If I were going to advocate for you to know one thing about writing and to obey one "rule," it would be to learn and love the idea of Chekhov's gun.

In the world of screenwriting and filmmaking, it’s a dramatic principle that demands every element on screen earns its keep.

It will help you write leaner, more purposefully, and make you a better storyteller overall.

Whether you’re a…

As No Film School's resident screenwriter, I feel like a lot of my time is spent covering the basics to make sure the next generation has the foundations they need to succeed in Hollywood.

But what happens when you think your work gets a little more advanced?

That's when you can have even more fun. You can take plot devices like Chekhov's Gun and add a little flavor to it. Like, what if…

As writers, people are always rushing terms our way that we're supposed to know. I decided that I had enough random definitions floating around, so I wanted to create a glossary that had all the dramatic principles I think storytellers need to know in order to be successful.

These are all the words I have accumulated over my career, and that I come back to when trying to craft a spec…