PODCAST · tv
Screenwriting: From the Trenches
by Rob Hagans & Kay Tuxford
A podcast about the craft and expression of screenwriting -- in all its forms -- from the perspective of writers just like you.
Episodes
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Your Calling Card Script!
You want to show people who you are as a writer. You need a calling card piece -- something that will give folks a taste of what you're capable of on the page and Rob & Kay are here with the do's & don'ts of what that script should look like, as well as what it should never be. This Week’s...
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Show Don't Effin Tell!
THIS WEEK Rob & Kay because Hollywood is slacking, we are discussing show, don’t frickin' tell. The only rule of screenwriting everyone can agree on...usually. This Week’s Resource: We’ve done this before when dealing with one of the core conceits of screenwriting, and as we always say, we are…
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Creativity Has No Expiration Date! (Grey List yr 2)
THIS WEEK Rob & Kay invite Brad Johnson on to discuss the sophomore year of THE GREY LIST, as well as ageism in the industry and how we as screenwriters can combat or adapt to it! This Week’s Resource: The Grey List (of course). Checkout the list, download scripts you think sound good, retweet…
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Screenwriting State of the Union!
THIS WEEK, amid reports that the industry is more of a dumpster fire than usual, Rob & Kay thought it was a good time to have a Screenwriting SOTU! This Week’s Resource: The International Screenwriters’ Association’s Diversity Initiative strives to elevate writers from underrepresented and...
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Spielberg, Sci-fi, and Showcasing Joy! (Interview with Jordan Simon)
Rob & Kay are starting off Black History month with a very special guest, Jordan T Simon who just finished his proof of concept for his pilot “The Boy Who Promised the Moon” This Week’s Resource: Monkey Paw Productions, along with Universal Pictures and TIFF have announced their No Drama...
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Make People Feel Something!
Rob & Kay invite one of Kay’s screenwriting mentors and overall lovely human being, Andrew Guerdat, to discuss his career and new YouTube series, THE GO DRAFT. This Week’s Resource: ANDY’S YOUTUBE SERIES: THE GO DRAFT! Andy’s series is ongoing, but there are 6 episodes up already. Go watch! Also...
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The Art of the Action Line!
Rob & Kay get all nerdy n' gritty talmbout dem action lines. Y'all not gon' wanna miss this one as they finna leave no screenwriting stone unturned. Get it! This Week’s Resource: We’ve said this before, but we are not the only voices on the subject of screenwriting, so we thought maybe you could...
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Turn Your Experiences into Movies That Get Made!
Rob & Kay sit down with Denise Cruz-Castino, whose script for "5 Weddings" was made into a movie that made it's way to the Cannes Film Festival! This Week’s Resource: 5 Weddings is streaming for free seemingly everywhere: Pluto, Tubi, Freevee, Peacock, and the Roku Channel, so go put it in your...
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Create Sellable IP from the Ground Level!
THIS WEEK Rob & Kay are discussing worldbuilding – again. It’s not just for hobbits! Our hosts take you through how important expanding your the world of your screenplay is going to be in the marketplace going forward in 2024 (and beyond). This Week’s Resource: Air is up on Prime, it was one of…
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There's No AI in ART!
Rob & Kay are back in 2024 with a an opening public service announcement for the new year: turns out, you gotta do the work. Sorry. This Week’s Resource: This week we are repeating our TRIO of free resources for you, because sometimes y'all don't listen when we be giving out free ish, sooooo --...
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So You've Broken In?
It's Christmas! (2023) So Rob & Kay have decided to do a little reflection, musing on that thing that all of us are trying to do -- all the time it seems like -- breaking in. And, joining them, is one of their favorite Twitter Brethren, Leah Simmons, aka, Leah From South Dakota, who also talks...
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Writing Deep Dive: Die Hard/Hook!
Rob & Kay take on their FINAL holiday deep dive with a Double Feature of their personal holiday favorites Die Hard (for Rob) & Hook (for Kay) directed by John McTiernan & Steven Spielberg, respectively -- with scripts from Jeb Stuart & Steven E. de Souza (of Die Hard) and James V. Hart & Nick...
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Screenwriting Deep Dive: Elf!
Rob & Kay decided to do their penultimate holiday deep dive on Elf, the timeless Christmas classic that is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The Jon Favreau directed film stars Will Farrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Zoey Deschanel, and Mary Steenburgen, and Ed Asner (as Santa) This Week’s…
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Screenwriting Deep Dive: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang!
Rob & Kay kick continue their holiday movie breakdown streak with a shared favorite of theirs, Shane Black's "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" starring Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monaghan. This Week’s Resource: The Long Kiss Goodnight on Pluto! Shane Black has given us another underrated...
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Screenwriting Deep Dive: The Holiday!
Rob & Kay kick off the holiday season with one of Rob's favorite romantic comedies, "The Holiday", Nancy Myers' Christmas classic two-hander starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black and Eli Wallach. This Week’s Resource: The Holiday is available on Hulu! Notes From the...
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How to Write Your Way onto Streaming!
THIS WEEK! Rob & Kay talk to author, actor and screenwriter, Nate Golon whose indie tv series, Workshop was the first independently produced TV series to be picked up by Hulu! This is the 3rd episode in our month-long dive into indiefilm tv! This Week’s Resource: Workshop Seasons 1 & 2 are...
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How to Write THREE SEASONS of TV! (W/THESPIAN creator Marc Unger)
Rob & Kay invite THESPIAN creator/writer/producer/show-runner/director, Marc Unger, as he speaks on how he's written three seasons of a show with no guarantees. How he writes character arcs and storylines when you don't have access to actors/locations/money to finish them out, but still have to...
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The SEXPECTATIONS of Indie TV Writing!
This week Rob & Kay interview Jenna St. John and (her husband), Kevin Good about the writer's room and process of their independently produced series, SEXPECTATIONS! This includes finding the engine of the show (and how modern tv has the ability to shift/change it each season, a la The Good Place...
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The Midpoint! (Our AFF episode)
Kay Tuxford is at Austin! Rob is not! Is he jealous? Maybe -- but that's not going to get in the way of the two of them tackling one of the most important parts of the screenplay, THE MIDPOINT! This Week’s Resource: We have two resources this week. The first is from a friend of the podcast, Paige...
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So... You STILL Want to Write a Screenplay?!
Rob & Kay follow up on their previous episode, which, hopefully got your booty into the chair with your new idea ready to write. This episode focuses on what happens when your butt hits the seat: mentally, physically, and in terms of craft -- all in preparation for the bane of the screenwriter's...
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So… You Want to Write a Screenplay?
Rob & Kay are writing New Things™. You might be writing new things. You want want to write a New Thing™ for the first time. If so, this episode is for you, where Rob & Kay discuss how to put yourself in the Mental Palace from whence you shall write a (the) script. This Week’s Resource: Simple.…
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Writing Queer and Minority Characters in 2023!
Rob & Kay have BEEF. This extra-large episode covers a potentially sensitive topic. The treatment of minority & queer characters in your screenplays -- avoiding tropes and what to consider when writing outside your experience. They also name some great, current, examples of shows getting…
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How to Land Act Three!
Rob & Kay have talked Acts 1 & 2 and now wish to complete the trilogy by talking about how to land act 3! They discuss the old adage "If you have act three problems, you have act one problems..." (truth!), while taking you through the screenwriting math you need to have followed to have things…
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Screenwriting is a Moving Target! (w/David Williams)
Rob & Kay sit down with David Williams to discuss how, despite their individual achievements (which, for Dave, includes being included on the 2022 Blacklist), each is looking for ways to improve their hold -- their craft -- on screenwriting. They also get to know Dave a bit, how he came to be in...
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How to Write a KILLER First Page!
This week, Rob & Kay are talking about dat first page. How to keep em reading, how to knock 'em dead, and how to set expectations. They explore why the "Opening Image" (of all the beats in Save the Cat beats) is so important, what tropes/clichés must be avoided or subverted, how to prepare your...
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Is Your Script Ready? (OUR CENTENNIAL!)
100 EPISODES! Rob & Kay have defied Vegas odds and have made it to episode 100, in which they wax poetic on the subject of "Is Your Script Ready?" Ready for what? To be sent to producers/managers/agents -- but first it's time to take a long, hard look at your script and see how it holds up…
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FINISH YOUR SCRIPT!
Rob & Kay want to encourage you to FINISH YOUR SCRIPT. In the episode they tell you why a finished script is currency and how ideas, while they may seem important, are essentially worthless. They also talk about how to put your enjoyment into the finishing of a screenplay and how that can keep…
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Turning a $500 Short into the $6M Feature Film, 'The Shift'! (w/Brock Heasley)
Rob & Kay interview Brock Heasley, whose upcoming sci-fi film, The Shift, based on his microbudget short (of the same name), readies itself for theatrical release in December care of Angel Studios. Our Screenwriting duo pick their guest's brain over a multitude of topics, including: what needed…
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How to Make Your Script STAND OUT from The Crowd! (Adapting Script Format)
This week, Rob & Kay are talking about how to (safely) “adapt” your style, in order to make YOUR script stand out from the crowd of stale, sterile, scripts out there adhering to the stodgy, and frankly typical, screenwriting formatted norms. Our Weekly Resource: We've got a…
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Surviving (and Fighting) Writer's Block!
Kay has Covid and Rob is sassy! But they both have Writer's Block, so the two of them sit down, as always to break down the phenomenon that is tHe bLoCk, as well as how to fight it while prioritizing your own mental health/general well-being. Our Weekly Resource: We've got an...
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How to Turn Your Screenplay into IP!
This week Rob and Kay interview Mario O. Moreno, screenwriter, novelist, and tagger to discuss how to potentially adapt your screenplay into a novel (or why you should consider doing so). Our Weekly Resource: Check out Mario’s book on Amazon to support a fellow writer. Notes From...
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How to Get a Script Read!
With a strike going on, it's more important than ever to know how/where to look for a script read, as well as who should be reading. Rob & Kay do a very DEEP DIVE into what it takes to get, what avenues provide what results, and whether or not you're even ready to have your script read. Our…
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Writing During a Strike! (Drama, Networking, Do's & Don'ts)
It's a strike episode! The Double Strike of SAG-AFTRA joining the WGA on the picket lines caused Kay & Rob to make an episode that serves as a treatise on the situation -- the pertinent drama, info, and most importantly, how does it affect our writing. So strap in, this is a biggun. Our Weekly...
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Mentoring New Writers! (with Cindy Begel)
Rob & Kay got Cindy Begel to sit down with them and discuss mentoring -- her experiences coming up as the medium of television was revealing itself, as well as her own latter day efforts to pay forward the mentorship given to her during the early years of her career. Cindy was a lovely guest and...
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What Do You Want From Us!
Thanks to MidtownATLGal for the lovely FIVE STAR REVIEW. We love to hear from our listeners and get feedback, no matter what it is, which is why we're offering this chance, at the half year mark, to ask us what you'd like from us, going forward. We have fun guests lined up and some epic episodes...
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The TONE of your Screenplay!
This week, Rob & Kay get into the weeds about the tone of a screenplay while dealing with the MASSIVE amounts of drama that surrounded Screenwriting Twitter this week. Our Weekly Resource: Beverly Boy’s “How to Describe the Tone of Film”? This includes various suggestive words to help…
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The Legalese of Screenwriting Contracts!
*Disclaimer, we are not lawyers -- even though today's guest, Rob's good friend (and former writer's group member), Pamela Nash, is. She has also acted on his behalf as de facto legal counsel for all of his screenwriting contracts -- and some for this podcast as well -- and breaks down the vague...
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How to Write Prolifically! (w/Brock Swinson)
Kay was MIA this week, so Rob invited Julia, her writing partner, to sit in her chair this week as they interviewed Brock Swinson, who comes to the table to talk about Ink By the Barrel, a book based on Brock's various interviews with writers from over the years, which extracts his methodology on...
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The Perils in Writing Act Two!
Act Two is essentially the entire movie. Rob and Kay break down how to keep it moving, how to setup while you're paying off and go in deep on the dreaded MIDPOINT (scary!) Our Weekly Resource: You’ve got homework this week. As Professor Tuxford and her Partner-in-Podcasting have concocted a...
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Writing TWISTS Into Your Script!
Get a twist wrong and audiences will reject your movie. Get it right and your story can become iconic. Rob & Kay are here to help you figure out how to engineer the latter in a time when audiences are at their most savvy. How to setup, then subvert the payoff, when to go left and when to read the...
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Creating in the Horror-Adjacent Space!
This week Rob & Kay interview Lucas McNelly, writer/director of the microbudget thriller film, Up Country, to discuss the perils, pitfalls, and the promise of working in the horror-adjacent space. Our Weekly Resource: Sundance Collab – yes, Sundance has a website with paid and free membership…
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Does Your Writing Suck?
Sometimes you have to take a long, hard, look at your writing and ask yourself if you've birthed a turkey. It happens, even to the best of us, the question becomes -- what to do next? And that's where Rob & Kay come in, with advice for not only when you should admit to bad writing, but also when...
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Paradigm Shifts in Writing!
From BUFFY to BREAKING BAD, the writing landscape has changed very rapidly to include new mandates, tropes and styles of storytelling. Rob & Kay take a look at what's come before -- inspired by Rob's recently viewing of Severance -- to hopefully give listeners an insight as to how to write to new...
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Rejection!
This week Rob & Kay talk rejection. How to deal with it, what we can learn from it, and what it can teach us. Our Weekly Resource: Lee Jessup’s Article: “Rejection is a Bitch” Notes From the Episode: Zack's Original Instagram video (for our Twitter Drama Bumper) "I...
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Writing Horror That SELLS!
This week we’re talking money, specifically in terms of writing (horror) screenplays that sell, and to help with that, we have a guest! Writer of both TV and Film Seth M. Sherwood. They talk the benefits of writing spec scripts (even if you won't likely sell them), how "original" horror movies…
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Writing Sex Scenes!
Nuisance or necessary? Everyone has their opinions. Rob & Kay give you theirs on how to write them, why we need them, and which are their favorites. Our Weekly Resource: This week’s resource is…subtext, specifically a video from StudioBinder on YouTube as they talk about, not only the different...
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Writing for TikTok!
This week Rob & Kay interview with Sidney Morss whose videos on TikTok have over 13 MILLION LIKES! We talk about her writing (near) daily sketches -- as long as her mental health permits -- and go deep into the process off how to make daily videos, where her videos not only have to be comedic…
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Writing for the Non-Union Market!
This week Rob & Kay have decided to discuss writing for the (arguably bigger) Non Union Market, and to help with that, we have an interview with Canadian writer/director, Heather Taylor, whose film, Lethal Love, is currently available on Netflix. Our Weekly Resource: Scriptnotes. the sort of, de...
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Writing the Unscripted!
This week Kay & Rob talk about how the process of writing films that aren't necessarily written, and to help with that, we have an interview with returning guest, Jeremy Lalonde, whose movie, “Ashgrove”, is currently on tour, and in theaters. Our Weekly Resource: SoCreate’s screenwriting Beta is...
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From Script to SXSW!
This week we’ve got an interview with Angela Bourassa who’s movie, “If You Were The Last” just played this years, SXSW. We discuss how she got "discovered" after over a decade of hard work, how she got her reps, and how her script came to be made for a four-quadrant audience for millions of...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Screenwriting: From the Trenches have?
Screenwriting: From the Trenches currently has 127 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Screenwriting: From the Trenches about?
A podcast about the craft and expression of screenwriting -- in all its forms -- from the perspective of writers just like you.
How often does Screenwriting: From the Trenches release new episodes?
Screenwriting: From the Trenches publishes regularly with 127 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Screenwriting: From the Trenches?
You can listen to Screenwriting: From the Trenches on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Screenwriting: From the Trenches?
Screenwriting: From the Trenches is created and hosted by Rob Hagans & Kay Tuxford.
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