7 Timeless Business Lessons You Can Learn from Hollywood Screenplays

7 Timeless Business Lessons You Can Learn from Hollywood Screenplays

Reader Comments (35)

  1. cool post, nice stuff. the syd field book is awesome, i second. i would also like to add a recommendation for the book 20 master plots and how to build them. one of the clearest, simplest, and most useful books on story structure i’ve seen.

  2. Brian,
    you should check out his project actoguitar.com (not going to comment spam you 🙂 ) very clever idea “get paid to learn to play the guitar”

  3. I second that emotion of the kids blog and this post has given me an idea.

    Thanks Brian. It won’t be a moneymaker, but it will make buzz… I hope.

  4. As an editor, I also appreciate your emphasis on rewriting. You wouldn’t believe how many writers I work with who think their written words are some kind of holy text.

  5. I like the way you think. I’m an arts buff who’s trying to become a blogging entrepreneur. You put things in terms I understand. Thanks!

  6. Julien, cool! I like Alex’s book a lot… it’s very practical in approach and very well written, which makes it very analogous to a good copywriting book.

    I just found out he has a blog.

  7. Great article, it reminded me of something I learned a long time ago and lost track of over the years.. it’s back to Stanislovski and cat watching for me.

  8. Great post.
    There is a fellow by the name of Cliff Atkinson who uses the same analogy regarding PowerPoint presentations which I found really interesting. (beyondbulletsdotcom)

    Most presentations are not only shockingly boring, they are also less than memorable. He adopts the story telling framework as well which really works in my view.

  9. It is amazing how you can view the world through lenses of your profession and a blogger?

    Suddenly, Hollywood becomes a blog topic and is related to your occupation. Who would have thought?

  10. This is a classic: easy to read, concise, great information.

    I’ve recently thought about recycing some of my posts.

    Question about recycling posts: My early audience was about 5 people so it’s not like the information will be a repeat for most folks, but is this really a good idea?

  11. In regards to Plot, “In business, this is where you live your big story.”

    There are times I forget to live my story. I start to lose focus and my Hook becomes unclear. Consequently that affects the validity and quality of my content. Words become nothing more than an insignificant collection of letters if there is no genuine action/meaning to back them up.

    Thanks for the insight Brian. I love all of you guys at Copyblogger! (in a completely internet-platonic kind of way)

  12. Brian – very interesting to learn this all started with you pursuing screenwriting. My career took a similar path, so hopefully that means I’m on the right track!

    I’ve read the McKee and Syd Field books, but not the one you based your post around. Thanks for the tip.
    Another book that I’d recommend is “Good Scripts Bad Scripts” by Thomas Pope. It takes a look at well known movies that were winners and losers, and why those stories did or didn’t strike a chord with an audience.

    I’m willing to bet it’s been mentioned on Copyblogger before – but anyone who writes anything should read Anne Lamott’s “Bird by Bird.”

  13. Robert Mckee’s book “Story” is a ostensibly about screen writing, but it’s one of the best books about writing I’ve ever written – I can’t recommend it enough! it’s completely dedicated to the art and craft of telling a compelling and engaging story.

  14. Great post Brian! I love the succinctness of the message and the film making analogy. It makes the point really clear. I love the idea of being a micro business – hey the nimbleness and flexibility is a big advantage. You can take and implement decisions immediately and change the business direction for the better. But it does mean you’ve also got to work on your public image and get people to like you – after all, we don’t always buy the product / service – we’re buying the person behind the product. And because the owner is the rock, it’s essential customers “like” and trust you. I like the idea of the “bankable star” and you’re so right Brian, there are lots of innovative ways to connect with your audience to build that all important 2-way conversation and dialogue.

  15. Great post, Brian! The seventh tip is the one that really speaks to me. I often find myself changing tidbits of my previously published posts almost every day because I find parts where I think different words would better fit to convey my message more clearly. Rarely, I’d even end up almost rewriting an entire post because I know how to better portray my idea later, but I find it better to just write an entirely new post in this case.

This article's comments are closed.