The Observant Writer… getting sidelined

I took a screenwriting class with a buddy and while he just kind of plowed through his first draft but I got kind of sidelined by fixing stuff. I still haven’t finished and he’s on to his second script. What gives… am I just slow? Writing is one of the strangest undertakings. We are seduced […]

The Observant Writer… a city of rain

So much of what we see in the world starts in our head. I live in a city of rain… and most days it is beautiful. What happens in my head on those days on those days I can’t find the beauty?

The Observant Writer….setting intentions

I always mean to sit down and write, but my girlfriend kind of resents the time I spend doodling on the computer and …. Relationships are tricky at the best of times…. and I definitely don’t want to turn my reply into a ‘Dear Abby’ advice column here. But it is possible to participate in […]

The Observant Writer…. everywhere you look

When you start observing the world around you for stories… you find them everywhere.

The Observant Writer…..getting to ‘The End’

I don’t know how many screenplays I’ve started; but can’t ever get to the words ‘The End’. Help! Writing screenplays is one of the easiest jobs you’ll ever do, and one of the hardest. It’s easy, because you get fired up by this fantastic idea that you know will be killer on the screen, and […]

The Observant Writer…. and literacy

What’s the deal with you and the Literacy thing? I mean everyone can read, right? We lead such insulated lives for the most part. If you’re literate, you generally hang-out with equally literate people. Some of your friends may complain that they’re not very good writers, but then everyone knows writing is a specialty craft, […]

The Observant Writer…. resting with what is

The Observant Writer….. adaptations for film

Adaptions from novels are to screenwriting as unicycles are to bicycles.

The Observant Writer…. stories found

Found Stories are everywhere I look, and so I look often. Sometimes only with my eyes, but many times when I look I have a camera handy. Because found stories are like flowers growing in the desert, like ice cream on a hot summer day I photograph them so I won’t forget. Found stories are […]

The Observant Writer…. historical dramas

I really want to write a historical drama but the guys on my internet chat group say it’ll never sell. What should I do? The first thing I tell all my students is BE CAREFUL who you let influence your writing! Not all advice is created equal. And I guess your chat group are the […]