It’s been an exciting week.
I held my final NYU class of Writing The Screenplay in 10 Weeks, and the results were great! I will be reading their well-structured stories over the next two weeks and can’t wait.
I don’t get to teach this class again until next February, and I am looking forward to the next session. The big take away from the class for me is that heaven is having a group of highly motivated, talented students who thrive on helping each other.
In my SVA class, we were lucky to have Michael Zam talk to us about the process for writing “Best Actress,” the screenplay that became the basis for the Emmy nominated TV series, Feud. He was candid about his writing experience, and my students were very inspired.
I was walking home and saw a juggler on a unicycle performing tricks with bowling pins. He mentioned that it took him nine years to learn a trick. Take heart, fellow writers, luckily we don’t have to balance on a unicycle to perfect our craft.
I’d like to share a writing exercise that we did in class to get connected with our characters and ourselves:
Using a timer set for 5 minutes, write about all of the times you’ve been lied to by people you care about. Don’t worry, you are not sharing this.
Then repeat the exercise for your hero or heroine and your villain or obstacle.
Put it away for a few hours. When you review the work, you will find that you have created a list of powerful plot points that you can stockpile for use on future stories.
Here’s to your successful writing!
Professor Marilyn Horowitz
