BlueCat Writers Blog

Black Friday Weekend Specials!Scripts Feature Screenplay $65 Pilot (Hour) $60 Pilot (Half-Hour) $55 Short Script $50 Short Films  Get 35% off your short film submission!  Use Discount Code: SHORTBF2019  Written Analysis Enter your script by Monday, November 26th...

Most people when they start writing scripts sit down and write like they are writing a novel or a love letter or something beautiful. This is not screenwriting. Screenwriting is closer to the writing of a recipe for pumpkin bread than a novel by Eudora Welty or...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the people who give out the Oscar, do a wonderful thing every year. They give Oscars to short filmmakers! The Oscar for Best Short Film (they give out two---Live Action and Animation) provides undiscovered...

Writers often wonder what idea they should choose to develop their next script. What idea will actually lay the foundation for an amazing story? What idea will be best for your career? What is the best idea out of all their ideas, which all seem to have equal appeal?...

Animated short films are transcendent. A memorable one transcends time, age, gender, language and all the other beautiful intricacies that make us human. When we enter the magical world of an animated short, we forget about what sets us apart and remember what brings...

Gordy sits down with the cinephiles and hosts of Battleship Pretension to discuss the importance of subverting audience expectations and why great screenwriting is not above films like The Meg. "If you generate emotion and an abundance of it, it's going to generate...

One of the most common and personal questions I am asked by writers is whether I think they have what it takes to make it as a writer. Do you think I'm good enough? Should I quit writing? Do you think I should even bother? This is probably the most popular question I...

I often hear writers complain about how unfair screenwriting is. I myself have felt this way many times. We're told many different things on how to write a script, completely contradictory advice. One blog says one thing, another podcast says don't do that. We go to a...

Writing a script is so hard. Our most important concern is when the difficulty will end! Who likes to suffer? No one does. Yet if you're stuck with the virus in your soul that continues to imagine stories, congratulations, you belong to an ancient line of tortured...

Have you ever rushed a script for a contest deadline? You're not alone. Gordy Hoffman sits down with Film Courage to highlight the common mistakes writers commit when they submit their script to a competition before it's really ready. There's no better adrenaline rush...

You have a delicious idea for a fresh, binge-worthy television series. With the evolution of streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon, it seems that episodic storytelling has no bounds. If this is your first rodeo writing for TV, it is important to know...

The title page of a script. It’s not a sexy screenwriting topic. Heck, I’m not sure it’s even a topic in most screenwriting courses or books about screenwriting. But, believe it or not, your screenplay’s title page says a lot about you, as a screenwriter. The script’s...

In order to survive as a writer without going completely insane, you need to be your own biggest fan. You need to believe, deeply and truly, that you have talent, that you’re only improving over time, and that if you keep working hard, you’ll find success. You’ll...

There are tons of books, videos, blogs, and podcasts that will tell you what the screenwriting rules are. We have quite a number on this very website. Here are five popular suggestions that might be more helpful if you ignore them! Hook the Reader in the First 10...

Studio vs Independent Financing - Knowing What's Best for Your Project Onto the Next Hurdle Your screenplay has been written, re-written, and polished up more times than you can count. You have a hot commodity on your hands that shows great promise as a feature film....

Successful screenwriters can live anywhere. There's not even a debate over this. I understand people have many opinions on why you should live in Los Angeles, and how it can help you reach your professional goals as a screenwriter if you do live in Hollywood. After...

Reaching New Heights On Tuesday, June 19th, BlueCat held its inaugural Short Film Festival at the Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles, California. A total of 10 short films were selected to screen from a competitive pool of 594 submissions. "We've been a screenplay...

BlueCat would like to congratulate alumni Beanie Barnes on her script being selected for the 2018 New York Television Festival (NYTVF) Scripts Competition! The pilot, White-Shoe U, previously won Beanie the 2017 BlueCat Pilot Award.    Beanie's NYTVF Selection...

Writing goals never include the day you can quit writing. The idea that any one person knows when another writer should quit is completely incorrect and reckless. I believed after I began teaching and I read the work of my students that some students might not be able...