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Layering Archetypes to Create compelling Characters
None of us is all good or all bad. If your goal is to craft believable characters in your stories, then none of them should be, either. When dipping into the vast and brilliant reservoir of material on...
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The Art and Magic of Choice in Prose
As a writer, how do I give you more than just information? How do I break through this real and imagined ethereal wall that separates my mind and your own, here on the tangible page? How do I keep you...
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Inside the 2011 AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL Conference
So, you wanna be a screenwriter? This was my first year to participate in the AFF. First, as a judge for the screenplay competition, a volunteer service for which all judges had to be seriously vetted,...
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Breaking Down the Screenplay, and Scripts that break into Hollywood
Of all the sessions I attended during the conference, I have to say that the Creative Roundtables were the most rewarding. Attendees can only sign up for one roundtable, where about twelve panelists...
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Writer’s Guild of America (WGAW): Getting Started in Film
This panel degenerated into a steaming plate of Hollywood arrogance, but I did manage to wrestle a few gems of wisdom, especially those from Lawrence Kasdan, who kept nudging things back on topic....
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In the company of Lawrence Kasdan
Any lover of film, as well as audiences all over the world, have enjoyed the work of this legendary writer/producer/director. He spoke to a SRO crowd in a stuffy, cramped room; with all of us happy to...
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2011 AFF: The Heroine’s Journey: Writing and selling the Female-Driven...
Pamela Gray (credits as long as your arm with “twenty good scripts gathering dust in my garage,”) was honest and hilarious about writing stories told from a woman’s point of view, as well as seeing...
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AFF 2011 Panel: Breathing New Life into the Horror Genre
Panelists:Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle/Rise of The Planet of the Apes), Rhett Reese (Monsters, Inc./Zombieland), Alvaro Rodriguez (From Dusk ’til Dawn/Machete). The...
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AFF 2011: A Talk with Caroline Thompson
Screenwriter of: Edward Scissorhands/The Addams Family/The Nightmare before Christmas/Black Beauty/Corpse Bride. The Ballroom for this event was predictably packed with those eager to hear words of...
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All Great Characters Lie.
Why? Because we all do. Everybody lies at some point in their life. So should your characters. Maybe you have a character that lies all the time and doesn’t even know they’re doing it, like one of the...
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The Importance of Emotional Connections in Storytelling.
Not too long ago, I saw Johnny Depp’s movie, “Transcendence,” in the theater. I tried to think of a joke using the title that would describe how I felt while in the audience. Nap-tendence-y? I’m still...
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The Most Common Mistakes of New Writers
I decided to create an addendum to this article, originally posted in 2010, due to insights that I wanted to add. I understand from feedback that this checklist has been quite helpful to my readers. I...
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