I recently worked with a writer who was beside himself with despair. He has been writing for years. He has been writing in every genre. He has been writing in every form: poetry, novels, short stories, narrative nonfiction, screenplay, play, automatic writing, everything. He has tried writing partners, writing alone, following a schedule, writing at [...]
Dear Julie, It seems I have to fight for my writing time. My family thinks I am crazy and I am about ready to give up. What do you suggest? -Frustrated in Ann Arbor Dear Frustrated: If I had a penny for every woman writer who said to me that they feel that their husband [...]
I’m in a sour mood this month, and it all started with my damn taxes. As I gathered up all my payments and receipts I was struck with a sudden realization: I did a shit load of work for free last year. Of course I got paid for some of it, otherwise this article would [...]
The ending of your script is of vital importance. It’s the final impression you leave on your readers (if you’re lucky enough to have had them read the whole script), and if you leave a bad taste in their mouth, you run the risk of losing all of the good will you just spent 90-120 [...]
Behind the Lines with DR: The Smoking Gun, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Let’s review. The story for my legal thriller was stolen and resold for millions. The producing thieves had been caught. I’d negotiated a hard but wisely political deal that allowed the celebrity screenwriter to scribble the script while the company [...]
When I was an agent I would wait and wait and wait for the next new client that would be a breakthrough hit. I signed in at the Writers Guild to let them know I would read new writers, I told my clients to refer their friends, I told development people and producers that I [...]
I think a lot about my characters. They come with me everywhere I go. Last weekend I sat in on Welcome Day at my daughter’s new college and listened to a professor of psychology talk about fear, comfort and commonality (how fitting is it that my girl is studying psychology?). I was jotting notes… yes, [...]
Last night, I had the good fortune of being a fly on the wall at the sort of event most aspiring writers would give plenty to attend: An afternoon for Madhouse represented writers as well as executives with the one and only Michael Hauge. Having done some work with the indelible Hauge, I had the [...]
In today’s ultra-competitive entertainment industry, a writer needs every weapon at his disposal to get ahead of the competition. Our new Guerrilla Screenwriting column will provide innovative tools, strategies and tactics to help writers sell their work and build successful careers. My goal is to open your eyes to new possibilities and make you aware [...]
