Write Your Screenplay Podcast

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.

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.

What do bad jokes, fake smiles, and status games have to do with story structure? In this episode, Jacob Krueger breaks down The Studio’s pilot to show how Matt Remick’s first few minutes on screen don’t just reveal his character, they build the entire engine of the series. You’ll learn how to dramatize want, play status like a pro, and design openings that echo across every episode.

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 horror, action, or comedy—and why horror remains one of the most exciting genres for screenwriters today.

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 you how to bring depth, voice, and authenticity to your writing—without losing the joy of your wildest ideas.

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 seeking to craft screenplays that are both emotionally grounded and commercially viable.

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/

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 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/