A podcast about writing
David and Cargill discuss how to get through Act 2 and the Second Act Slump.
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David and Cargill discuss how to keep on keeping’ on when external factors torpedo something you’re working on.
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David and Cargill discuss what it’s like to try to be creative in the midst of a pandemic, and how it can sometimes be difficult to satirize something as outlandish as real life.
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Cargill and David discuss tips for getting a career writing about film.
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Cargill and David discuss whether or not you should make a trilogy of films and whether paid editors are scams.
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Cargill and David discuss Cargill’s four favorite films of 2019.
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Cargill and David discuss what the literary equivalent is of “make your own movie” and the pleasures and pains of the vanity press.
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Cargill and David discuss what happens when you work on a project that ends up getting made by someone else.
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Cargill and David discuss Christopher McQuarrie’s recent advice on whether or not you should try to “win the lottery” by submitting your script to a studio.
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Franklin Leonard joins the Write Along podcast to discuss the history of The Black List and share tips for screenwriters looking to host their screenplays on The Black List website.
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David is joined by writer/director Vincenzo Natali (director of Cube, Splice, Westworld, Hannibal) to discuss tips for making a low-budget high-concept film. Be sure to check out Vincenzo’s newest film, In the Tall Grass, on Netflix.
Cargill will be back for a regular episode next week.
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David and Cargill discuss their preferred PDF readers and give advice to a writer struggling to make his characters more interesting.
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David and Cargill discuss how to encourage young writers and how to consume media about a genre you’re writing in.
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David and Cargill share more tips on when best to begin and end scenes.
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David and Cargill discuss what happens when you set unrealistic goals and the value of not giving up.
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David and Cargill discuss if/when to get permission for copyrighted content in your work. (Note: we aren’t legal experts and you should always speak to a lawyer if you have any questions)
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David and Cargill discuss how to approach short stories, and share their favorites.
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David and Cargill discuss how to make a character likable and touch upon the difference between tropes and cliches.
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David and Cargill talk the Pauper Principle and how it can be used to create a connection between your audience and a character in your story.
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David and Cargill talk about why voiceover generally isn’t a good idea for horror films, and why your film or story doesn’t need to have revolutionary new ideas to share with the world to be great.
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David and Cargill talk about how to approach a screenplay when your villain is the protagonist.
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David and Cargill talk about the best way to do “info-dumps.”
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David and Cargill discuss the importance of writing for an audience and why artistic narcissism is one of the biggest sins a writer can commit.
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David and Cargill discuss why many faith-based/Evangelical films aren’t any good, and what makes a good Christian film.
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David and Cargill discuss how to pace scenes and how to get in and out of them. Later, they chat about Danny Boyle’s new film Yesterday and what we can learn about paying off premises.
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David and Cargill discuss why mental health should be the number one priority of all writers, and why Cargill lives nocturnally.
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David and Cargill discuss the rules you can’t break in Hollywood scripts, and when it might be acceptable to try.
Here’s Cargill’s tweet that prompted this episode.
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David and Cargill respond to an email about how to write when you feel like you have nothing to say.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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David and Cargill discuss how to write fights and action scenes.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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David and Cargill discuss the characteristics of an unlikable protagonist, and why/how it’s different than an anti-hero.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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David and Cargill discuss how to balance competing tones in a single work.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David talk about what it means to fail and how to keep going despite failure.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill shares tips for how to approach a writing partnership. To learn more about the Gottmans’ principles, go to https://www.gottman.com/.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill shares tips for how to pitch your movie to a producer.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Pitching your film in a room with a producer can be a challenging prospect. But how do you even get to the point where you can even deliver a pitch? In this episode, Cargill and David discuss some possible paths to the room where it happens.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss how being more social and gregarious can benefit your creative career. Here’s Cargill’s tweet, where writers can follow each other.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss tips for getting out of the Second Act Slump. Check out Cargill’s initial tweet on this topic here.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss some of the things to consider when you’re adapting the story of a real-life person.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David give some tips for writing a horror film.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss some approaches to writing naturalistic dialogue.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss the importance of networking at festivals, and when you should consider abandoning a story.
Read up on why I will not read your script.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Continue reading “Ep. 20 – The only two times you should abandon a story”
Cargill and David respond to several of your emails, including tips on screenwriting software, when/how to use physical descriptions, as well as what makes a great ending.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss the importance of having an easily remembered pen name, and dive into the four major components of character. You can read more about these components in the writings of K.M. Weiland.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss things to avoid when handing out scripts, and whether you can use words like “Camera” or “We see.”
See the following tweets referenced in today’s episode:
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss if/when/how you should option another piece of work that you’re interested in adapting.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss the difference between 1D, 2D, and 3D characters.
Check out Cargill’s tweet on the subject.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss some tips for how to make a low-budget movie that all takes place in one location.
Check out the Smithsonian Magazine article where Teller shares his secrets.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss when something is considered plagiarism. Also Cargill shares the story of an inspirational friend.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss how to make internal conflicts interesting, and how the audience perceives it when that doesn’t happen.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Cargill and David discuss their top 10 films of 2018, and Cargill dives into how Bodied is a great example of translating painful experiences into art.
Email us with your questions/thoughts at writealongpodcast@gmail.com. Find more episodes of this show at writealongpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @writealongpod.
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Write Along with David and Cargill 