I love school and I almost always have. I say “almost” because I really struggled in law school, largely because I knew I didn’t want to be a lawyer and I couldn’t make myself care about the material….but that’s another blog. For most of my life, I’ve been happiest in a classroom or with a new area to study, challenging myself to learn something new. For example, when I wanted to learn screenwriting, I happily signed up for all kinds…
Many screenwriters identify as introverts and enjoy the initial phase of solitude while they flesh out this new idea, this new world, on paper. But bringing a script to the screen, whether it’s film or television, flips to the other extreme where playing well with others is essential. As a ghostwriter, I have had many experiences with taking input from clients as I tried to craft their story in ways that served their goals and desires. I’ve had experiences where…
Two weeks ago several of my screenwriting friends and I participated in the 48 hour film project. #48HFP! Here’s how it works: on designated weekends in cities all around the world, filmmakers gather together a team of writers, actors, gaffers, camera and sound operators to make a short film, between four and seven minutes in length. The project begins on a Friday evening when each team sends a representative to pull from a random drawing: A choice of two genres—or…
In last week’s blog, I shared that I shifted from writing novels to writing for the screen after a demoralizing experience with my self-published novel series, “Ashes, Ashes.” At the Booksellers Association Expo BEA) in New York City, I realized that my books were just a tiny drop in an ocean of words, virtually indistinguishable from a dozen others. So of course, after realizing my dreams of becoming a bestselling author had crumbled to dust, the only logical thing to…