it's the best book on writing ever published), but Anne is uniquely positioned as someone who is beloved for BOTH her fiction and her non-fiction. On today's show, we discuss the importance of finding hope to unlock our best creative selves, how we can quiet that inner critic (yes, even 10 times NYT Bestselling Author Anne Lamott gets paralyzed by creative anxiety), and how we can turn our fear into excitement.

TO PRE-ORDER Anne's Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JKK77V2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

For SHAPES OF TRUTH: https://www.shapesoftruth.com/neal-allen-bio

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Ed Solomon is one of Hollywood's most recognizable writers, who represents a rare intersection of critical and commercial success. His 16 feature films have grossed over 1.6 Billion Dollars at the Box Office, and he's the creator or co-creator on three of Hollywood's biggest franchises: Bill & Ted, Men in Black, and Now You See Me.

But he'll be the FIRST person to tell you that he's not a "fancy" writer. He bristles at the idea, and argues that ego is one of the quickest ways to tank a career, especially a creative career. Instead, he feels that humility, curiosity, and daring are the keys to success, especially as a writer. Ed is a disarming orator, passionate teacher, and a great dude. So much to learn.

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