Happy Friday! I spent the last couple of days in Fire Island writing. Even though I'm in a time-share house this summer and sometimes surrounded by people, my concentration is much better. Here's a photo of me and the sunset I can see from my office window. I also worked with one student on their novel and another on a screenplay. In both cases was a question that I'm often asked: how can I make my story great? Of course, my answer is always, how do you know that it isn't? But
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“Working with Marilyn Horowitz has challenged every aspect of my creative process from conception to preparation, and most importantly, execution. By doing so, she has demolished barriers, limits, and shortcomings I didn’t even know I had. In the one year of tutelage, under Marilyn, I have grown from not understanding… Read more “– Larry Lowry”
“Part wish-fulfillment romantic comedy, part edge-of-your-seat end-of-the-world action thriller: it’s as if Nora Ephron wrote The Bourne Identity, but even she probably wouldn’t have handled this mix of genres with the dexterity of Horowitz. In fact, her storytelling —twisty, sexy, smart — is so skillful; it’s hard to believe this… Read more “– Michael Zam, former Associate Director of Programs in Humanities at NYU is also an award winning instructor, screenwriter and playwright.”
“Marilyn Horowitz paints a rich picture of lapsed Jews, angels, and people having miraculous abilities to survive, foretell, and sometimes alter the future. Her book plays at the borders of the normal and the supernormal, of lust and faith.”
“This provocative novel weaves together suspenseful action, torrid sex, wrenching emotion, Jewish mysticism, and the deepest fears at the heart of our times.”
“The Book of Zev reads like Carl Hiaasen at his best, transplanted from Florida to New York with more deft plotting and far greater stakes. Wherever they are, Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake will be fighting for the first copy of this wildly entertaining, timely thriller.”
“A spellbinding story of international intrigue, suspense, love and survival. Prepare for sleepless nights.”
“The Book of Zev is a devilishly delicious feast. A deeply imagined comedic thriller, it blends Kabbalah, the Bible, contemporary times, geopolitics, and life’s absurdities in Portnoyesque fashion. It’s a thriller evoking both laughter and nail-biting tension with each turn of the page. It’s pure gold from a very talented… Read more “– Mark Rubinstein, award-winning author of Mad Dog House and Love Gone Mad”
“The Book of Zev is a fast paced political thriller that never loses sight of its heart; a skeptical women searching for love and a faith she can live with, all while saving the world. A truly original heroine.”
“THE BOOK OF ZEV is a dark comedic thriller that revolves around Zev Bronfman, an angry, virgin, atheist cab driver, Sarah Hirshbaum, a depressed, redheaded, God-hating kosher chef, and Sarah’s former lover and the current Iranian head of state, who believes he must bring on Armageddon and the Second Coming.… Read more “– DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Samantha Cody and Dub Walker thriller series”
“Sometimes a woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do. A sharp psychological thriller of high intellect about a woman making some hard choices for the right reasons to stop an international catastrophe.”
“Just wanted to say I read your book and think it’s terrific. You took a process that can seem overwhelming and made it very accessible. One of my favorite quotes is this: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” You really know your material and… Read more “Allison-Author 101 University”
“It is such an amazing ride to take your classes. Your generosity, insight and gracious support inspires me in so many ways. Not just as a writer but more importantly as a person with desires to live genuinely. Thank you so much! I look forward to learning from you again… Read more “Levin Lee”
“Professor Horowitz offers amazing insights and tools to keep the writer focused, disciplined and thinking out the box.”
“In 2011 I heard Marilyn speak and she massively influenced me during her talk. I then went to meet with her and she help me and worked on the book I was writing. Not only was my book published by Wiley Publishing House giving me a cash advance, but it… Read more “Sam Cawthorn, Motivational Success Coach”
“Marilyn Horowitz, full-time writer, producer and script doctor conceived this step-by-step programme that will genuinely get your first script completed.”
“For over a decade I have been recommending Marilyn to anyone with the intention of writing a screenplay (or a book or a memoir or…). Her 10-week workbook is one of the clearest and most-efficient methods around. I have used it in my own work both as a teacher and… Read more “Michael Zam, Emmy Nominated Writer (Feud)”
“Rather than bringing yet another set of theoretical tools to the table, she leads the student to the living tools already within us.”
“Marilyn Horowitz is a multi-tasking rock star. Whether giving advice, coaching writers or teaching classes, she goes big. Like her new novel, The Book of Zev, which we have the privilege of publishing in December. The book is big. Zev is big. Marilyn is …. not as big as Zev!… Read more “John Köehler, publisher at Köehler Books”
“It was my pleasure meeting with you at Author 101 University…You have impacted many authors and so many told me of your success. I would love to have you on my radio show and to promote the people who you are training.”
“Marilyn helped me turn my raw first draft into a marketable screenplay that I ultimately produced starring Vanessa Williams and Eartha Kitt and was sold to Warner Bros.”
“MH is the best. Scriptwriting is tedious to perform but she has brought me and many others to a certain place with four common questions…I would like to say that when I started off with the idea of writing screenplay, I totally had no idea what it looks like at… Read more “Edu O.”
“I really don’t think I’d be writing today if it wasn’t for Marilyn and the way she’s taught me. Her methods, her 12-step map and really everything I’ve been learning from her in the five years I’ve been studying with her, it’s really made me into the writer that I… Read more “Nick B.”
“Marilyn helped take a story that’s been in my head for 20 years and actually get it on paper. What she does that I think is really exciting is she provides you with a structure that I think enables you to actually connect personally with your story to make it… Read more “Cooper W.”
“Marilyn— I thank you for your help. Your system for storytelling, along with the process of outlining, has enabled me to organize my thoughts and proceed to a finished initial draft, which is the single hardest hurdle in the writing process at least as far as I’m concerned.”
“When I started reading The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting, I couldn’t put it down. The book is easy to understand and gets right to the point. Marilyn encourages you to write and keep on writing. This book is a must have for screenwriters at any level. I have read… Read more “Kristen”
“I am working through the outline for my screenplay adaptation of “Great Falls, Virginia!” Very happy with the way it’s coming along. And yes, your input was helpful in structuring it – emotionally. I am finding it much easier to decide what scenes are necessary and can stand alone, what… Read more “Kristi K”
“The pitching advice you gave me in your ‘Writing Villain First’ class helped me secure an actual request for my script… Later, at our script consultation, your observations concerning my screenplay conclusion confirmed doubts I had been having, and your suggestions for remedying the problem were astute and on-target. These… Read more “Rich”
“HOROWITZ IS A ROCK STAR!!!”

Highlights
The Scripting Writing Room
April 27, 2022
7:00 pm EST
Via Zoom
The scripting webinars have been so successful that we’re keeping the momentum going with bi-weekly workshops. These effective techniques can solve story problems in a flowingly creative way.
In addition, we will focus on solutions and work on two story problems. Please send me an email in advance containing a one-paragraph summary of the story and your block or obstacle.
Come see what all the excitement’s about!
Email me at marilyn@marilynhorowitz.com if you’d like to attend, so I can send you the link and admit you into class!
From Idea to Concept
Were you unable to attend my recent NYWIFT seminar? I am excited to be offering the seminar in digital format.
Click here to learn more!How To Write The Perfect Pilot in 30 Days
In this practical workshop, Marilyn will discuss the elements that make up a perfect half-hour pilot.
Click here to learn more!Blog Updates

A new story/next webinar/student successes
Happy Friday! I've spent the week in Fire Island working on my new book. No one was more surprised than I was to find me telling a new story so soon after finishing the last one. The new book is called Finding Home, and is about a family therapist who becomes an artist after many trials and tribulations and hopefully a lot of laughs! I don't write with an outline when I am writing fiction. It's boring to execute an idea that already exists. Instead, I find an essential image or events

One of these words is not like the others…
Happy Friday! It has been an exciting week because I have been working on the scripting book and teaching my new concepts to the wonderful Scripting Writing Room class. One of the most significant innovations I have made in the Word of the Day process is three-fold. One, create a group of topics for yourself and pick one before going to bed. Topics would include: writing in general, your current project, something you feel stuck about, or a problem you're having. Two, before you go to

Get rid of self-doubt!
Happy Friday, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and took a bit of a rest. I'm so happy to report that all six members of my Rewriting the Screenplay in Six Weeks class completed wonderful drafts on time! When I asked the class how they felt about their work, not one of them was happy. I asked, "Why not?" "It's not good enough." "I could do better." "It needs a lot of work." These were well-crafted scripts from talented writers on their second draft. I asked them if