THE SCRIBBLERS TOOLBOX
“A collection of tips, tools, observations, and ephemera for like-minded scribblers. Peruse, share, or disregard at your leisure.”
Jesse Alexander
Scribble & Flow
You're scribbling in the zone where your skills and the challenge of writing are in harmony. You’re so wrapped up in your writing that everything else fades away. Welcome to the flow state.
Action w/o Irony!
The time has come for Western action movies to evolve! It’s time for us to HALO jump into a new dawn that will marry spectacle with humanity and unify artistry with authenticity!
Generation Filmmaker
Let’s wander the winding path from Super 8 to smartphone, acknowledging how generations of filmmakers launched their careers with the tools of their moment.
Creative Differences
Hollywood's tumultuous world of creative differences is a topic as old as the La Brea tar pits.
HAL is my copilot.
As if writing wasn’t an insanely competitive profession without steady paychecks or career longevity, AI's joined the game. So, when the music stops, it just might be a GPT who steals your chair.
2024 - A year for bold scribbling!
Is it just as hard to do something bold as it is to do something safe?
Beginner’s Brain
Have you ever felt that rush of excitement when you find yourself in an unfamiliar place? That vibe is called the "Beginner's Brain" – a state where everything feels new and your creative instincts get a boost.
Dressing The Part
Clothing is more than fabric—it's a catalyst for creativity and a statement of personal and artistic identity.
The Complexity Curse strikes again!
Complexity theory, which studies how components within systems interact to create the whole, can offer relevant insights for scribblers in need of managing unwieldy narratives.
Project Planning
When planning a creative project, such as writing a screenplay, book, developing a game, or starting a business, first principles thinking can help ensure the viability of your endeavor.
Extraordinary Worlds of Ordinary Empathy
By reflecting the ordinary world through relatable characters and relationships, sci-fi, and fantasy scribblers can create narratives that resonate deeply.
Is toxic fandom inevitable?
Fandom is not inevitably toxic. But handling feedback, both positive and negative, from a large and vocal online fanbase is a nuanced challenge.
I am Nerd! Creator of worlds!
Whether you’re crafting a new show, game, or movie, the more thought you can apply to the consistency of your make-believe world, the better.
Opposing Emotions
Love versus hate, fear versus courage, and truth versus deceit are some of the emotional dichotomies scribblers use to craft compelling stories.
The Scribbler’s Snowflake
The Snowflake Method, developed by novelist and screenwriter Randy Ingermanson, offers a structured yet creative approach to streamline your process, from crafting a compelling one-sentence summary to expanding your story into a multi-page synopsis.
Scribbling Age
Change is inevitable. Consider your writing goals, deadlines, and lifestyle constraints when designing your ideal writing routine. Flexibility and adaptability are keys to successful writing at all stages of life.
Robert Mckee, screen story OG!
Back in the day, any aspiring screenwriter looking to craft work that would captivate audiences and sell for millions of dollars on the spec market needed to hear what Robert Mckee had to say about storytelling.
Two if by pen, one if by key.
The debate of longhand versus the keyboard is more than a choice between ink and digital; each method shapes our scribbling.
All aboard the ADHD hype train!
There's a set of personality traits that come with ADHD that I didn’t understand at the time, but in hindsight, supercharged my scribbling career.
My Hollywood Superpower
ADHD brains are wired to think outside the box, make unconventional connections, and thrive in fast-paced, dynamic environments—valuable qualities in the world of storytelling and creativity.