How To Write Your Best Ending Ever

I will be teaching a class called How To Write Your Best Ending Ever for the NYC Screenwriter group at 3PM. For more information, CLICK HERE.

How To Use Your Personal Doubts to Create A Screenplay

All writers suffer from self-doubt. It's part of the reason writers write -- the grit of sand in an oyster that makes pearls (hopefully!)

The student who wrote to me on Facebook, and who I responded to, is a talented, prolific writer who has two published novels, a Sci-Fi screenplay trilogy and is a highly sought after attorney.

Here's what he wrote:
"It's been eight months and I can't stick to an art form. I can't read anything. I feel art through sight or sound. I try to remember the good things you said and I feel like writing for a moment and then my mind goes blank. No characters, no plot, no emotion, not even a sound or picture. I have taken many writing classes and I see a picture of you on Facebook and I wanted to email someone. I don't know truth anymore."

And my reply was:

Not "knowing truth" is a great place to start. Give a character you admire your own questioning nature and go from there. My new book begins with defining a character's dream. If you were the main character in a screenplay, the character's dream would be to: "know the truth." Some of the greatest works ever written, such as Oedipus The King are based on a hero wanting to know the truth at any cost. Angel Heart and Blade Runner are other examples.

Have confidence, that's all you are lacking! Talent is what you got loads of!

So if you are going through a moment of self-doubt, ask yourself what the specific issue is and turn the answer into a character's dream.

Tango

Just a quick note to let you know that I will be performing the tango at Fred Astaire Dance Studios tonight. It's open to anyone who likes dancing (and free drinks).

The event runs from 9:30-11pm. Dance party to follow performances.

Fred Astaire Dance Studios
174 West 72nd, #2
New York, NY 10023

Harry Potter A Classic?

An interesting post by Katie McLaughlin on Anderson Cooper's blog.

It raises a few questions for writers: Will Harry Potter continue to resonate for years to come? Can someone expect to write a classic these days? If you had to choose, would you rather write a blockbuster or a timeless story?

What do you think?

Writing The New Romantic Comedy

As a writing coach, I work on a number of different genres but many of my current students are writing romantic comedies.

One of the questions I am constantly being asked is: How do you keep the ideas fresh and up to date?

The film You've Got Mail tried to use email as a gimmick when attempting to retell the great Ernst Lubitch story, The Shop Around The Corner. The recent film The Hangover relied on cell phones.

In the first case, the script was weak, so the gimmick couldn't save it, but in the second, the cell phone is an effective device that enhances the story.

I am always trying to explain to my private students that the key is to focus on the basic love story and use current events (or technologies) to flavor but not distort the story.

As an example this video, a fresh take on West Side Story really pulls this off.

I'd love to hear your own thoughts on writing the "new" film.