The emotion you must elicit with your stories will come primarily from the conflict your heroes face – the hurdles and obstacles they must overcome as they pursue their desires,… read more →
Captivating, entertaining dialogue is essential to great storytelling. As I discussed in my previous newsletter entitled “Talk,” what your characters say can add detail, depth, realism, humor, understanding and emotion… read more →
Q&A [The question below is one I’ve been hearing in one form or another my entire career – not just from screenwriters, but novelists, marketers, and public speakers – anyone… read more →
(Two questions arrived in the last few weeks that have very similar answers…) Q: What do you think about remaking old movies from the 60’s and 70’s and giving them… read more →
Q: In Selling Your Story In 60 Seconds, you repeatedly stress the value of including antecedents — previously successful movies or novels that give agents, editors and producers a better… read more →
Q: A couple months have gone by since I completed my two screenplays. I have queried multiple agencies through the proper channels and have not gotten any success. All of… read more →
One of the biggest mistakes screenwriters make is giving too little importance to commercial appeal of their story. Before putting words on the page, a writer should always ask, “Is… read more →
Screenwriters and novelists are frequently told that before pursuing representation, they should have at least two completed screenplays or manuscripts. Agents prefer more than one writing sample because they want… read more →
I often receive desperate letters from writers who say they can’t get anyone to respond to their query letters. If your letters, faxes or emails aren’t resulting in requests to… read more →
In any pitch, the buyer wants to know two seemingly contradictory elements of your novel or screenplay: its familiarity and its originality. If you’ve written a story that bears little… read more →
