THE SCRIBBLERS TOOLBOX

“A collection of tips, tools, observations, and ephemera for like-minded scribblers. Peruse, share, or disregard at your leisure.”

Jesse Alexander

Chekov’s Gun
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Chekov’s Gun

The legendary playwright Anton Chekhov said, "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired."

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Character Introductions
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Character Introductions

There’s an art to crafting character intros that'll make your audience sit up and say, "Whoa, who's that?" You've got precious few seconds to make your characters unforgettable.

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Online Arenas: Where My Wallet Weeps but Humanity Thrives
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Online Arenas: Where My Wallet Weeps but Humanity Thrives

If my wife ever finds out how much money I’ve spent on Call of Duty skins, she’s gonna be as annoyed as I was when I found out how much my son had spent on Fortnite skins. Oof. That said, there is more happening here than wallet-draining and family tsuris enhancement. The global generation that will inherit the earth is connecting cross-planet and collaborating via games as a service.

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Adapting Iconic Worlds
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Adapting Iconic Worlds

A school of thought believes adapting a beloved IP without prior knowledge or connection to the material or even the genre is a positive. Maybe that works. Sometimes. Once. Has it ever?

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Establishing Point of View
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Establishing Point of View

Make your audience forget they're staring at a screen and believe they're in your character's head, heart, and even their nightmares.

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NVO & MRU vs. TL;DR
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NVO & MRU vs. TL;DR

In the post-attention span era, scribbling pages that lower the barrier of entry and get folks turning pages is more important than ever.

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Scribbling Trailer Tales
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Scribbling Trailer Tales

Use the eight-sequence structure to craft a compelling trailer for your movie that sets audience expectations.

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Finding the Fifth Element
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Finding the Fifth Element

The secret to scribbling genre tales that resonate is finding love, empathy, and relatable human connection.

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The Wizard of Haecceity
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The Wizard of Haecceity

Michael Moorcock was a true haecceity wizard. This guy scribbled novels faster than most of us can type a grocery list, and he did it all without sacrificing an ounce of depth or detail.

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Establishing Shots
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Establishing Shots

Let’s jibber jabber about the unsung icons of visual storytelling: establishing shots. The powerhouse moments and opening chords of your cinematic symphony – they set the stage, grab audience attention, and deliver a taste of the incredible journey to come.

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The Scribblers Film School
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The Scribblers Film School

Over the next few weeks The Scribblers Toolbox is returning to our roots with a series of posts re the tools and techniques of cinematic storytelling.

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Haecceity Rules!
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Haecceity Rules!

Haecceity is a medieval word for scribbling those juicy, specific details that make your characters, settings, and scenes come alive on the page.

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I am Scribbling.
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I am Scribbling.

My dance card requires Deep Work scribbling at the moment. I shall return.

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Scene & Sequel
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Scene & Sequel

Scene and sequel structure is the blueprint, the GPS of your story. It keeps your narrative engine revving, pacing on point, and audience on seat edge.

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Berserker by Berserker
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Berserker by Berserker

Whatever project you tackle, breaking it into bits and pieces is a tried-and-true way to get ‘er done.

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Fail Faster
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Fail Faster

Not only is AI helping many creative disciplines work more efficiently, it’s creating more time for iteration and adding the elements of our work that are uniquely human.

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Priority Pages
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Priority Pages

When it comes to screenwriting, the opening pages of your script are way more than just a warm-up. They're like the front door to your story, the audition tape, the chance to hook your readers and reel them in.

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