The Story Department

Screenwriting from Dream to Draft to Deal

Creating a new story? Logline it!

Whether you are developing a new screenplay or a novel, it pays to try and summarize it in the notorious "25 words or less".

Can you do it?

Learn to write a proper logline and test it in front of our expert (and some innocent) readers. Check out our newly launched site!
Go to the new site
From Fail To Sale (in 5 easy parts)

The call came through from Austin as BLOCKED. The summary of the conversation was, ‘Congrats, your script has just made the top ten of its category in the Austin Screenplay Competition of over 5,800 scripts, we hope to see you in Austin for our conference.
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No Time Like The Present

Like the voice over, the flashback has caused many heated debates. If used well, it can be a great way of getting exposition across or spicing up your script.
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Movie Moment: Frenzy

Many film buffs love referring to Alfred Hitchcock. Invariably you’ll hear them raving about Psycho, Rear Window or North By Northwest .
Rarely do I hear anyone praise Hitchcock’s personal favorite A Shadow Of A Doubt , let alone his earlier English films.
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The Judges

In this section we are publishing the loglines from the participants of the Circalit / Story Department “First Draft Script Contest”.
Our judges have reviewed the loglines and give you their considered feedback. It may help you craft a powerful logline.
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Best of the Web

Our weekly selection from 1,000+ screenwriting-related web articles, served to you with your Sunday morning breakfast (PST).
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Mini-Reviews

Read Jonathan Empson's 'mercifully short review' of The Artist, as we will now regularly republish his mini movie reviews here on The Story Department.
Read the Review:
The Structure Analyses are back!

You have told us that your favorite section on the site is that where we break down the structure of films.

Follow the link below to the recent structure breakdowns.
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