Happy Friday! This week I worked on several half-hour TV shows. In each case, the writer had a good story but no outstanding feature to get the work sold. It’s hard to find a hook for a story because there are so many successful shows to compete against. The writer has to be willing to plow through many good stories. One project I was working on this week was a sitcom with a fascinating backstory, but the writer couldn’t find a current situation that would sell it. I suggested that he
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How To Find a “Hook” for Your Project
Join my free class!
How To Find a “Hook” for Your Project
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm EST
via ZOOM
A “hook” is the element that makes your TV pilot, film script, or novel irresistible to both producers and to your audience. Finding the right hook for your project is often harder than creating it. How did the movie, Big, get its name? What is the “hook” of Everyone Loves Raymond? Breaking Bad? Star Wars? How did J.K Rowling develop the idea for the Harry Potter series? Tune into my webinar to learn the techniques that will help you develop a new story with a great “hook,” or take your current project to the next level. This is how you’ll find success: You develop the story until when you pitch the idea or the script is read, and the fascinating possibilities of your story, are immediately apparent. The response you’ll get will be “Yes.”
In this seminar, you’ll learn:
1. How to develop a new story with a hook.
2. How to take your current project and improve the concept.
Please email me at marilyn@marilynhorowitz.com if you’d like to attend, so I can admit you into class!
Great Writing Means Re-Writing/Joke on a Stick 42
Happy Friday! Woo hoo! My NYU Student, Helen, completed her screenplay in six weeks, and it’s good. I’m so proud of her! Helen’s accomplishment is an inspiration to all of us. We just have to commit to the motto of the HorowitzSystem ®: “Don’t get it right, get it written.” Brava, Helen! My webinar, How to Write a Great Scene, was really fun, and I’ll be giving another one in two weeks, and will let you know when and where. There was a confusion about the day of the week, and in the
This Can Help You Focus
Happy Friday! It’s so great to sit with friends at dinner. My Greek friend, Loannis, owns Big Nick's Pizzeria. He’s a very great chef and a wonderful storyteller. There’s been so much going on politically this past week that it’s hard to concentrate on writing! But concentrate we must! One way to focus is to write very short stories or character sketches using a timer set for fifteen-minute increments. This exercise will help keep you focused without pushing you beyond your
Webinar Recap/JOS Edition 40
Happy Friday! Today is the first day of the weeklong holiday of Sukkot, celebrated five days after Yom Kippur. Sukkot is the Jewish holiday of the harvest and also commemorates the forty years that the Jews wandered in the desert after receiving the Torah. Much of the imagery and ritual of the holiday revolves around rejoicing and thanking God for the completed harvest. This holiday is celebrated in an unusual way. Traditionally, a hut is built outside, and the family will spend time
