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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

After writing screenplays professionally for 29 years, here are ten random things I wish I knew before I started: #screenwriting

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

I teach screenwriting classes and help writers 1-on-1, but 99% of what I share is absolutely free. My FREE email course, Screenwriting for Beginners, is one of my favorites. It's what I wish I knew before I started writing professionally. The link is in the replies. 👇

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

Not familiar with my screenwriting newsletter? I've been writing professionally for 28 years and teaching the subject for nearly as long. I publish a free #screenwriting lesson every week. I teach classes and help writers one-on-one, but the newsletter is always free. The link is in the replies.👇

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Posting this quote got me banned from a screenwriting Facebook group. I stand by it! :) Lazy adverbs, unintentional gerunds, and passive tense will wear down the reader over 100 pages. There is a secret belief that screenwriting doesn't have to be good writing. Don't buy it. #screenwriting

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

A fundamental truth of drama. It's the line I use to introduce my UH students to screenwriting. You're the writer. If you don't know who wants want, you don't know what's happening. Pollack was a natural teacher, and every interview he did on the craft is worth reading. #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

In 1993, if you wanted to read a screenplay, you mailed a $12 check to a shady joint on Hollywood Blvd, and they sent you a photocopy six weeks later. I still write gunshots as BANG! BANG! BANG! because that's how Jeffrey Boam did it in Lethal Weapon 2. It was the only script I owned. #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

My favorite quote about screenwriting and making movies that has nothing to do with screenwriting and making movies. People don't remember much of the plot 10 years later. But they remember if they loved the movie or not. #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

You open someone's screenplay. Which one is more inviting? Which one would you rather read? The challenging part is that the one on the left is the better movie! But it takes a lot of work on the reader's part to figure that out. Do you want to rely on the reader for all that effort? #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

I teach screenwriting, but it's always been important to me to have free options as well. This is one of them. I love this course. And It is not just for beginners. Even if you've penned several screenplays, you will find a lot to love in here. The link to the FREE course is in the replies. 👇

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Three types of stories: 1) Where the protagonist changes for the better. 2) Where the protagonist remains steadfast in their beliefs and in doing so, changes those around them. 3) Where the protagonist changes for the worse or fails to change at all, which is considered a tragedy.

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

More free stuff! My course, Screenwriting For Beginners, which is not just for beginners, is absolutely free. Whether you've never written a word or penned several screenplays, you will find a lot to love in this course. The link to the FREE course is in the replies. 👇

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I learned screenwriting by breaking down as many films as I could. Timecode + scene. One movie after the other. This was early 90s. I saw how simple the plots were. What mattered were great scenes and sequences. More than anything else, this view made it all seem... doable. #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

THE FAMILY MAN with Nicolas Cage and Tea Leone is on my Christmas rotation. Not every year, but close. It's a simple premise. We've seen variations of it many times, but the writing, the moments, the performances, and the sincerity are all top-notch. I love this movie. #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

My working definition of story. We really tend to over-complicate this in our screenwriting. Honestly, we tend to overcomplicate everything. Keep it simple. Know your story. Identify it. If you do that, you make everything 100x easier. #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

My favorite quote about movies and screenwriting that has nothing to do with movies and screenwriting. #scriptsky

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 03/01/2024

Do you want to generate more tension in your screenwriting? You’ll need two conflicting elements. Yesterday, I shared with 4200+ other subscribers what they are and what many writers miss about them. Did you miss it? One more chance. 👇 theweeklyemail.storyandplot.com/two-ingredie...

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Tom Vaughan @storyandplot.bsky.social · 19/11/2023

In today's screenwriting, best to make it at least five to seven great scenes, but the point holds. Just don't forget that second part, either! The "no bad ones" is just as important.

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