Getting to page one

On the 41st Scriptnotes, John and Craig discuss screenwriting software, knowing when to start, and the Game of Thrones finale. But before moving on to new business, they update us on two topics of podcasts past. Last we heard about Disney and Amazon Studios, there was a vacancy atop the former, and the latter had decided to become a WGA signatory. Now, Disney has hired Alan Horn as chief, and Amazon has announced its first project — but with no mention of the writer. After they weigh in on these new developments, John tells us about the pros and cons of writing his most recent script in Scrivener, which opens up into a larger discussion about where screenwriting software seems to be heading. Craig and John then adress a common frustration of beginning screenwriters: How do you know when you’re ready to move from the planning phase onto page 1? Diving into a script too quickly is a recipe for second-act problems, but overplanning can be just as dangerous. Where’s the sweet spot? What must you know about your story before you start, and how much familiarity is overkill? They then move onto a listener-requested discussion of the Game of Thrones season finale, plus this week’s two One Cool Things. Rawson Marshall Thurber, enjoy this Google alert made specially for you, courtesy of episode 41 of Scriptnotes. LINKS: Scrivener Fountain and Highland Fade In Final Draft iPad Writer Bronson Watermarker Stencyl Flight trailer Craig’s Wordplay post on building marketing hooks into your screenplay INTRO: Silver Spoons opening OUTRO: Garden of Your Mind by Mister Rogers (remix) You can download the episode here: AAC. UPDATE 6-14-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here. The post Getting to page one first appeared on John August.