DAVID HAL CHESTER

Speaking for myself, I feel every aspect of my life and world has changed, and most of it not for the better. The world I grew up in and...

2024 is wrapping up. It's time to reflect on what was achieved and look forward to what WILL be achieved. Achieved: my 10th produced...

Well. Suddenly it’s December 2024. We always think we have more time. And then we don’t. This was a challenging year on many levels for...

In my previous blog, posted on July 8, 2024, I promised to return at the end of August with the rough draft of an idea that has been...

The industry is changing. AI is creeping into everything we do. Do writers actually have a purpose anymore, other than feeding prompts...

Write with abandon. Let the words come flying, fast and furious, and do not edit them as you tap them out or scribble across the page. Do...

It's been a while since my last post. Almost every waking minute, until a few weeks ago, was spent on polishing a screenplay which is, as...

If you are a writer, specifically a screenwriter, you must have heard the phrase "Keep writing!" It's always said in a cheerful way. No...

(Photo by Zbynek Polak) You want to be a screenwriter. A director. A producer. You want to do it all. You don't have any money, you don't...

2022 was perhaps the most challenging year of my life. I started off with a health crisis that I was sure spelled the end for me. By the...

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But for me, it took me decades to accept that I even had a voice. I spent the majority of my life...

Because I came to screenwriting much later than most writers do, I always felt I had to try harder and learn more and be better. I was...

I used to write with co-writers. I loved the experience. I do not like writing alone. That said, even though I had co-writers, I often...

I wouldn't say I have "imposter screenwriter" syndrome, but I definitely have moments where I think, "Okay, step back, it's time to let...

You have an idea for a screenplay. In fact, you might even have a finished screenplay. Now, you want to engage a producer or manager. Do...

I did not start screenwriting until the age at which most people have already achieved career success in their chosen field. In my case,...

Did I say "outline"? I recently handed in a first draft of a feature screenplay that I was hired to write by a production company that...

The first time I heard this phrase, I couldn't understand what it meant. Colleen, my friend and former roommate, said it one day when we...

Perhaps some of you have heard of the American Western crime drama TV series "Justified." The series was created by Graham Yost, based on...

I am a lucky person. I have many, many things: clothes on my back, food in my stomach, a roof over my head, sunlight streaming through my...