Make your story the best it can be!

Since 2005, Joe Gilford's Story Rescue has worked with all types of writers to develop their best work. If you're looking to build your confidence as a writer, ​Story Rescue will help you find the key to writing a great story and guide you to becoming a better writer.  

​Rescue your story today!

Available in PRINT and AUDIO.

FREE when you sign up for your first consultation

“Why Does the Screenwriter Cross the Road? is both smart and smart ass. It takes an unusual long-range approach to screenwriting that is irresistible.”
— CHARLIE RUBIN, Writer: Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Seinfeld, In Living Color.

“"If you are writing, thinking about writing, or rewriting a script, buy this wonderful book. It will help you write your best movie" 
- JACQUELYN REINGOLD, Writer & showrunner: The Good Fight, In Treatment, Grace & Frankie. 

"The most complete and honest book about the process of screenwriting I’ve ever read. It will inspire you guide you, and galvanize you to write the screenplay you’ve always wanted to write.” 
- MICHAEL PRESSMAN, Emmy Award winning director & showrunner: Those Lips, Those Eyes; Some Kind of Hero, Chicago Hope, Blue Bloods, Justified, Law & Order.

What makes a good story?

YOU ALREADY KNOW!
You’ve been watching movies and TV all your life. So you already know many of the basic principles of dramatic writing. You also know what you enjoy and admire in films. Story Rescue helps apply your intuitive knowledge to the ages-old principles of dramatic writing. You already know that a story is a character who struggles with problems that lead to a significant change or the recognition of a quality that they never thought they had.
RIGHT?

If this is how you experience stories, then read on. If you think writers just sit down and write a screenplay, then definitely read on. 

THE STORY IS ALWAYS BEING TOLD!
One of the most common mistakes aspiring screenwriters make is not telling the story. This means that as the action unfolds, many writers allow their story to just peter out, slow down and become dull. Solving this problem is simply a matter of sticking to one basic rule: “ALWAYS TELL THE STORY.” Every good movie does this. How can you learn how this is done? 

NOT “FORMULA”—–CRAFT!
Unfortunately, dramatic writing is not like cabinetry. There is no absolutely correct formula. But like cabinetry, the pieces must fit together to make the work strong. There are fundamental principles of craft that we can follow in order to create a dramatic story; a story that does what it needs to do—excite and engage the audience. This audience also includes actors, directors and producers.

I like to say, “Screenplays aren’t written; they’re BUILT,” because the purposeful and thoughtful arrangement of a story is what makes a good script good. You do need to write it, otherwise our scripts would simply be storyboards. Strangely enough, we need to connect our audience to an emotional experience, and writing is the most effective way for us to do it.

ART v. COMMERCE
Believe it or not, your script can be artistic AND commercial. Somehow, a myth has developed that these two qualities are in opposition. Some of the most commercially successful scripts are also the most artistic. This runs the full spectrum from “Dumb & Dumber” to “Chinatown” to “Breaking the Waves” to “The Sopranos” and long running sitcoms like “Friends.”

Good stories are simply GOOD and appeal to an audience. Sometimes that audience is large, sometimes it’s small. But it must appeal to SOMEBODY.

Sounds easy but this is where the hard work begins.

After decades of writing and teaching, I have come upon an approach that works for many writers. It's served me well as a screenwriting professor since 1999 with hundreds of students at NYU and other institutions.

​Find out how Story Rescue can work for you! 
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