How-To

The parts nobody explains.

Practical guides to coverage itself — how to read one, what the verdicts mean, and what to do with the notes.

How-To 08 title card: how to write subtext. How-To

How to Write Subtext

October 26, 2026

Dialogue that says exactly what a character means is usually the weakest dialogue on the page. How to build subtext without going vague, plus a one-question test you can run on any line.

Read → How-To 07 title card — writing a villain who isn’t just an obstacle, and the Tuesday Test for your antagonist. How-To

How to Write a Villain Who Isn’t Just an Obstacle

October 5, 2026

A villain who only exists to be beaten is easy to replace. A framework for giving your antagonist a want of their own, plus the Tuesday Test to run on yours.

Read → How-To 06 title card — handling a script note you disagree with, and how to tell a real problem from a gut reaction. How-To

How to Handle a Note You Disagree With

September 28, 2026

Not every note is right for your story, and not every gut reaction against one is either. A framework for telling a real problem from personal taste, plus a two-step test for knowing which is which.

Read → How-To 05 title card — giving your lead agency, so the story moves because of their choices rather than around them. How-To

How to Give Your Lead Agency

September 21, 2026

A script can be structurally sound and still feel passive. The difference between a lead who reacts and a lead who drives the story, and a quick test to check which one you've written.

Read → How-To 04 title card — writing a vertical series hook that earns a viewer’s commitment in the first few seconds. How-To

How to Write a Vertical Series Hook (Every Second Counts)

September 14, 2026

Vertical viewers swipe fast, so what makes them stop? The difference between a hook and a jolt, the two failure modes almost every vertical opening falls into, and the one-sentence test that works whether you're writing verticals, pilots, or features.

Read → How-To 03 title card — writing a cliffhanger that is a real bet with the audience rather than a cheap jump. How-To

How to Write a Cliffhanger (That Isn't Just a Cheap Trick)

September 7, 2026

A lot of cliffhangers are like a jump-scare, cheap thrills that get forgotten — the bet a real cliffhanger makes with the audience, the three kinds most scripts only use one of, and the mistake that undoes a good ending in the first thirty seconds of the next scene.

Read → How-To 02 title card — telling a real script note apart from a reader’s personal opinion. How-To

How to Tell the Difference Between a Note and an Opinion

August 24, 2026

Not every note in your coverage deserves the same response. A practical framework for sorting real script notes from one reader's personal taste — three questions to run any note through, and what to do when it's genuinely both.

Read → A script reader sits on a desk holding a coverage page, beside the headline ‘How To: Read script coverage.’ How-To

How to Read Script Coverage (And What to Actually Do With It)

August 17, 2026

A coverage report isn't a grade — it's one reader's structured opinion, and it's only useful if you know how to read it. A working reader's honest guide to what Pass, Consider, and Recommend actually mean, how to read a weakness note like a diagnosis instead of a sentence, and what to actually do once you've read the thing.

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