Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Don't Get it Right - Get it Written




Sounds like she read my last blog!

The woman on this video, Marilyn Horowitz, is an award-winning New York University professor, producer, screenwriter, and New York City-based writing coach; and the founder of the Horowitz Center for Screenwriting. She is the author of five books, including How to Write a Screenplay in 10 Weeks, and The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting. She is the creator of The Horowitz System, a revolutionary visual writing system; and is well known for sharing her mantra with students: Don't get it right - Get it written.

Her motto sounds a lot like one of my mother's pet sayings, "Do something, even if it's wrong." Although both sayings sound kind of counterproductive to me, I guess the basic idea is that any action is better than no action - and that's good advice - especially for us writers.

Horowitz says her mission is to help writers get started, and towards that end, she offers writing tips, classes, and workshops through various online websites and blogs. Her screenplay tips can be found at: http://www.screenwritingtips.com/, and you can follow her blog, Marilyn's Movie Candy, at: http://www.marilynhorowitz.blogspot.com/.

The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting
Horowitz's latest book, The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting, was published in May 2010. According to the book's synopsis: This book will end the agony that plagues screenwriters of all levels-how to structure a script. This revolutionary technique helps writers structure, write, and rewrite scripts with ease. By asking your characters these four simple questions, you will be able to outline your screenplay like magic. This method has been taught at New York University for over ten years, and has helped hundreds of writers create their screenplays fast. The book sells for $22.76 on Amazon.

Free Screenwriting Class
From another blog, Horowitz offers a free screenwriting class, "...that will help you discover, structure, write, and rewrite an industry-ready screenplay in record time." She offers a FREE 20-minute class to help you define your concept whether you're writing a novel, screenplay or non-fiction book or play. A 15-minute consultation with Horowitz will follow in which she will review your project and help you "tweak it" so it is the story you want to tell and is commercially viable. http://www.finaldraftscript.blogspot.com/.

Four Questions of Screenwriting Seminar
Horowitz is also offering a Four Questions of Screenwriting online seminar on Thursday, October 28, from 6:30 - 9:00 PM. The cost is $59.95. She promises, "You will learn the insider secrets to starting a market-ready movie script in fewer drafts." http://www.showbizsoftware.com/The_Four_Magic_Questions_of_Screenwriting_p/2237.htm.

I'm thinking of trying her free screenwriting class and possibly Thursday's seminar. Let me know if any of you check out these online offerings.

1 comment:

Nancy Owens Barnes said...

I like the fact that Horowitz presses writers to say they are writers. For various reasons, that is a difficult thing for many writers to do, feeling they must first have a substantial body of published work. Truth is, it is the "writer" who creates that work, whether published or not. Horowitz's free screenwriting class is a great offer worth checking out.