The best route to getting what you want is to make a plan, stick to it, and move forward. I think the “stick to it” part is the step that gets a little tricky. I believe in the reward system—small rewards for accomplishments along the way—though I truly believe the ultimate reward is the realization of your dreams.

I recently launched a new project with life coach/matchmaker/author Marla Martenson, Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker, called Dream It, Then Do It! We are offering workshops, tools, and inspiration to help you turn your dreams into reality.

Our first Blog Talk Radio show—Power Lunch—will be Wednesday, May 19, 2010, from 11 am to 11:30 am.

Our first Workshop will be Saturday, June 5, 2010, in Santa Monica, from 10 am – 1 pm.

Please stop by the website and “like” our Facebook page.

Best of luck in your pursuit of your dreams!

Last week’s Purple Pencil Adventure was to write a bio. A bio is something all writers should have, whether it’s for a blog or website, byline, query/cover letter, book proposal, workshop flyer, pitch, book jacket cover.

Want to re-work your bio? Here are some writing exercises to help you out:

1. Write, Don’t Think: Read your current bio. Put it aside. and rewrite it using free-writing/stream of consciousness.

2. Talk Your Bio. Either to a friend or to an audio recorder. Of, if you have just returned from a networking event, much of your experience may be on the top of your head—write it down!

3. Interview. Ask your friends and former co-workers about your strengths and accomplishments, and see how they see you.

Then, read, re-write, revise, read, polish, repeat.

Make sure it is written in your tone and style, because, like with a query, that is what you are promoting. Every bio is different, just as every writer is different. The point is to have fun, and let your personality come through your words.

If you have any bio-writing tips, please share in the comments section below. Happy Writing!

Writing is all about community. Supporting each other is the key to success.

My favorite writers websites include:

Fundsforwriters.com – The url says it all
Helpareporter.com – For writers and experts/sources
Mediabistro.com – Articles, classes, and regular mixers (I co-host the LA Parties with Michelle Thatcher)
NaNoWriMo.org (Write a Novel in a Month) and ScriptFrenzy.com (Write a Screenplay in a Month)
StoryLink.com – Great screenwriting resource
WritersDigest.com – Writing industry staple
Writers Guild of America – Register your manuscripts, plus, excellent industry events

There are way too many to mention, so I opening up the conversation. Please post your favorite writers sites in the comments below. Also, share the url to your blog or website!

Remember, post your May Goals for a chance to win an iScript (a huge supporter of Write On!) And enter the Write On! April Challenge – Write a Limerick by April 30. Happy Writing!

It’s important for writers to also be readers. It enriches our knowledge, frame-of-reference, style, and tone.

I always suggest having a fiction and/or a non-fiction book, somewhere in progress, at any given time. Since it’s National Poetry Month and Script Frenzy, why not try a poetry book? Or a screenplay?

What books are you reading right now? What books to you recommend?

Please comment below … and then re-post after you’ve read someone else’s book suggestion.

Happy Reading!

April 1 is just around the corner and that means Script Frenzy is nearly here.

Script Frenzy–the sister event to National Novel Writing Month–runs April 1- 30. It’s a free event that encourages participants to write a 100-page screenplay in a month!

The greatest challenge many writers face, especially as far as long-form writing is concerned, is getting through that first draft. With such a tight deadline, there’s no time to go over and re-write. The idea of Script Frenzy (and National Novel Writing Month) is to move through the first draft as quickly as possible, write through any blocks, so you can get through it … and move on to the re-write!

Participants, sign up on the  Script Frenzy website–there are lots of great resources. If you are participating in Script Frenzy, comment below with your user link, so all the Write On! Members can cheer each other on!

Why blog? To position yourself as an expert!

Why take part in Social Networking? See above.

Having an online presence is essential to social and live networking! If someone needs an expert with your skills, you want to be the first one who comes to mind.

How to get started? Have an idea, a vision, and a plan!

I will be talking the why and how of Blogging and Social Networking on the Write Now! Mastermind Call with host Rochelle Melander this Wednesday, March 24, at 10 am PDT. For details and to sign-up, check the website.

It’s a great sneak peek into my blogging and social networking workshop, especially for those who live outside of Los Angeles.

Need more info on live networking? Read my guest post on the topic here.

For the more advanced blogger, read the March Moving Write Along: Advice from the Experts – Increasing Your Blog’s Readership post by Linda Fulkerson, The Ultimate Guide to Blogging Well.

Getting Personal: The Basics of Writing Personal Essays by Tina Haapala, Excuses Editor

We all have the stories we tell over and over to explain who we are and where we came from.

Your significant other has probably heard the story behind the funny shaped scar on your knee enough times to tell it, detail by detail. Your grandparents will continue to tell you what a Great Depression is like until they are sure you get it. And Ted will still be telling his kids “How He Met Their Mother” for a few more seasons.

As writers, we can transform our stories into personal essays for anthologies, magazines, journals, and more. It’s just a matter of taking a fresh look.

Write What You Know
This mantra is overused for a reason: any type of writing begins with the writer and his or her thoughts and experiences.

When starting with the virtually endless potential of “what you know” there is no place for the excuse “nothing to write about.” Just the act of being alive gives you unlimited material. Take a look at some of the universal themes that people share … that you can turn into your unique story:

• Family. You came from one, you’ve created one, maybe you’ve even lost one. Whatever the case, there have been other people who have formed your “tribe”. Your family stories—whether you succeeded because of or in spite of them; if you questioned your place with them; or have searched for one of your own—are full of gems that can be picked out and polished to share with others.
• Discovery. Life is full of “firsts:” First Pet, First Kiss, First Car. First Marriage. First Divorce. Relive those moments that alter your perception of the world forever, just because they HAPPENED. Write about the knowledge you gained about yourself, someone else, the world.
• Struggle/Accomplishment. Some people aim to climb mountains, others have days when your biggest success is just getting out of bed. Readers are drawn to stories for inspiration. If your words capture how you overcame an obstacle,your story could become a reader’s motivation and inspiration.
• Endings. All life has a beginning and an end. Your take on loss—whether it’s lost keys, lost mind, lost love—becomes uniquely universal. Write about losses that lead to new beginnings. Write about losses that left you empty.

Show, Don’t Tell
Yet another axiom that is drilled into the writer’s head. However, when you are dealing with universal themes you need to avoid universal cliches. Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating an uncommon story from a common experience:

• Discover theme. Your essays will tell about events that impacted your life. To create a theme from that, identify the event and the specific way it changed your world. For example, if you are drawn to write about your first car, ask yourself why that car mattered, in the grand scheme of things: Did ownership teach you responsibility? Did driving it to school attract your true love?
• Stay focused on a theme. This isn’t something that you will write into your piece. Rather, it is something that you will keep in your mind as you write. You can even scribble it onto the top of your rough draft as a reminder.
• A personal essay is a story about your life, so tell it as a story. The beginning, middle and end will all echo the cause and effect of your “hidden” theme. If you learned responsibility from owning your first car, you may start off talking about the number of bikes you misplaced before you bought the car. You may continue talking about your parents forcing you into a part-time job in order to pay for the insurance. The end of the story could show you changing your own oil, checking your locks obsessively, etc.

Keep it Simple
Your life probably isn’t simple. Nobody’s life is. The situations and circumstance that have mixed to create who you are didn’t happen in a linear, straightforward fashion. Explore all the ingredients of your life, but when writing the short, personal essay, allow your focus to stick on the narrative that best relates to your theme. If you find you are uncovering more and more threads leading to more stories, write them; eventually, you may decide you have enough angles on specific themes that it is time to start a memoir!

Write, Submit, Repeat
When you get your collection of fantastic personal essays, what’s next? You may want to keep them for yourself, but more likely you want to get them published. The struggle comes in pinpointing the markets, and knowing whether you have what they are looking for. There’s a fine line, and a running debate, as to what is short memoir and what is personal essay; so when reading submission guidelines you may have to take an extra step or two to make sure your piece reflects the market’s needs.

Here are a few markets to get you started:
Chicken Soup for the Soul

Cup of Comfort

Memoir

Narrative

Redbook

Good Old Days

Good Housekeeping

NPR’s This I Believe

Screenwriting – East of LA by Scott W Smith, Screenwriting from Iowa

On my blog Screenwriting from Iowa I enjoy writing about screenwriters who come from outside L.A., not because I have anything against L.A., but because I think there are wonderful stories to tell from all over the world. The famous painter Grant Wood (American Gothic) was fond of talking about regionalism in painting. I’d like to think there is a regionalism brewing from a screenwriting and filmmaking perspective.

One thing that jumps out at me about this year’s Oscar nominations in both the original and adapted screenplay categories is every single one of the stories is set outside Los Angeles.

I haven’t seen all of the films, but after a little research I’m not even sure that of the 10 films nominated in the screenplay categories that there is a single scene even set in the state of California. Those are pretty staggering statistics considering that L.A. is the center of the film industry.

Original Screenplay Nominees:

District 9
Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell; set in Johannesburg, South Africa,

An Education
Screenplay by Nick Hornby; set in England

In the Loop
Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche; set in England and Washington, D.C.

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; set in New York City

Up in the Air
Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; set in various airports & airplanes around the county with key scenes set in Nebraska, Wisconsin and in the air over Iowa

Adapted Screenplay

The Hurt Locker
Written by Mark Boal; set primarily in Iraq

Inglourious Basterds
Written by Quentin Tarantino; set in France

The Messenger
Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman; set in and around New Jersey

A Serious Man
Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; set in Minneapolis

Up
Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter. Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy; set in South America

What an incredible celebration of writers!

On February 20, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York, the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2010 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing.

Here are photos – and winners – from the event at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

FILM WINNERS:

Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal

Adapted Screenplay:Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman (right) and Sheldon Turner;
Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn

Documentary Screenplay: The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe

TELEVISION WINNERS:

Drama Series: Mad Men
Written by Lisa Albert, Andrew Colville, Kater Gordon, Cathryn Humphris, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Erin Levy, Marti Noxon, Frank Pierson, Robin Veith, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner, AMC

Comedy Series: 30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Donald Glover, Steve Hely, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, Paula Pell, Jon Pollack, John Riggi, Tami Sagher, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield

New Series: Modern Family
Written by Paul Corrigan, Sameer Gardezi, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Caroline Williams, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

Episodic Drama – any length – one airing time:
“Broken, Part 1 and Part 2” (House), Written by Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner & David Foster & David Shore, Fox

Episodic Comedy – any length – one airing time – TIE:
“Apollo, Apollo” (30 Rock), Written by Robert Carlock, NBC

“Pilot” (Modern Family), Written by Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd, ABC

Long Form – Original – over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing times:
Georgia O’Keeffe, Written by Michael Cristofer, Lifetime

Long Form – Adaptation– over one hour – one or two parts, one or two airing time:
Taking Chance, Teleplay by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.) and Ross Katz, Based on the short story by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.), HBO

Animation – any length – one airing time:
“Wedding for Disaster” (The Simpsons), Written by Joel H. Cohen; Fox

Comedy/Variety – (Including Talk) Series – TIE:
Saturday Night Live, Head Writer: Seth Meyers, Writers Doug Abeles, James Anderson, Alex Baze, Jessica Conrad, James Downey, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, John Lutz, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Paula Pell, Simon Rich, Marika Sawyer, Akiva Schaffer, John Solomon, Emily Spivey, Kent Sublette, Jorma Taccone, Bryan Tucker, Additional Sketch by Adam McKay, Andrew Steele; NBC

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Head Writer: Steve Bodow, Writers Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Tim Carvell, Wyatt Cenac, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, David Javerbaum, Elliott Kalan, Josh Lieb, Sam Means, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Daniel Radosh, Jason Ross, Jon Stewart; Comedy Central

Comedy/Variety – Music, Awards, Tributes – Specials: “Film Independent’s 2009 Spirit Awards,”
Written by Billy Kimball (right), Neil MacLennan; IFC/AMC

Daytime Serial: The Young and the Restless
Written by Amanda L. Beall, Tom Casiello, Lisa Connor, Janice Ferri Esser, Eric Freiwald, Jay Gibson, Scott Hamner, Marla Kanelos, Beth Milstein (pictured), Natalie Minardi Slater, Melissa Salmons, Linda Schreiber, James Stanley, Sandra Weintraub, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS

Children’s Episodic & Specials:
“Welcome to the Jungle” (The Troop), Written by Max Burnett; Nickelodeon

Children’s Script – Long Form or Special:
“Another Cinderella Story,” Written by Erik Patterson, Jessica Scott; ABC Family

VIDEO GAME WRITING WINNER:

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Written by Amy Hennig; Sony Computer Entertainment

Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 WGA Awards!

For the complete list of winners, including special award recipients,  go to www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org.

Engaging the Reader by script consultant Ginger Earle, www.WhyThisisGood.com

The ability to keep the reader engaged and invested in your story is the key to success as a screenwriter. If your reader’s mind wanders—no matter how brilliantly crafted your dialogue, or how perfectly written your character description, or even how amazing the ending is—he may never pick it up again. On the other hand, if your story is so well crafted that the reader can’t put it down, then the resulting film will be so exciting that the audience won’t be able to look away.

One simple—but difficult—way to keep the reader intrigued is to ask a question on every page. This keeps the pages turning and the reader on the edge of his seat, dying to know what happens next. The mystery and promise of an answer will keep your story from falling flat.

The first several pages of even mediocre stories keep up interest: the reader (and resulting audience) will try to figure out who the hero is, and what is going on in their life. The questions, at this point, are simple, but the audience is generally still open and receptive to learning more, even if they stakes haven’t yet become life-and-death.

When your hero is pursuing a goal in every scene, a question is always being asked: Will he accomplish the goal or not? The question is answered when the hero succeeds or fails. This leads to another question, another answer, and so on. Each answer and resulting question moves the story in a new—and hopefully exciting—direction.

As you review your screenplay, make it boredom-proof by analyzing what question is being asked and then answered in each sequence. There should also be an overall question that summarizes of the main goal of the film, but within this larger question, smaller, more specific questions will be posed.

The larger question of Beauty and the Beast is whether or not the Beast will get Belle to fall in love with him before the last rose petal falls and he and his household are stuck under the spell forever. But within each scene, smaller questions are asked and answered, which keeps pages turning. Will Belle ever get the adventure and true love she craves? What will she say when Gaston asks her to marry him? Will the townspeople believe Maurice and help him rescue Belle? Will Belle be able to teach the Beast to act in a more civilized manner? Does she love him-or as the song puts it, is there “something there that wasn’t there before?” Will the Gaston kill the beast? Will Belle’s love save him?

Paranormal Activity takes what are mundane, everyday activities and gives them a suspenseful, eerie quality by posing a question early on that is not answered until the end of the film: What is wrong with Katie? The couple tries to answer in various ways, and while they search for answers, other questions are posed: Will the psychic be able to help? What does it mean to be possessed by a demon versus a poltergeist? What has caused Katie to become possessed? What can Katie and Micah do to exorcise the demon? Will the Ouija board help or hurt? Will the demon leave footprints in the baby powder? Why did the demonologist leave and refuse to help? Since every moment is a possible clue to answering these questions, the film is exciting and the viewers anxiously hang on to every word, watch every movement, anticipating an answer to the overriding question.

Inglorious Basterds works well by using dramatic tension to continually pose questions that leave the audience breathless with anticipation and suspense. Without the questions, the movie would have been dialogue heavy and dull, but from the first scenes, questions are asked: Who are these people coming to the farm? Will Hans find the people hiding under the floorboards? Will Shoshanna make her desperate dash to freedom or will Hans shoot her? Will Fredrick realize she is a Jew? Will Hans remember who she is when they dine on strudel in the restaurant? Does he know who she is and wish to torment her by ordering a glass of milk for her? Will Raine be uncovered as an imposter at the movie premier? Will Shoshannna succeed in burning down the theater? Will they get Hitler? Will Raine and Utivich escape with their lives? The movie is fascinating because we are constantly wondering, waiting for the answer to these high-stakes questions. And the moment one is answered and the tension is relieved, a new question is posed with increasingly higher and more dramatic stakes.

All of these smaller questions are a part of the larger question that makes up the goal of the story. Without these mini-mysteries throughout, the story would fall flat and leave the audience bored. Constantly posing questions keeps pages turning, readers intrigued, and audiences on the edge of their seats.

Ginger Earle is a screenwriter and script consultant. Visit her blog—Why this is Good—for more screenwriting advice and information.