What’s The Plan?
This used to be my biggest impediment as a writer: I’d get so excited about an idea that I’d just start writing. No outline, no nothing. Somewhere along the line [...]
Confidence is Not Required
I’ve been hearing this over and over again from writer friends and clients: some believe they’re handicapped because they don’t have confidence. Without it, they say, they are floundering in [...]
Here’s The Pitch!
Pitching may be the toughest thing you do as a writer. In my life as a playwright, I have the luxury of writing FIRST. Rarely have I been in the [...]
Write. Don’t Tell.
This happens all the time: I'm out somewhere and I meet a new person who is excited to hear that I'm a writer and a writing coach. The person claims she [...]
Call & Response
In any dramatic scene, the energy should flow back and forth – like a tennis match. Someone says or does something and the other person responds. In the best scenes [...]
Here’s What They Think of Your Writing
Recently, I saw a post on Facebook about contest submissions for writers. The person who posted was making the point that assessments about the winners and losers are "sometimes subjective". I [...]
What’s Your Question?
Recently I’ve been posting on Twitter, inviting people to send in questions about playwriting, TV writing and the “writing life”. I’m willing to answer the juiciest questions on video, posted [...]
Stop Thinking
This strange phenomenon happens all the time. I encounter a creative person who says they're stuck. Often they paint themselves as desperate: looking for a lifeline from anywhere. Sometimes they claim to [...]
Wisdom From Comic Con!
For the first time, I was invited to speak on a panel at Comic Con. The UCLA Extension School put a panel together of instructors who work in the entertainment [...]
