The team over at FUEL is hosting a pretty fun competition for writers of all kinds in their comments section – it’s fun and quick, so be sure to get involved and share your tip as a writer!
Rules:
Post the best writing tip you’ve ever received (either in school, from a book on writing, a tip online, etc.) in the comments section of this post at FuelYourWriting.com.
That’s it – the team behind FuelYourWriting will be choosing the winner at the end of the week, so hurry and post. You can also …

Thought it would be fun to start a series of writing exercises in which we take an image and share our individual take on what it might be about.
For this one, let’s keep it basic …
Write the concept
Share a concept inspired by the image to the right. Feel free to explore any genre, character name, the whole nine yards.

I find that sometimes when starting a new story, it’s easy to get carried away with inspiration and excitement during the first few days of writing … only to find yourself losing interest in the story soon thereafter.
With this in mind, I wanted to explore a few ways screenwriters could avoid losing interest in their story.
1. The Pool of Conflict – Jump In!
One way to keep your story interesting is to introduce the conflict as early as possible. One of the best examples of jumping into the conflict early can …

I think it’s pretty common for writers – especially beginning writers – to fall victim to distraction. If you’re like me, you might pause and let your mind wander some random thought or idea while writing — and you won’t snap out of it until ten, fifteen, even twenty minutes later!
Consider the following next time you find your mind wandering from your screenplay.
1. Stay Home
If you feel you simply can’t get the writing done that you planned – and you tend to write at barnes and Noble, Starbucks, or any …

Enjoy this look back at some of the top 100 tips published here at ScriptXRay!
1. Know the world of story before you start writing
2. Start a blog to reveal the beginning of your cross-media story
3. Be the expert storyteller
4. Don’t Bore the Reader
5. All About Style – art and craft
6. Character Arc 101
7. Have more than one spec screenplay
8. Don’t Forget the Emotion – art and craft
9. Your Life Isn’t Exciting … Yet
10. Know the antagonist before you start writing
11. The Rule of Page One
12. The Importance of Opinion and …

A quick post today …
There are pros and cons to everything – here, I’m focusing on the cons of three particular motives for writing screenplays. While these reasons aren’t evil by any means, they simply tend to be the most attractive, yet misunderstood, motives for beginning screenwriters.
Money
This is probably the most common reason a lot of would-be screenwriters delve into the screenwriting world. With the stories of spec sales spanning anywhere from low six-figures to high six-figures and even up to a staggering million dollars, it’s understandable that a lot of …

Having a POV is crucial. As a screenwriter, you need a POV to explore themes and character. As a character, you need a POV to act and react within the world of your story. And as a story, you need a collective POV in order to connect with your audience.
But, this POV is a little different.
Learn more about the POV at ScriptXRay.com

As we come closer and closer to July, the month I created ScriptXRay (launched the 27th), I felt the need to revamp the site with a new look and a couple ideas in mind.
1. Streamline the look – I suppose this is up for debate seeing how I’ve already received several complaints about the new look, but I’m confident it’ll catch on and become more attractive with time.
2. Experiment with new content – If you’re a subscriber to the site, then you’ll know that I’ve been toying with several ideas …

Last night was pretty much like any other night – I left the office, stopped by the house for my things, went out to dinner, and ended up at my daily writing spot, Barnes & Noble, – yet there was something different. It wasn’t my vanilla latte with super-foam; it wasn’t the music; it wasn’t the books …
I realized the screenplay I’m writing might actually be two separate stories.
At first, this thought was a bit scary. When you realize you might be working on two different stories at the same …

This question makes its way into my thoughts every now and then, and though I’m pretty confident, I can’t help but explore the possibility of the “what if.”
We see the typical screenwriter in the cafe where ever we go (super-common in LA), our family tells us to think about a plan B, and even people who know nothing about screenwriting or filmmaking know that screenwriting is a damn near impossible career — is it just me, or are screenwriters constantly reminded of how hard it is to be a screenwriter?
I’ve …

If you’re like me, it probably takes you a while to find your flow when you sit down to write. I don’t consider this a bad thing as it usually takes me around 20 minutes to really align myself both mentally and physically to write the story I want to tell … if it were an on / off switch, everyone would be doin’ it, right?
This said, some days it does take longer for what ever reason. I can literally spend an hour getting ready, setting up my workstation, reviewing …