Jordan Christopher Morris

Screenwriting instructor/coach and writer/producer of Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, winner of the 2023 TIFF People's Choice and 5 CSA Awards

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

When you apply these 5 passes, your pages start to play like film in the reader’s mind.

Full breakdown + worksheet here: https://t.co/vf6CKJ0FsZ

#Screenwriting #Storytelling #WritingTips

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

Most scenes look fine on the page… but they don’t land.

If your reader doesn’t feel it in their body, the scene is lost.

Here’s my 5-pass method to fix that...

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

Run every scene through 5 quick editing passes:

Pulse — What should the audience feel?

Change — Emotional shift?

Causality — THEREFORE/BUT, not “and then.”

Echo — A motif that evolves.

Clarity — Storyboard-ready action.

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

Some trailers entertain. Others remind us why stories matter.
Every Little Thing is a year old, but it's one of the clearest examples of pure EMPATHY at work.
Watch here: https://t.co/Uk7thcRhUj

#TrailerBreakdown #EveryLittleThing #Documentary #Empathy #ScreenwritingTips

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

TRAILER: CAUGHT STEALING

IMDb tags: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller → Emotional Pulses: Excitement, Anxiety, Joy (Amusement)

Want to create stories that hit this hard? Let’s talk.

🎥 https://t.co/MYwlc5HWVR

#CaughtStealing #AustinButler #WriterIgniter #screenwriting

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

...Once they move into production, they become something else, shaped by other hands. That can be exciting or frustrating, but either way, it reminds us that what we truly control, and what truly transforms us, is our relationship to the work itself.

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

For me, the big shift was realizing that the process is the point. Falling in love with the day-to-day practice, rather than pinning our hopes only on a finish line, is what sustains us through the long haul. Scripts are never really ‘finished’—they’re finished with us....

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

Identifying the dominant pulse matters because that’s the emotion audiences come for—and what your story has to deliver consistently.
Want to learn how to find the pulse in your own project? That’s the work we do every day at Writer Igniter.

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

TRAILER: BLACK RABBIT (Netflix)
Jude Law & Jason Bateman
IMDb tags: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller.
In Writer Igniter Pulse terms: Suspense. Unease. Anxiety.

Which hits you hardest?
👉 https://t.co/R5kn751jbW
#BlackRabbit #NetflixSeries #Screenwriting #WriterIgniter

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

In the Writer Igniter framework, genres aren’t just categories—they carry Emotional Pulses.
Crime = Suspense.
Drama = Unease.
Thriller = Anxiety.
Mystery = Curiosity.
The trailer mixes them all—but I’d argue UNEASE is dominant. What do you feel?

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

I'll be appearing at the Ontario Screen Creator's Conference this fall, running a live STORY FORGE workshop, hosting a couple of panels and even acting as a judge here and there, so I hope to see you there! And if so, please say "Hi!"
https://t.co/UquN0aFGSt

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

TRAILER: ANEMONE
Daniel Day-Lewis returns.
IMDb calls it Drama → Pulse: Empathy.
But I’d call it Psychological Drama → Pulse: Unease.

Watch: https://t.co/5C7Z6jPLLw
Which emotion hits you first?

#Screenwriting #FilmTwitter #WritingCommunity #Screenwriters #MovieTrailer

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

A great observation...

#CreatorEconomy #WriterIgniter #storytelling #PostHollywood

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

I had a fantastic time speaking with host and all-around lovely person, Janet McMordie, on the Second Act Actors podcast recently. Check it out!
https://t.co/aPhCgYriQN

#podcast #screenwriting #writingcoach #creativity

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

IMDb calls BANG BANG a Drama.
But the pulse it gives off? Empathy.
Not just story → but the feeling that pulls you inside another life.
That’s the signal audiences crave.

👉 [https://t.co/L6Wa4KnaUj]
What do you feel first?
#BangBang #EmotionalPulse #StoryAfterHollywood

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

TRAILER: SUNLIGHT
ADVENTURE, COMEDY, ROMANCE (Genre Tags)
 =
 EXCITEMENT / JOY / LOVE (Equivalent Emotional Genres) 

 This certainly doesn't remind me of anything else! So...does the trailer evoke those emotions for YOU?
https://t.co/qJ3iuMvup3

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

Years ago, Jordan taught me about screenwriting fundamentals. He's not only a competent teacher, but he genuinely wants people to do well and achieve their goals. I highly recommend that people tap into his expertise at Writer Igniter. 12/10.

Jen - London, Ontario

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

https://t.co/boC6zuJJ9f

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

@storyandplot Please hook me up good sir! Cheers!

[Jordan Christopher Morris @Sighthound2]

@AustinJ_P_ @stubronstein02 Some of us in the screenwriting space refer to this as STORYCRAFT vs PAGECRAFT. Pagecraft can elevate a lame story a little, but a great story can survive and in some cases even thrive despite poor pagecraft.