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DRAFT ZERO

Draft Zero — Screenwriting Podcast & Deep Screenplay Analysis

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Latest Episode

DZ-129: Steadfast Character Arcs - Agents of Change

How do you write a satisfying story when your character never changes
DZ-129: Steadfast Character Arcs - Agents of Change
Listen to learn how to move an audience with a character who never changes.
1 Aug 2026
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Do characters need to change for you to have a satisfying story? That’s a question we’ve been asking since, like, episode five of this podcast. And we’re finally talking about it

In this continuation of our deep dive into character arcs -- Stu, Chas and Mel break down MOANA, APOLLO 13 and THE DRESSMAKER to work out what carries a story when a character arc doesn’t. If your protagonist isn’t going to change, the drama has to come from what they do to everyone else… →

"I like the idea of emotional tension that Mel, as a way of thinking about emotional events over time because it implies that there’s a setup for it."

— Stu Willis  |  DZ-129: Steadfast Character Arcs - Agents of Change

Recent Episodes

DZ-128: What even is a Character Arc?

What effect does character changing have on the audience?
DZ-128: What even is a Character Arc?
Listen to separate the three layers of an arc -- does the character change? How do they feel about it? And how is the audience positioned to feel about it?
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Stu, Chas and Mel finally begin their long-awaited journey into CHARACTER ARCS. In this “primer” episode, we try find some learnings and analytical lenses that we can then apply in future breakdowns… →

DZ-127: Secrets and Clues 2 - The Cost of Revelation

What does it cost a character to find something out, or to say it?
DZ-127: Secrets and Clues 2 - The Cost of Revelation
Listen to learn the emotional impact of revealing secrets vs discovering them.
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In this episode Stu, Chas and Mel apply the Landmark–Hidden–Secret framework (from DZ-126) across two very different genres: the thriller SIDE EFFECTS (2013) and the tragicomic pilot of SHRINKING… →
Shows: Shrinking

DZ-126: Secrets and Clues

How can Secrets and Clues motivate characters?
DZ-126: Secrets and Clues
Listen if you want to understand how hidden information drives character motivation and plot structure!
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“Getting information puts your character in danger. And danger rewards your character with information." — One of three ideas we steal from game design in this episode. In this two part series, we talk about how secrets, clues and hidden information motivate characters and may (or may not) help you plot from a character perspective. Part One (this episode) looks at WAKE UP DEAD MAN; while Part Two (DZ-127) looks at SIDE EFFECTS, and the pilot episode of SHRINKING… →

Foundational Episodes

Beginner's Guide →

DZ-46: Structure & Point of View

What questions do you want your audience asking at any given time?
Waaaaaaaaaay back in DZ-5, Stu and Chas examined how shifting narrative point of view (i.e. what the audience knows in relation to the characters on screen) heightens emotions in any given scene. We’ve now taken that micro idea and applied it to the macro: how can deciding what the audience knows and when in relation to the characters organise your story? Are whole sequences or even acts driven by the audience following a character, feeling concerned about a character, empathising with a character or being absorbed in the irony of knowing more than all the characters interacting on screen… →
⏱ 2h 25m
19 DEC 2017
Listen if you want to understand how narrative point of view can organise your entire story structure
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DZ-61: Unfilmables 2 - Moments of Awe

How can unfilmables help you create those cinematic moments of awe?
In this second part of our series on unfilmables, Chas and Stu continue their deep dive into how writing the “unfilmable” can enhance your script. Rather than looking at micro moments, they turn their gaze to “moments of awe” — those often breathtaking cinematic moments that feel beyond writing. But are those scenes actually unscriptable… →
⏱ 2h 5m
25 SEP 2019
Listen if you're writing a moment that feels too big for the page (but you need it on the page).
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DZ-62: Unfilmables 3 - As Ifs & Emotional Context

How do you know if your unfilmable is good... or if you're just being a wanker?
In this third and final part of our series on unfilmables, Chas and Stu turn their critical eye to... each other’s work! They take their key learnings from the previous episodes and apply them to rewriting scenes from their own projects. They discuss metaphors, emotional context, and how you can write tone on the page without resorting to unfilmables… →
⏱ 2h 17m
2 DEC 2019
Listen if you want to learn how to write tone and emotional context on the page.
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DZ-29: Showdowns & Scene Structure

What can fight scenes - whether physical or verbal - teach us about structuring any scene?
In exploring how to write good fight scenes, Stu and Chas compare how writers structure memorable showdowns - both verbal and physical. Fights vs arguments. Swords vs insults. Lightsabres vs passive aggressive subtext. To do this, they analyse the showdowns in EASTERN PROMISES, ROB ROY, THE FORCE AWAKENS (yes, yes, we finally let Stu officially discuss Star Wars), A FEW GOOD MEN, BREAKING BAD and BEFORE SUNSET… →
⏱ 1h 41m
25 JAN 2016
Listen to discover how fight scenes can be great inspiration for writing any kind of showdown (verbal or otherwise)
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DZ-45: Arguments of the Scene

How can you dramatise your theme on a scene level?
As part of their ongoing exploration of scene-work, Stu and Chas apply their earlier thinking on theme and character worldview to individual scenes. Can examining a scene from a thematic perspective impact the drama, conflict or stakes of the scene? How does your character’s conscious and subconscious world views dramatise the overall theme of the work? How can an individual scene reflect the larger themes of the overall story? Do any of these questions or approaches lead to writing better scenes… →
⏱ 2h 21m
27 OCT 2017
Listen to discover how a character's worldview becomes the engine of conflict inside a single scene.
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DZ-53: Antagonists! 5 - vs Audience

What if there is no antagonist?
It’s time. The Epic Deep Dive(TM) into Antagonists has reached its shuddering conclusion. And for this Part V - by choosing films that have no obvious singular antagonist (and in some cases no obvious narrative either) - Stu and Chas realised there was indeed a final category of antagonists: the films themselves. Where the film (and the filmmaker) are engaging directly with the audience. Where the films are... VERSUS AUDIENCE… →
⏱ 2h 26m
26 AUG 2018
Listen to turn narrative uncertainty itself into the engine that keeps viewers compelled.
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