Screenwriting Tips - Practical Advice For Writing Screenplays & Television Scripts

How To Create Memorable Characters & Develop A New Story In Three Easy Steps

Marilyn offers advice on how to improve your story and characterization.

Exploring Unusual Character Relationships To Improve Your Script

Marilyn offers advice on how to improve your story and characterization.

Using Personal Experience To Write Better Stories

Marilyn offers advice on how to use personal experience to improve your screenplay.

Act “As If” to Truly Write Better in Half an Hour

Marilyn applies an acting techqniue to help improve your writing.

How To Create Living, Breathing Characters and a Basic Plot in 30 Minutes

Marilyn suggests a technique for writers to draw upon their own friends and families experiences to help create more three-dimensional …

How To Improve Your Plot By Doing Research

Marilyn offers some practical advice on how to improve your script through research.

Three Simple Techniques To Assess Your Screenplay’s Marketability

Marilyn offers some sage advice on how to assess and improve your screenplay's marketability.

A Simple Way To Develop Rich Characters

Marilyn offers advice on how to improve your script by putting yourself in the shoes of one of your story's key characters.

The Twelve Writing Tips of Christmas

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to get your creative juices flowing over the holiday season.

10 Questions To Ask Before Adapting A Book Into A Screenplay

Marilyn offers some great advice on the things you need to consider before adapting a novel into a screenplay.

How Can Valentine’s Day Help Your Plot?

Marilyn explores how understanding your characters' attitutude to love and romance can help your screenplay.

How to Write Your Screenplay or Novel Better and Faster

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to get your writing project off the ground.

The Key To Success

Marilyn offers some practical advice on how to be successful in life and screenwriting.

How Do You Know When Your Screenplay is “Finished?”

Marilyn offers some advice on when to stop tinkering with your screenplay.

How Living a Day in the Life of Your Characters Can Help Your Story

Marilyn offers some advice on how to write better characters by puttin yourself in their shoes.

Three Important Things to Know When Writing a Screenplay

Marilyn discusses the differences between writing novels and for the Big Screen.

How to Spice Up Your Villain or Obstacle

Marilyn offers some practical advice on how to write a better villain.

How Creating a Soundtrack Can Improve Your Screenplay

Marilyn explains how creating a soundtrack for your screenplay can improve your writing.

An Original Backstory Can Be the Key to a Strong Plot

Marilyn explains how creating a strong backstory can help the writing of your protagonist and screenplay.

A Six-Step Strategy To Improve Your Writing Productivity

Marilyn offers some great advice on hoe to be more productive.

A Cure For Writer's Block

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to overcome writer' block.

How to Find the Concept for Your Screenplay, TV Pilot or Novel

Marilyn explains the importance of drawing upon universal emotions in screenplay writing.

The Cure For A Lack Of Self-Confidence

Marilyn offers some advice on how to build your self-confidence and become a successful writer.

Is Writing with a Partner a Good Idea?

Marilyn offers some advice on script collaboration.

How The Past Can Block Your Storytelling

Marilyn reveals how dealing with past events in your life can help move your writing career in the right direction.

The Creative Business of Screenwriting

Marilyn offers advice on how to treat your writing career like a business.

How To Take Stock Of Your Year And Have Fun Doing It

Marilyn offers some advice on reviewing your year as the holidays approach.

The Very Best Way To Pitch: Bait The Hook To Suit The Fish

How to create a successful pitch for your screenplay.

How to Finish Your Script by Thanksgiving

Screenwriting tips to help you finish your script to a deadline.

How To Use A Specific Cultural Heritage To Improve Your Plot

How using culture in your story can imporove your script.

Change Your Structure, Improve Your Script

How to improve your screenplay by changing its structure.

How To Use The Formative Event Technique To Raise The Stakes In Your Story

Marilyn discusses the formative event of your protagonist's story.

How To Improve Your Plot By Asking Three Questions About Your Main Character

How getting to know your protagonist better will help your script.

How An Overheard Conversation Can Improve Your Plot

How the real world can help your fictional world feel real.

The Three Most Common Rewriting Challenges and How To Fix Them

Practical advice on how to attack a rewrite.

What's For Dinner?

How setting a scene around the dinner table can help a story.

Use the Cultural Context of Your Screenplay To Improve Your Plot

Marilyn's advice to let the world around you influence your screen story.

How To Create More Suspense in Act Two: Use An Event With A Deadline

How introducing a deadline to your second act can create suspense.

How To Improve Your Characters' Dialogue

Some good advice on how to brush up your script's dialogue.

How Remembering A Tragic Historical Event Can Improve Your Plot

Marilyn explains how using historical events as a backdrop can define a character and enhance your story.

Interviewing Your Characters: Using A Real Life Experience to Get More Creative

How using a real life experience can positively influence your screenplay.

Be True to Yourself.. And Smart With Your Script

Advice on how you should always write for yourself and from the heart.

How To Make Your Third Act Fresher and Better

Marilyn offers some practical advice on how to improve your script's third act.

Use The Four Magic Questions Of Screenwriting To Find The Emotional Logic In Your Story

How to create plot and character together using the emotional logic of your story.

How Would Your Main Character Escape?

Marilyn discusses a character's crisis point and escape in your story.

Deadlines Make Scripts Better, Every Time!

How sticking to a deadline will improve your writing and screenplay.

How To Write a Great Twist For Your Third Act

How to improve your ending and your script.

How To Write A Better Script By Using "Memories"

How to build three-dimensional characters by creating memories for them.

How To Use Christmas Eve To Raise The Stakes Of Your Screenplay

How using Christmas Eve as a backdrop to your story can help your script.

How To Get Mean To Finish Your Script

Marilyn advises writers to treat their protagonist mean to reveal their true character.

How To Eat Dessert First

How asking key questions about the end of your story can help your writing process from the start.

Want to Finish Your Script Fast?

Top tips to stop you procrastinating and finally finish your screenplay.

How To Set Up Act 1: Think In Your Hero Or Villain's Voice

How writing a first person narration from the perspective of your protagonist and antagonist can strengthen your first act.

To Dramatize Or Summarize? That Is The Question

Techniques to help you rewrite your screenplay.

Writing Your Screenplay: The Zero Draft

Lessons you can learn from the first draft of your screenplay.

How To Use Your Main Character's Belief System To Improve Your Plot

How understanding your protagonist can build a stronger script.

How To Tweak Your Plot In One Easy Thought

Create an original plot twist by asking what would drive your protagonist to commit murder.

How To Develop A Biopic: A Fast And Easy Way To Get Ready To Write

Practical advice on how to write a biopic screenplay.

How To Cross The Act II Threshold

Advice on how to successfully move your story into the second act.

How To Write A Better Third Act

Practical advice on tackling the final act of your screenplay.

Each Of Your Main Characters Should Have A Secret

How creating a secret for your principle characters can improve your script.

How To Heighten The Tension in Your Plot By Creating The Irresolvable Problem

Marilyn discusses creating an insurmountable obstacle for your protagonist.

How To Use The Holidays To Create More Inner Conflict

Marilyn explains how using the holiday season can help your story and characters.

How To Structure Your Story Fast

Marilyn suggests you interview your principle characters to help you plan and structure your screen story.

How To Adapt Stories Into Screenplays

Marilyn advises on how to turn fiction and non-fiction stories into movie scripts.

How To Write Well Every Time

Advice of how to always write good scripts from Marilyn Horowitz

Three Tricks To Help You Rewrite Your Screenplay Fast

Marilyn gives some practical advice about how to tackle a rewrite.

3 Secrets of Pitching Your Screenplay

Practical advice on the art of successful pitching.

How To Use Your Characters Relationship With Their Parents To Improve Your Screenplay

Marilyn introduces an exercise to flesh out your story's characters using their family relationships.

How To Use Real People To Create Movie Plot And Characters

Marilyn offers some great advice about using real people to help your screenwriting.

How Writing Concept First Will Help Your Script & Pitch

Marilyn explains how using your story's concept can help your screenwriting and pitching.

How To Use A Political Or Legal Situation To Improve Your Romantic Comedy

Marilyn offers an innovative way to strengthen your romantic comedy script using the backstory of a political or legal situation.

How To Keep Your Writing Momentum Going During The Holidays

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to maintain your writing momentum.

How Do You Handle A Holiday Meltdown?

Marilyn gives some great advice on how to deal with the pressures of the holiday season.

An Easy Way To Get Your New Story Started

Marilyn gives some great advice on how to get inspiration for your next screenplay.

How To Get Your Story Started Fast

Marilyn offers some practical advice for getting your screen story off the starting blocks.

How To Strengthen Your Dialogue In One Easy Exercise

Marilyn offers some practical advice for improving your written dialogue by using an overheard conversation.

How To Improve Your Story By Understanding Your Main Character’s Spiritual Beliefs

Marilyn offers some practical advice for improving your story by exploring your protagonist's spiritual beliefs.

How To Master The Wild and Wooly Second Act of Your Screenplay

Marilyn offers some practical advice on how to get to grips with your script's second act.

How To Add Emotional Depth To Your Dialogue

Marilyn offers some practical advice on how to better understand your characters.

How To Create A Better Character By Knowing What Defines Them

Marilyn offers more practical advice on how to better understand your characters.

Using The Weather To Improve Your Screenplay

Marilyn offers great advice on how to use the weather to add drama to your script.

How To Develop Your Story Fast: Tips from my recent Writer’s Retreat in Italy

Marilyn offers great advice on how to use the weather to add drama to your script.

How To Write A New Script Better

Marilyn offers great advice on how to improve your screenplay.

New Year's Resolutions for Your Main Character and You

Marilyn offers great advice on how to use New Year resolutions for your characters.

How To Use An Illness To Improve Your Screenplay Plot

Marilyn offers great advice on how to use illness to enhance your story and your character arcs.

How To Effectively Create The First Act Set-Up

Marilyn offers great advice on how to use the 5 Ws to set up your first act.

How To Make Your Climactic Sequence "Pop"

Marilyn offers great advice on how to create an effective climactic sequence.

How To Market Your Screenplay & Be Your Own Agent Until You Get One

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to market yourself without a literary representative.

Use Storytelling to Create Depth and Subtext in Your Screenplay

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to develop characters and create depth and subtext in your screenplay.

How To Connect Better with Your Main Character

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to better identify with your protagonist.

How To Raise The Emotional Stakes in Your Screenplay

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to improve your screenplay by raising the stakes in your story.

A Simple Technique To Avoid Endless Rewriting

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to properly plan your script by outlining your story.

Using Halloween to Round Out Your Character

Marilyn offers some great advice on how to learn more about your characters using the costumes you may choose to wear for Halloween.

What I Learned From Being A Fulbright Scholarship Judge

Marilyn poses some key questions to help you better define the theme and storyline of your screenplay.

A Fast Way to Improve Your Plot Using New Year's Eve

Marilyn offers great advice on how to use New Year's Eve to raise the stakes in your screenplay.

How Does Your Character Feel About Snow?

Marilyn offers great advice on how to use an impending severe weather event to better understand your characters.

From Story To Screenplay, Keeping It Commercially Viable

Marilyn offers advice on how to ensure your screenplays will have commercial appeal.

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