“Everyone in a thriller goes by his or her last name except while having sex or using a pseudonym/codename. That’s an unbreakable rule.”

This is a hilarious and honest list that every beginning screenwriter can benefit from. While I believe if you think in absolutes and have a slavish devotion to “rules” you’re doing yourself a disservice, it does pay to stop and think carefully before you engage in one of these cliches.

20 Technothriller Tropes We Hope Never to See Again | io9