Golden Rules of Screenwriting (Free Subscription)

In this newsletter, Golden Rules of Screenwriting (Article), Available Courses, Make Readers Feel What the Character Feels (Article), Only Pro Screenwriters Use Metaphor| Learn How (Article), Recommended Book of the Week, Create a Character That Attracts A-List Talent (Article), and The Character Lie that Sabotages Your Script (Article).

Most screenwriters can quote the “Golden Rule” of screenwriting in their sleep: Show, don’t tell. It’s the first thing we learn… and the first thing most scripts forget by page 3.

But in today’s marketplace, 2025 and beyond, one golden rule isn’t enough. Professional-grade storytelling demands a series of golden rules working together: clarity, emotional honesty, genre fluency, visual storytelling, structure, and character psychology. These rules aren’t optional. They’re the invisible craft elements that distinguish amateur scripts from those that get read, requested, and purchased.

SHOW, DON’T TELL (The Core Rule)

A screenplay is a blueprint for a visual medium. If the audience can’t see it or hear it, it doesn’t belong on the page.

Weak (telling):
“John is heartbroken after the divorce.”

Strong (showing):
“John reheats last night’s spaghetti directly in the Tupperware, staring at the empty chair across from him.”

Tips:

• Replace abstract emotions with behavior.
• Replace internal thoughts with choices under pressure.
• Replace exposition with visual moments that reveal truth.

Pro Insight:
Readers trust writers who trust images.

GENRE HAS RULES

You can break rules, but only after you prove you understand them.

Every producer expects you to know:

• Horror ends with a threat
• RomCom has a chase & big kiss scene
• Thriller means mystery
• Sci-Fi creates a sense of wonder
• Comedy has rhythm and specific pacing
• Action/Adventure propels action

A reader can smell genre ignorance instantly. It’s the #1 reason scripts get passed on before page 10.

Tips:

• Watch 10–20 modern comps for your genre.
• Identify expectations (what must be included) vs clichés (what to avoid or reinvent).
• Don’t pitch a “genre-blending masterpiece” unless the genre spine is solid.

MARRY THE INTERNAL ARC TO THE EXTERNAL CONFLICT

This is where great scripts become memorable.

The internal conflict is the wound, fear, lie, or flaw your protagonist must overcome.
The external conflict is the plot driving them toward transformation.

When they match, the script sings.

Example:
A doctor with crippling arachnophobia is trapped in a small town overtaken by mutant spiders.

• External conflict: survive the spider invasion.
• Internal conflict: confront and overcome the lifelong fear.
• Result: transformation under pressure.

More examples:

• A criminal lawyer who lies for a living must prove her innocence in a case built on lies.
• A perfectionist chef is forced to run a chaotic food truck.
• A widower avoiding grief is stuck on a road trip with his emotionally open son.

Pro Tip:
If your external conflict could be given to any other character with no impact on the story, your internal arc isn’t driving the plot.

FORMAT MATTERS

Professionals don’t obsess over format because they’re picky.
They obsess because format is storytelling language that creates emotion for the reader.

Your white space, line length, action density, and transitions affect:

• Pacing
• Tone
• Tension
• Emotional pressure
• The reader’s experience

Format tools that create emotion:

• Short, punchy lines = speed and urgency
• Longer blocks = dread or world-building
• One-sentence paragraphs = emphasis
• Strategic line breaks = breath, pause, or impact

Bonus Tip:
A well-formatted script feels like a movie before it’s ever shot.

FOCUS ON VISUAL CHARACTERIZATION

Characters are revealed by:

• What they WANT
• What they DO under pressure
• What they FEAR
• What they SACRIFICE
• What they CHOOSE when both options hurt

Avoid résumé-style introductions.

Weak:
“JANE (30s) is beautiful but sad.”

Strong:
“JANE (30s) lines up past due notices on a kitchen counter.”

Readers fall in love with the specific, not the general.

LET SUBTEXT DO THE TALKING

Great dialogue is rarely about what’s actually being said.

Create subtext by:

• Giving characters conflicting agenda
• Allowing emotions to slip out sideways
• Letting silence speak louder than words
• Using action as a weapon, not just dialogue

If the scene works without the dialogue, you have subtext.

ALWAYS WRITE WITH THE READER IN MIND

A reader handles 15–25 scripts per day.

Your job:

• Make the script effortless to read
• Make scenes visually gripping
• Keep pages turning
• Deliver genre-specific pleasure
• Leave them wanting to know what happens next

A script is not just a story. It’s a reading experience. And the reader is the audience!

The Bottom Line

The Golden Rule, Show, don’t tell, isn’t enough by itself. Modern screenwriters must master the Golden Rules, plural:

• Show visually, don’t explain verbally
• Understand your genre intimately
• Align internal arc with external conflict
• Use format to generate emotion
• Let subtext work beneath the surface
• Treat the script as a reading experience

Perfect one rule, and your script improves.
Master all of them, and your script becomes undeniable.

One of the greatest indicators of professional-level writing is the ability to create tension on the page. Not tension in the plot, tension in the reader. When a producer, contest judge, or rep feels their breath catch, their eyes widen, or their shoulders tighten, your script has done its job.

Tension is the silent emotional engine of screenwriting. It drives momentum, amplifies stakes, and keeps your reader flipping pages when they should be sleeping. But tension is not created by explosions, gunfights, or horror alone. True tension happens when your formatting, pacing, and scene design work together to create a psychological experience.

Here’s how to master that craft.

What Tension Really Is

Tension is the feeling of anticipation mixed with uncertainty.
It’s the reader thinking:

• “What’s about to happen?”
• “Why is this taking so long?”
• “When will the shoe drop?”
• “Oh no… this is bad.”

Tension is a promise that something emotionally costly is coming, whether it’s fear, heartbreak, embarrassment, a fight, or a revelation.

Tension Lives on the Page, Not Just the Screen

Many writers think tension comes from:

• jump scares
• dramatic dialogue
• big reveals

But that’s only part of it.

Tension is created by:

• sentence length
• white space
• action density
• scene pacing
• line breaks
• withheld information
• rhythm

This is why great scripts feel different on the page.

Techniques to Create Tension Through Formatting

These are insider techniques pros use regularly—often without realizing it.

Use Short, Fragmented Lines for Urgency

Short lines create visual speed because the reader’s eyes move faster.

Example:

He freezes.

A sound.

Behind him.

Your job is to make the reader race down the page.

Use White Space to Create Breath and Anticipation

White space slows reading. It creates a pause—an emotional inhale.

Example:

She steps toward the door.

Stops.

Listens.

Silence on the page equals silence in the story.

Hide the Reveal at the Bottom of the Page

This is a classic pro move.

Put the twist, scare, or shock at the bottom line so the reader must physically turn the page to see it.

This is called a page-turn reveal.

Slow the Moment Before the Danger

Counterintuitively, slowing down creates tension.

Expand the tiny details right before something big happens.

• the buzz of a flickering light
• a bead of sweat
• the hum of a refrigerator
• a tightening grip on the armrest

The calm before the storm is what raises the stakes.

Create a Rhythmic Pattern—Then Break It

If your scene is flowing predictably, break the rhythm.

Example:

• consistent medium-length sentences
• then suddenly—

A scream.

Rhythm manipulation is an advanced skill that separates pros from beginners.

Scene-Level Techniques for Amplifying Tension

Tension is not just created by formatting. It also comes from scene design.

Give Characters Different Objectives

When two people want different things in a scene, tension naturally forms.

Withhold Key Information

Let the audience know something the character doesn’t, or vice versa.

Examples:

• We know the killer is in the house.
• The character knows a secret they’re hiding in conversation.

This imbalance is pure gold.

Trap the Character Emotionally or Physically

No escape = instant tension.

Traps include:

• elevator stuck
• locked room
• phone dies mid-argument
• forced confession
• awkward dinner with ex’s new partner

Physical or emotional, a trap is a trap.

Let the Environment Add Pressure

Storms, sirens, crowds, tight spaces, echoing hallways—
The environment can become a character pushing in.

Let Tension Build—Then Release—Then Build Again

Tension is a wave.
Too much creates fatigue.
Too little creates boredom.

Your job is to ride the wave.

Exercises to Improve Tension Writing

Here are three practical tools:

The 5-Second Rule

Ask:
What would the audience feel if I slowed this moment down by five seconds?

The Breath Test

Count how many beats occur between lines.
If a moment demands anticipation, add space.

The Page-Turn Challenge

Design at least two moments in your script where the bottom line forces the reader to turn the page.

Final Takeaway

Tension is not noise.
It’s not action.
It’s not violence.

Tension is intentional control of the reader’s emotional experience through visuals, pacing, white space, and carefully orchestrated anticipation.

Master the craft of tension on the page, and your script won’t just be read…

It will be felt.

One of the least discussed, and most potent, craft skills in professional screenwriting is visual metaphor. It’s invisible when done well, but unforgettable when done right. Visual metaphor is the art of using images, props, settings, or repeated symbols to convey meaning without relying on dialogue or exposition. It is the deeper layer of “show, don’t tell,” the layer that gives your script emotional dimension and thematic clarity.

Audiences may not consciously recognize visual metaphors, but they feel them. Producers and readers absolutely recognize them, and when they see them in a spec script, they immediately trust the writer.

Let’s dive into how you can use this invisible skill to elevate your writing.

What Is a Visual Metaphor?

A visual metaphor is an image that represents more than what it literally is.
It communicates theme, emotion, or character truth silently, cinematically, and powerfully.

Examples:

• A dying plant symbolizing a dying marriage
• A repeatedly jammed door represents emotional blockage
• A spotless white kitchen showing how a character hides chaos under control
• Rainstorm scenes representing internal turmoil
• A broken watch symbolizing lost time or regret

Professional screenwriters use these constantly. Amateurs rarely do.

Why Visual Metaphors Matter

Visual metaphors elevate your script in several ways:

They communicate subtext without exposition

When you want the audience to feel something, metaphor does the heavy lifting.

They add emotional layering

Scenes gain texture when the environment mirrors or contradicts character emotion.

They create iconic moments

Think of the plastic bag in American Beauty or the spinning top in Inception.

They make your script feel cinematic

Movies are visual. Metaphors are visual. This is where your script becomes “filmable.”

Where to Use Visual Metaphors in Your Script

Introductions

Reveal character psychology instantly through symbolic behavior.

Example:
A character sorting mail into neat piles shows control, organization, and avoidance.

Turning Points

Reinforce emotional stakes with physicalized imagery.

Example:
The character avoids a mirror early in the film… and finally faces it during the midpoint breakdown.

The Climax

Use metaphor as the final emotional statement.

Example:
A character burning the letters they could never let go of.

Scene Transitions

Let a metaphor bridge emotional beats.

Example:
Cutting from a character’s heartbreak to a cracked glass on the kitchen counter.

How to Create Powerful Visual Metaphors

Here are practical steps to integrate visual metaphor into your next rewrite:

Identify Your Story’s Core Theme

You can’t build metaphor without knowing what the story is about underneath the plot.

Themes often fall into categories such as:

• Control vs chaos
• Love vs fear
• Identity
• Grief
• Redemption
• Self-worth

Choose one primary theme, and build your metaphors around it.

Find Physical Objects That Reflect the Theme

Make them tangible, cinematic, and relevant.

Examples:

• Grief: wilted flowers, a locked room, unopened mail
• Control: rigid furniture arrangement, color-coded closets
• Fear: recurring images of cracks, shadows, broken lights
• Hope/renewal: seedlings, sunrise, repaired objects

Tie Metaphors to Character Behavior

Metaphor becomes even more powerful when characters interact with it.

Tips:

• Have characters avoid symbolic objects early
• Then force interaction later
• Then show transformation through that same object

This arc creates silent storytelling that parallels the plot.

Repeat, But Don’t Overdo

A metaphor should be a quiet echo—not a foghorn.

Use occasionally:

• At emotional beats
• At moments of decision
• At chapter-like transitions

Let the Audience Connect the Dots

Never explain the metaphor.

If you write:

“The broken watch symbolizes his lost childhood,”

—this defeats the purpose.

Let the image speak.

Trust the reader.

Examples from Popular Films

• “Get Out” — The sinking place

A metaphor for powerless marginalization.

• “Inside Out” — Memory orbs

Each color-coded orb represents emotion, growth, and change.

• “The Shawshank Redemption” — The rock hammer

A metaphor for hope, patience, and liberation.

• “Arrival” — The circular language

A visual metaphor for nonlinear time and emotional healing.

Final Tip: Add One Visual Metaphor Per Major Character

Even one strong, recurring metaphor:

• deepens theme
• strengthens arc
• creates visual cohesion
• and gives producers a lasting image to remember your script by

Professional screenwriters do this instinctively.

Amateurs almost never do.

Make visual metaphor your secret weapon—and watch how your scripts begin to feel richer, deeper, and truly cinematic.

"We need good screenwriters who understand character." Everywhere Andrew Horton traveled in researching this book―from Hollywood to Hungary―he heard the same refrain. Yet most of the standard how-to books on screenwriting follow the film industry's earlier lead in focusing almost exclusively on plot and formulaic structures.

With this book, Horton, a film scholar and successful screenwriter, provides the definitive work on the character-based screenplay. Exceptionally wide-ranging―covering American, international, mainstream, and "off-Hollywood" films, as well as television―the book offers creative strategies and essential practical information.

Horton begins by placing screenwriting in the context of the storytelling tradition, arguing through literary and cultural analysis that all great stories revolve around a strong central character. He then suggests specific techniques and concepts to help any writer―whether new or experienced―build more vivid characters and screenplays. Centering his discussion around four film examples―including Thelma & Louise and The Silence of the Lambs―and the television series, Northern Exposure, he takes the reader step-by-step through the screenwriting process, starting with the development of multi-dimensional characters and continuing through to rewrite. Finally, he includes a wealth of information about contests, fellowships, and film festivals.

Espousing a new, character-based approach to screenwriting, this engaging, insightful work will prove an essential guide to all of those involved in the writing and development of film scripts.

 Insider-Level Craft + Marketing Strategy for Screenwriters Who Want Hollywood’s Attention

Every writer dreams of hearing the words:
“We’re sending this to ____. They’re interested.”

But landing A-list talent isn’t magic. It isn’t luck. And it isn’t about knowing someone.
A-list actors choose roles based on one thing above all else:

➡️ Is the character an Oscar-worthy meal or a forgettable snack?

To read the full article, please subscribe to the paid version of the newsletter. It's $8 monthly or save 20% with a yearly subscription.

Every great story is built on conflict, and every unforgettable hero is driven by something deeper than the external plot. Underneath the car chases, the romantic tension, the horror beats, or the adventure, there’s something far more important shaping the character’s choices:

The Lie They Believe About Themselves.

This “Character Lie” is one of the most powerful, most underused storytelling tools in screenwriting. It is the emotional wound, false belief, or internal distortion that cripples your hero at the start of the story, and forces them on a journey of transformation.

SUBSCRIBE to read the full article: