Your job as a screenwriter is to create a movie in the mind of your readers. You must draw us into your story by providing a clear picture of what… read more →
Q: What is your best advice for overcoming writer’s block? A: Writer’s block grows out of fear – of never finishing, of your work not being good enough, of leaving your comfort… read more →
Back in the Dark Ages, when I was just a movie lover fresh from Oregon with Hollywood dreams, I attended Sherwood Oaks Experimental College. Until then I had given very… read more →
One of the most frequent criticisms of novel and screenplay dialogue is that it’s on the nose. Anything on the nose is too obvious – it’s dialogue where characters say… read more →
Stories are built on a foundation of desire and conflict. To create an emotionally involving and commercially successful screenplay, you must give your hero some compelling desire he or she… read more →
Q: I came across your website and read your interesting article “Movies Aren’t Novels”. Reading #10, “When it comes to writing style, a screenwriter’s goal must be to create a movie… read more →
In your romantic comedy, don’t have the hero and romance character jump into bed right away, just because you want something sexy to move the story along. They have to earn the… read more →
Every successful screenwriter or novelist I know possesses one outstanding quality: tenacity. The difference between working writers and wannabes isn’t talent or age or gender or geography or connections or the… read more →
Q: What if I love writing, but really struggle with the sales part, and hate the thought of pitching? A: Of course you struggle. It’s scary and unfamiliar, it’s not… read more →
