Hey There Writer,

I hear you. I see it. Sometimes it feels like we are writing and rewriting and rewriting for so long that we start to believe that we might never finish a project. I wish I could tell you that every script requires three draft and a polish and then you're done. But the truth is, when it comes to art, there is no rule. There is no algorithm. Anyone who tries to tell you that there is only x amount of draft you need is misguided or ill-intentioned.

Scripts are like children. Some are quiet and learn to crawl, walk, and speak according to research averages. Others start to walk before they crawl. Others learn how to speak three languages by the age of four. Some wet the bed until they are nine. Some pull the whiskers off Mister FuzzyPants and blames it on their recently deceased GamGam. You can waste a lot of precious energy wishing your script were easier or on a more traditional track. But that won't help nearly as much as meeting the script wherever it is at and helping take the next step forward.

The scripts that I work the hardest on are always the ones I am the proudest of. They are the ones I learn the most from. My sci-fi/romance/gender-morphing/reincarnation script that took me five years to bring to completion taught me more about the craft of action writing, the art of allowing an audience to fall in love, and most important - helped me work through my deep-seated fears of commitment (well most of them, let’s not get too excited). I would never take those growths away in exchange for it to “be easier”.

If it were easy everyone would do it, and it would be of far less value. What you are learning in this process will take you so far beyond this individual script. You are developing muscles and tools that will serve you on your next fifty scripts.

You must remember that you are not just working on a single script, you are training and conditioning yourself as a writer. Time spent training, practicing, developing your voice and craft is never a waste.

Every script is written one word at a time. Just keep writing word after word. One day you will look up and realize you’re done… well at least with this script. Then the joy will wash over you, causing you to forget how difficult the journey was, encouraging you to start the next script.

Always Keep Writing,
​
Jess

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MEDITATIVE SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP
4 Week workshop for Screenwriters, TV writers, Playwrights & Novelists
Great for first, middle, or final drafts. 

Welcome to the future of script development. 

​Discover how to shape-shift for the creation of a magnificent screenplay. Become your character, channel your audience, step into the mind of your producer. This workshop is unlike any other.  

In this workshop, we focus on you. Your mind, Your story, Your goals. We approach the art and craft of screenwriting with a modern holistic approach, utilizing research in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and psychology, combined with the current (and future state of) the film industry. 

By focusing on the way you approach the page, you will build a set of tools that will apply to every script you ever write.  Never again stare at a blank page and not know where to start. Imagine every time you read a scene and think this just isn't working; you have a myriad of tools at your fingertips. 

We deep dive into your understanding of character, action, structure, theme, dialogue, subtext and most importantly - story, to provide feedback that helps shape your mind as a writer as well as your scenes on the page.
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Every week you will discover and practice new tools for building story and structure through character, theme, and intuition. In-class exercises will assure your abilities to utilize these skills on your own.

You will also get the opportunity to workshop a sequence from your screenplay for in-depth feedback.

No more than 8 writers are allowed in this workshop to make sure you get the attention you need. 

LIMITED TO 8 WRITERS
6 Spots Left

​Saturdays, starting April 27th 2019, 4 weeks, 3pm - 5:45pm EST (skips May 11th)
IN PERSON: 39 W 29 Street 2nd Fl, New York, NY 10001
ONLINE:  Live Online Video Conference or Video On Demand

Recordings of the class will be accessible up to two weeks after the final class. 

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Hey There Writer, 

I totally understand how frustrating it can be to feel like you have no idea where you are going in a first draft. That’s normal. Remember this is art - not algebra. The first draft is really just you discovering what the story is, what it wants to be. It is a time for you to tell the truth, surrender to the truth, be brave enough to allow your emotional truth to pour out onto the page. It is a time for emotional logic, not intellectual logic (that comes later) If you attempt to control and curate every part of a new experience you miss out of the actual experience. 

Don't rob yourself of the excitement of not knowing what's around the next corner. (amazing how similar fear and excitement are) If you need to practice bravery and surrender they will help you more in a first draft than any kind of craft or logic. This is the time to surrender to your unconscious (the collective unconscious if you enjoy Jung) and remember that the unconscious speaks in metaphor and symbol. This is another reason why a first draft might look like it makes no sense. But when you take the time to interpret the symbols you realize it does and it is more powerful than anything you thought yourself capable of writing. If you cling to what you know, if you clutch to complete control, you rob yourself of the thing you need most to create great art. Writing a first draft is like falling in love. You can only do so through bravery, vulnerability, surrender, and time. 

Later drafts are when you take care of things like page count, joke density, clean formatting, scene structure, character orchestration, theme, dialectics, etc. It’s like cooking, when you add in what ingredients has an effect on the taste of the food. So when that nagging voice pops up and says “this looks messy” or “you haven’t figured out the normal world yet” just respectfully let that voice know that eventually yes you will work on those things, but right now, today, we are working on surrendering  to the great adventure that is diving into the artistic soul and discovery what story wants to be told. 

Always Keep Writing,
Jess