Scriptnotes Podcast

Since the dawn of storytelling, there have been archetypes. What aspects of archetypes are actually useful for writers? And how do we move beyond tropes to create complex characters?
Pick a card, any card! John and Craig play around with the upcoming Creator Character Kit. They draw archetype cards and imagine multifaceted characters that embody those qualities.
In our bonus segment for premium members, John and Craig talk home cinema hardware: screens and projectors.
Links:
Character Creator Kit
L.A. World's "The One Street that Explains LA" 
Download the episode here!
Get your copy of The Scriptnotes Book and become a Scriptnotes Premium member today! For more content on the craft of writing check out Inneresting our weekly-ish newsletter about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.
Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our coordinator is Lauren Loesberg.
Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

What changes when you take off your writer hat and put on your director hat? In this compendium episode, John, Craig, and Scriptnotes coordinator Lauren Loesberg review directing advice previously given on the podcast.
John and Craig offer Lauren pointers on directing her next project. They also answer a listener question about directing actors "on the page."
In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, we discuss film festivals. Why would writers go? And what can you expect to get out of the experience?
Links:
Three Page Challenge
Fruit Fly by Josh Silver
Mailbox Toluca Lake
Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn
Download the episode here!
Get your copy of The Scriptnotes Book and become a Scriptnotes Premium member today! For more content on the craft of writing check out Inneresting our weekly-ish newsletter about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.
Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our coordinator is Lauren Loesberg.
Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

John welcomes writer and actress Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks, The Big Sick, She Said) to talk about her sweeping and thorough reimagining of East of Eden, releasing on Netflix on October 1st. They discuss her approach to period piece dialogue, the process of adapting such an expansive novel, and the family history behind this particular project.
Rich with biblical parallels, East of Eden is a perfect story for a discussion of archetypes. John invites Zoe to pull cards from the upcoming Character Creator Kit in a conversation about the iconic East of Eden antagonist, Cathy.
In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, John asks Zoe about her experience growing up with two screenwriter parents.
Links:
Writer Emergency Pack: Character Creator Kit
why I can't stop thinking about Papua New Guinea by Daniel Frank
Download the episode here!
Get your copy of The Scriptnotes Book and become a Scriptnotes Premium member today! For more content on the craft of writing check out Inneresting our weekly-ish newsletter about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.
Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our coordinator is Lauren Loesberg.
Outro by Adam Pineless (send us yours!)
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

Today, we welcome longtime fantasy guest, Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The West Wing, The Social Network) to talk through his writing process and tease his upcoming film, The Social Reckoning.
Does Aaron Sorkin use outlines? Where does he begin? And does he have any more ideas? All these questions and more will be answered. John also presents a couple of Sorkin's own scenes as a case study on writing conflict.
In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, we discuss Sorkin's projects that never got produced. Now you see it… now you don't.
Links:
The West Wing – Donna & Josh Conversation
The Social Network – Do I have your full attention?
Surf Dracula
Download the episode here!
Get your copy of The Scriptnotes Book and become a Scriptnotes Premium member today! For more content on the craft of writing check out Inneresting our weekly-ish newsletter about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.
Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our coordinator is Lauren Loesberg.
Outro by Matthew Chilelli (send us yours!)
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com

Think of this as a crash course in general meetings.
In this compendium, John, Craig and Scriptnotes intern, Lauren, mine previous episodes for advice on the bewildering "general." They aim to answer every question you've had about general meetings, over the years: What are they? What's discussed? And how do you get one?
In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, John and Craig swap stories about their best, worst, and first general meetings.
Get your copy of The Scriptnotes Book and become a Scriptnotes Premium member today! For more content on the craft of writing check out Inneresting our weekly-ish newsletter about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters.
Scriptnotes is produced by Meredith Stedman and edited by Matthew Chilelli. Our coordinator is Lauren Loesberg.
Outro by Nick Moore (send us yours!)
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com