If you could physically remove your laptop screen and hold it vertically, it would be the perfect size for reading a script. That’s the hope behind the mythical Apple tablet that always seems six months away. But until Mr. Jobs decides we’re ready for...

Ever since I got my Kindle,1 I’ve been looking for a good way to read scripts on it. Emailing a .pdf would result in mangled margins and bizarre gaps. Converting to a .doc format with a very specific template would give me something almost acceptable,...

Zombies are more than the walking dead. They’re a useful paradigm for a range of common scenarios in many genres. Whenever your hero is facing off against a system or mob rather than an individual, that’s potentially a zombie-class situation. Any...

Jessica Bendinger (Bring It On, Stick It) is hosting a competition centered around her new novel, inviting readers to adapt a bit from it into a scene. It’s like one of this site’s scene challenges, but based on an actual real book rather than my...

You wouldn’t splash gasoline on the walls of your home, then toss a few matches while strolling out the door. In real life, this kind of willful destruction is criminal. In fiction, it’s crucial. As the writer, you need to burn down houses. You need...