“Plot is just not my gift. I’m fascinated with complex characters, and that doesn’t mix well with complex plots. . . . I’ve made up little mantras for myself, catchphrases from a screenwriting book that doesn’t exist. One is ‘Write the movie you’d pay to go see.’ Another is ‘Never let a character tell me something that the camera can show me.’ Then there’s ‘You always want the audience wondering what’s going to happen next, never what’s happening.’ Maybe if I’d graduated college or read a book on screenwriting, I’d do things differently. But this is how I do ’em.”
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)
Vulture interview with David Marchese
Related posts:
Simple Stories/Complex Characters
Simplicity in Screenwriting