ScriptNotes, as you might guess, is a podcast “about screenwriting, and things interesting to screenwriters.” It’s hosted by working screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin, with frequent high-profile guests like Christopher McQuarrie and Vince Gilligan.
I’ve never written a screenplay. While it might be fun to try at some point, my interests mostly lie in prose fiction. Luckily, I’ve found that most of the episodes I’ve listened to are filled with good advice and discussion that’s applicable to all sorts of fiction writing, not just movies and TV.
The podcast recently crossed the 600-episode mark in their 11th season (what do seasons even mean in podcasting?) Episodes are typically about an hour long, and vary from screenwriter interviews to listener Q&A to deep dives on specific writing topics or specific movie scripts.
As an example, recent episodes included a discussion about the dynamics of writing a story with a large cast of characters, and an analysis of the “side-quests” and “sub-quests” that make up the scene-to-scene meat of a larger character arc.
The show only keeps something like the most recent 20 episodes in their free feed. As someone who sometimes binges podcasts, I was actually a bit relieved to not feel the need to “catch up” on something new with so many episodes.
However, if you really like the free samples and are willing to pay, the entire back catalog and some bonus content is available via subscription on their website, for $5 per month or $49 per year. They also include a few minutes of bonus content at the end of each episode, for subscribers. I may decide to pick up a sub for a month or two, just to surf through some of the old episodes.
729 – Endings Compendium, Part II – Scriptnotes Podcast
Words Deferred 
One thought on “Reference Desk #18 — ScriptNotes Podcast”