Rather than rating movies and TV shows like a critic, “two thumbs up” or “two thumbs down,” WGA Award Winning screenwriter Jacob Krueger breaks down scripts without judgment (from scripts you loved, to scripts you hated) to show you what you can learn from them as screenwriters. Plus meet special guests, and get answers to your most pressing screenwriting questions! WriteYourScreenplay.com
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What are intrusive thoughts—and what are you supposed to do with them as a writer? In this episode of the podcast, Jacob Krueger explores intrusive thoughts not as a psychological obstacle, but as a powerful creative tool. Because the real challenge of writing isn’t eliminating distraction—it’s learning how to transform what interrupts you into inspiration. Drawing on the film and play versions of Amadeus, Jake shows how Peter Shaffer externalized his own competing inner voices into two unforget...
How do you make a devastating story feel funny—without losing its truth? In this episode of the podcast, Jacob Krueger explores Dying for Sex, the extraordinary limited series created by Elizabeth Meriwether and Kim Rosenstock, to break down one of the most elusive tools in screenwriting: tone. Focusing on a single scene from episode 5, Jake shows how the writers take one of the darkest confrontations imaginable—a daughter facing her mother about trauma—and shape it into something that is simult...
What is a TV Bible today, and why do you need one to sell your show? In this episode of the podcast, Jacob Krueger breaks down the TV Bible not as an industry insider’s document, but as a practical creative tool for proving that your show actually works. Because the real challenge of television isn’t writing a great pilot. It’s building an engine that can generate story—episode after episode—without losing the spark that made the show exciting in the first place. a Jake explores how TV writing h...
What happens when you take the structure of a movie you love—and try to breathe new life into it? In this episode of the podcast, Jacob Krueger explores In the Blink of an Eye, the ambitious sci-fi drama written by Colby Day that premiered at Sundance and is now streaming on Hulu. Deeply influenced by Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, the film unfolds across three timelines connected by shared questions about death, evolution, and the fragile miracle of human life. Comparing the two films as a ca...
Why do we stay emotionally locked into a story even when the plot sounds flat on paper—or morally repellent in practice? In this episode, Jacob Krueger breaks down Park Chan-wook’s darkly hilarious, deeply unsettling No Other Choice to reveal the engine that makes it so powerful: not plot, but structure. Using the film’s escalating moral pressure as a case study, Jake shows how structure is built from choices—how characters deal with what happens—and how theme emerges when you drive a protagonis...
What does it actually mean to adapt a story- and how can radically different adaptations emerge from the same source material? In this episode, Jacob Krueger looks at the novel and film versions of Hamnet and the ’90s award darling Shakespeare in Love to show how finding the location of your adaptation shapes character, structure, tone, and theme—and why successful adaptations are defined less by fidelity to source material than by the clarity of your intentions
What does it actually mean to adapt a story- and how can radically different adaptations emerge from the same source material? In this episode, Jacob Krueger looks at the novel and film versions of Hamnet and the ’90s award darling Shakespeare in Love to show how finding the location of your adaptation shapes character, structure, tone, and theme—and why successful adaptations are defined less by fidelity to source material than by the clarity of your intentions
What if raising the stakes in your screenplay has nothing to do with explosions, danger, or bigger plot events? In this rerelease of a classic episode, Jake takes on one of the most misunderstood producer notes—raise the stakes—and reframes it from the ground up. Stakes, he explains, don’t begin with what happens on screen. They begin with empathy: our connection to a character, what they want, and how hard it is for them to get it.
Every year, writers make New Year’s resolutions with the best intentions—only to watch those resolutions crumble under real life. The problem isn’t discipline or willpower, but the same structural mistakes that cause character arcs to collapse in screenplays. Learn how to build 2026 resolutions that actually work by drawing on the same techniques writers use to create journeys of lasting change for their characters.
What happens when a classic modern “Western” like First Blood is reimagined for a world where moral clarity has collapsed? In this episode, Jacob Krueger analyzes Ari Aster’s Eddington in comparison to First Blood to reveal how theme drives character, action, dialogue, and structure when adapting within a genre.
Pluribus isn’t just a masterclass in character, it’s a study in how the world around your protagonist shapes our empathy. Jake explores how Vince Gilligan uses contrast, irony, and a disruptive structural design in the pilot and second episode of Pluribus to draw us toward a protagonist who isn’t trying to be likable, revealing a deeper craft approach to writing truthful, compelling characters without having to “save the cat.”
With the LA Screenwriting Weekend approaching, Jake sits down with writer and teacher Steven Bagatourian to explore the balance between fire, craft, and voice. Together they dig into why instinct needs structure, why structure needs heat, and how the voice you’re seeking often emerges in the friction between the two.
Jacob Krueger dissects the pilot of Apple TV's "The Studio" to reveal how Matt Remick's introduction establishes character, themes, and the series' core engine. The episode emphasizes dramatizing character wants, utilizing status games, and designing openings that serve as blueprints for an entire series. Learn how early choices define a character's journey and drive ongoing conflict.
Many writers rush to the inciting incident around page 10-12, weakening their script’s foundation. Jake Krueger shows how slowing down and embracing presence can transform your writing and creative journey.
In this episode of the Write Your Screenplay Podcast, Jacob Krueger analyzes Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, revealing how theme, character development, and structure shape a screenplay’s emotional impact. Learn practical rewriting strategies, how to uncover hidden stories, and why authentic character motivation is key to crafting scripts that resonate deeply with audiences.
In this Write Your Screenplay Podcast episode, Jacob Krueger analyzes Amazon’s The Girlfriend to explore how the “game of the scene” fuels a lasting series engine. Learn why mirrored perspectives, foils, and escalation drive audience engagement—and what happens when writers break the very patterns that hold a show together. Perfect for writers seeking practical screenwriting tools for TV structure.
Thinking about writing a horror movie as your way into Hollywood? Horror is an $8.5 billion genre hungry for new voices and original stories. In this episode of the Write Your Screenplay Podcast, Jacob Krueger analyzes Zach Cregger’s Weapons to reveal why the most powerful horror films are built not on gore or jump scares, but on character dynamics, emotional journeys, and human struggles that resonate with audiences everywhere. Learn how metaphor, allegory, and authentic voice can elevate horro...
In this episode of the Write Your Screenplay Podcast, Jacob Krueger explores how K-Pop Demon Hunters transforms a wild premise into a moving story. You’ll discover 3 tools every writer can use to elevate their screenwriting: research that makes your world culturally rich and emotionally grounded, themes that turn spectacle into resonance, and characters whose voices and actions carry real emotional weight. Whether you’re working on your first script or refining your tenth, this episode will show...
In this episode of the Write Your Screenplay Podcast, Jacob Krueger breaks down Mark Anthony Green’s Opus to reveal how elevated horror and screenwriting allegory can emerge organically from what already exists on the page. Through deep analysis of character wants, political themes, and mirrored choices, you'll learn how to create meaning without exposition, use your first image to establish emotional stakes and tone, and develop structure that resonates from the inside out. Perfect for writers ...
Learn a powerful self-hypnosis technique to break through past trauma and writer’s and more deeply connect to your characters and your voice as a writer. Jacob Krueger shares life-changing tools drawn from hypnosis, NLP and neuroscience.
Explore how sea change, bifurcated characters, and mythic symbolism power the structure and politics of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
This episode pulls it all together, with a deep dive into the structure of Adolescence Episode 4 and how it fits into the overall structure and series engine of Adolescence and how to know if your project should be a Limited Series. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Learn how Adolescence Episode 3 (building upon structural techniques from The Wire) uses a Pattern Based Series Engine to navigate rare changes in characters and narrative form while still preserving the feeling of the series Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Learn how to use dialectical structure to deepen your screenplay’s theme, character arcs, and emotional impact through a deep analysis of Adolescence Episode 2. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Learn how Adolescence grabs its audience in the first ten seconds—and what screenwriters can take from its naturalistic style, one-shot structure, and emotionally grounded approach to character. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Discover how Thunderbolts uses theme to explore depression, trauma, and healing within the structure and genre of a big budget superhero action movie—and how to bring emotional depth to your own screenwriting. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Learn how The Last of Us Season 2 resets its story engine—and what it teaches about rebuilding character dynamics, stakes, and tension in your own TV series. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Learn how Nickel Boys and Shawshank Redemption use secondary structure to shape audience expectations—and how to apply these techniques to the structure of your screenplay. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Learn how Engine and Theme function in all 3 seasons of The White Lotus and how slight changes in The White Lotus Season 3 massively affect the feeling of the series... Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
Discover how Sean Baker’s Anora uses a seismic mid-story twist to reshape structure, character, and theme — and how to apply it to your screenplay. Join us for a Special Thursday Night Writes! Our Happy Hour of Writing Exercises with Jake every Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, RSVP: https://www.writeyourscreenplay.com/free-writing-classes-thursday-night-writes/
