Journal of Screenwriting - Volume 17, Issue 1, 2026

Leading scholar, Ian Macdonald believes students must learn the orthodox rules of screenwriting first, or risk being called incompetent. This article looks at the consequences of learning the orthodox rules first in script development training. It critiques the nexus between industrial Hollywood and universities and argues that training students to write scripts according to the classic Hollywood narrative model intended for production in the industrial mainstream represents a narrow and inadequate pedagogy. The article takes a writer-centric view of script development drawn from a case study of the feature film Fell (2014) written by Natasha Pincus. Pincus’s industry-free development methodology is used as the context for examining current script development theory and teaching practice, the heavily disparaged concept of the individual writer’s authorship and the unequal balance between imagination and creativity/craft and rules that occurs in teaching students how to apply the classic Hollywood narrative rubric. The article argues for greater diversity in teaching script development and screenwriting, including a recalibration of the position of screenwriters so that their contribution is valued and respected.

Narrative conventions draw the screenwriter repeatedly to singular and permanent character change as an essential component of a dramatic film. When writing an interactive film with a multi-linear branching narrative, the concept of character change was problematized. Opportunities emerged for the protagonist of the resultant interactive film to change in contradictory ways depending on the choices the audience made at key intervals. These contradictions led to a dilemma: if the protagonist of a film is effectively realized, then how can multiple character choices and consequential character changes remain viable? Using screenwriting as a mode of inquiry, I reflect on the process of writing multiple drafts of an interactive film and consider how the protagonist of a dramatic narrative might change in ways not usually prescribed by narrative conventions – especially when one considers how the protagonist often weathers a crisis which leaves them vulnerable to unauthorized impulses. However, in the process of writing an interactive film, I continually resisted this possibility, removed the protagonist from the story altogether and embraced an ill-fitting meta-narrative rather than face this potential plurality. This suggests that screenwriting pedagogy might account for the power of internalized narrative conventions which could misdirect creativity when one is deliberately experimenting with the form.

This study provides a new perspective on adaptation processes by examining the interactions amongst television screenwriters and book authors within Israel’s youth media system. It explores the relationships and dialogues between these content creators during the adaptation process using polysystem theory and a media systems integration model as theoretical frameworks in specific contexts. Through semi-structured interviews with fifteen youth content creators (seven screenwriters and eight authors), this study reveals how adaptations are shaped by professional norms and interpersonal dynamics in this marginal media system. The findings identify three key dynamics: creative autonomy for practitioners, which enables content creators to exercise their expertise whilst maintaining collaborative respect; interpersonal adaptability in navigating personal relationships and professional egos; and adherence to core narrative principles that preserve essential story elements. Additionally, the research exposes a status distinction within adaptation practices: literary-to-screen adaptations are regarded as culturally valuable and pedagogically beneficial, whereas screen-to-literature adaptations are considered primarily commercial ventures with minimal artistic merit. These findings demonstrate how adaptation outcomes emerge from production contexts and professional relationships rather than being determined exclusively by source material analysis. The present work contributes to adaptation theory by highlighting the significance of production environment and creator collaboration in shaping adaptation processes and their cultural reception.

Television screenwriting theory traditionally discourages dialogue-heavy character exposition, yet contemporary serial narratives increasingly demand psychologically complex characters. This study applies Michael D. Bristol’s vernacular approach from literary criticism to television dialogue practices, demonstrating how writers can use strategic verbal cues to create authentic character motivations. Using the false villain method, this research reimagines Shakespeare’s Juliet Capulet for a speculative television adaptation, showing how canonical character traits can appear transformed through trauma while remaining psychologically consistent. The methodology reveals how audiences naturally interpret scattered verbal cues to construct coherent character portraits, an interpretive process that current screenwriting theory has not systematized. The study finds that Bristol’s two-step framework (identifying structural absences and applying background knowledge) provides television writers with practical tools for dialogue-driven character development. Rather than avoiding exposition, writers can transform it into opportunities for collaborative interpretation that engage audiences’ psychological understanding. This research contributes to screenwriting theory by introducing philosophical concepts of character from literary studies, particularly the idea of treating fictional characters as psychologically real people. This perspective validates character-based interpretation and challenges formalist approaches that reduce characters to structural elements, demonstrating how literary theory’s understanding of character psychology can enhance television writing practices.

Review of: Screenwriting in French Cinema, Sarah Leahy and Isabelle Vanderschelden (2021)

Manchester: Manchester University Press, 392 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-71908-842-1, h/bk, GBP 85.00