I've Been Teaching Writing For 25 Years... Avoid These Mistakes - Matthew Kalil
Update: 2025-11-26
Description
Watch the video version of this podcast here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxCQfyWK0Ds
Our two new books... STORY QUESTIONS: How To Unlock Your Story One Question At A Time - https://payhip.com/b/ZTvq9 and 17 Steps To Writing A Great Main Character - https://payhip.com/b/kCZGd
0:00 - Meditate And Create
13:19 - How AI Might Affect Writers
21:59 - First 3 Steps To Writing A Screenplay
32:47 - How Story Structure Can Limit Creativity
43:34 - I've Been Teaching Screenwriting For 25 Years... Here Are The Most Common Mistakes
58:36 - There Is No Such Thing As An Antagonist
1:13:57 - I've Spent Years Writing A Screenplay... And Now No One Wants To Read It
BUY THE BOOK - THE THREE WELLS OF SCREENWRITING: Discover Your Deep Sources Of Inspiration - https://amzn.to/34kbPaP
Matthew Kalil is a writer, director, script editor, author and speaker. He has written and co-written over 40 produced episodes of TV and has received various grants, development funding and awards. Matthew’s productions have been screened and broadcast in Canada, Denmark, Morocco, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom. Since receiving his MA in Screenwriting, he has been teaching, writing and mentoring students for over 20 years. Matthew has developed a unique system of screenwriting theory that helps beginners as well as established screenwriters get in touch with their creative core. His book, The Three Wells of Screenwriting, published by Michael Wiese productions with a foreword by Christopher Vogler, has been describes as a “breakthrough in the writing craft.” His workshops have touched and inspired thousands of participants and his gentle and insightful script editing guidance has helped many writers realize the stories they were always trying to tell. A charismatic speaker, Matthew has enjoyed presenting many times at the London Screenwriting Festival, the Cape Town International Animation Festival and the University Film and Video Association. Matthew is currently an Assistant Professor at the David Lynch MFA in screenwriting in the USA.
MORE VIDEOS WITH MATTHEW KALIL
https://bit.ly/2kMqz05
CONNECT WITH MATTHEW KALIL
http://matthewkalil.com
CONNECT WITH THE THREE WELLS OF SCREENWRITING
http://thethreewells.com
/ the_three_wells
/ the3wells
/ thethreewells
SUPPORT FILM COURAGE BY BECOMING A MEMBER
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs8o1mdWAfefJkdBg632_tg/join
SUPPORT FILM COURAGE BY BECOMING A PATRON
https://www.patreon.com/filmcourage
(Affiliates)
►WE USE THIS CAMERA (B&H) – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
►WE USE THIS SOUND RECORDER (AMAZON) – http://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
(Affiliates)
►BOOKS WE RECOMMEND:
THE NUTSHELL TECHNIQUE: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting https://amzn.to/2X3Vx5F
THE STORY SOLUTION: 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take
http://amzn.to/2gYsuMf
LENS - Most people ask us what camera we use, no one ever asks about the lens which filmmakers always tell us is more important. This lens was a big investment for us and one we wish we could have made sooner. Started using this lens at the end of 2013 - http://amzn.to/2tbtmOq
AUDIO
Rode VideoMic Pro - The Rode mic helps us capture our backup audio. It also helps us sync up our audio in post https://amzn.to/425k5rG
Audio Recorder - If we had to do it all over again, this is probably the first item we would have bought - https://amzn.to/3WEuz0k
LIGHTS - Although we like to use as much natural light as we can, we often enhance the lighting with this small portable light. We have two of them and they have saved us a number of times - http://amzn.to/2u5UnHv
*Disclaimer: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for your support!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxCQfyWK0Ds
Our two new books... STORY QUESTIONS: How To Unlock Your Story One Question At A Time - https://payhip.com/b/ZTvq9 and 17 Steps To Writing A Great Main Character - https://payhip.com/b/kCZGd
0:00 - Meditate And Create
13:19 - How AI Might Affect Writers
21:59 - First 3 Steps To Writing A Screenplay
32:47 - How Story Structure Can Limit Creativity
43:34 - I've Been Teaching Screenwriting For 25 Years... Here Are The Most Common Mistakes
58:36 - There Is No Such Thing As An Antagonist
1:13:57 - I've Spent Years Writing A Screenplay... And Now No One Wants To Read It
BUY THE BOOK - THE THREE WELLS OF SCREENWRITING: Discover Your Deep Sources Of Inspiration - https://amzn.to/34kbPaP
Matthew Kalil is a writer, director, script editor, author and speaker. He has written and co-written over 40 produced episodes of TV and has received various grants, development funding and awards. Matthew’s productions have been screened and broadcast in Canada, Denmark, Morocco, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom. Since receiving his MA in Screenwriting, he has been teaching, writing and mentoring students for over 20 years. Matthew has developed a unique system of screenwriting theory that helps beginners as well as established screenwriters get in touch with their creative core. His book, The Three Wells of Screenwriting, published by Michael Wiese productions with a foreword by Christopher Vogler, has been describes as a “breakthrough in the writing craft.” His workshops have touched and inspired thousands of participants and his gentle and insightful script editing guidance has helped many writers realize the stories they were always trying to tell. A charismatic speaker, Matthew has enjoyed presenting many times at the London Screenwriting Festival, the Cape Town International Animation Festival and the University Film and Video Association. Matthew is currently an Assistant Professor at the David Lynch MFA in screenwriting in the USA.
MORE VIDEOS WITH MATTHEW KALIL
https://bit.ly/2kMqz05
CONNECT WITH MATTHEW KALIL
http://matthewkalil.com
CONNECT WITH THE THREE WELLS OF SCREENWRITING
http://thethreewells.com
/ the_three_wells
/ the3wells
/ thethreewells
SUPPORT FILM COURAGE BY BECOMING A MEMBER
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs8o1mdWAfefJkdBg632_tg/join
SUPPORT FILM COURAGE BY BECOMING A PATRON
https://www.patreon.com/filmcourage
(Affiliates)
►WE USE THIS CAMERA (B&H) – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
►WE USE THIS SOUND RECORDER (AMAZON) – http://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
(Affiliates)
►BOOKS WE RECOMMEND:
THE NUTSHELL TECHNIQUE: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting https://amzn.to/2X3Vx5F
THE STORY SOLUTION: 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take
http://amzn.to/2gYsuMf
LENS - Most people ask us what camera we use, no one ever asks about the lens which filmmakers always tell us is more important. This lens was a big investment for us and one we wish we could have made sooner. Started using this lens at the end of 2013 - http://amzn.to/2tbtmOq
AUDIO
Rode VideoMic Pro - The Rode mic helps us capture our backup audio. It also helps us sync up our audio in post https://amzn.to/425k5rG
Audio Recorder - If we had to do it all over again, this is probably the first item we would have bought - https://amzn.to/3WEuz0k
LIGHTS - Although we like to use as much natural light as we can, we often enhance the lighting with this small portable light. We have two of them and they have saved us a number of times - http://amzn.to/2u5UnHv
*Disclaimer: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for your support!
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