This is a 3-session live workshop. I'll be working with each writer individually, so enrollment is limited. 👉 Sign up now → Emotional Authorship Workshop Enrollment closes: Midnight PT, Jan 31 I taught this in December because it's the absolute foundation of how I see character and script — developed over 25 years of writing and selling at the highest level. To me, this is second nature. But I was amazed to see the light come on in writers' eyes as they came in with great ideas and scripts that "technically" worked... but didn't land. The truth is, you can read all the books and still not see your own work with fresh eyes. You end up chasing your tail through rewrite after rewrite, hoping the next one magically fixes what's wrong. But you can't fix what you can't diagnose. This workshop changes that. It gives you the same tools I used writing $2.5 billion in box office hits. The writers who took this left knowing exactly what their story was about — and why it had never fully worked before. I'm sure some of them will drop into the comments to tell you about their experience. This didn't happen because of inspiration. It happened because of a diagnostic framework I've developed over the last 25 years. The problem Most writers today are taught the externals of what happens. Very few are taught why it matters — to the character or the audience. So you end up with: - Clean structure - Correct beats - A perfectly reasonable outline …and a story nobody really gives a damn about. Why? Because most screenwriting books are written by technocrats who've never actually made their living as writers. They've never gone into a studio and made an executive damn near cry in a meeting that led to landing a two-picture deal — like my partner and I did with Sherry Lansing at Paramount. The missing layer Every story that works is powered by the same internal engine: Wound → Lie → Healing The wound shapes how the character sees the world.The lie drives every choice they make.The story exists to break that lie — or force healing.

It's now possible to upgrade your Standard membership to Premium, which includes... Direct access to me in: Monthly Hot Seat coaching calls where I diagnose scripts in real time (the whole room learns, not just the writer in the seat). Mindset calls when you’re stuck or spiraling. Weekly coffee check-ins for accountability and really getting to know the great people in this community. We're also going to experiment with Body-doubling writing sessions — cameras on, doing the work together. This isn’t a course library you consume alone. It’s a working forge where we show up, do the work, and get better. As I create courses and workshops, Premium members get access to the recorded versions as they’re released. No extra charges for the core library. Right now I’m teaching Emotional Authorship: What Film Schools Don’t Teach live in the community — a framework built around The Wound, The Lie, and The Small Life, so characters hit on a gut level instead of feeling like Save the Cat clones. As I build out the course library, I want to prioritize what actually helps you now. Based on what you’ve been asking for, here’s what’s on the table: - Emotional Authorship: What Film Schools Don’t Teach (currently live) - The Reality of a Screenwriting Career (jobs, agents, money, longevity) - Pitching: What Studios and Producers Actually Listen For - Rewriting Without Killing the Soul of the Script - Loglines That Actually Work - How to Write Dialogue That Sounds Real - Writing Secondary Characters That Matter - How to Write a Scene That Works - Act One: How to Hook an Audience and an Industry Reader - Why Scripts That Follow All the Rules Still Feel Dead - Foundations of Great Storytelling - The Diagnostic: Reading Scripts Like a Hollywood Script Doctor And finally, the Big One: - Foundations of Screenwriting - From Fade In to Fade Out - this would be an A-Z intensive taught live over a period of 6 weeks. Simple ask: Comment with the top 2–3 you’d want first. If you feel something critical is missing, by all means list that below too.

Take a look at Jack Nicholson in the classic 5 Easy Pieces diner scene. This is a great example of a character who has his own inner life/agenda that absolutely comes to the surface, even when confronted with a trivial event. Your character needs to have an inner life of their own that drives them through every interaction, no matter how insignificant. This doesn't mean that every encounter needs to be some sort of blow up. Just that your character should feel specific, even in every day encounters. Here is the exact dialogue. I've hired the Waitress and given her her lines. Your job is to show up on the day of shooting with your lead actor(s). And order some damn toast. Let's see how that goes for you. You can alter the Waitress' lines slightly. But let's try to stick to the No Substitutes rule, because otherwise this place will be full of trouble makers like you in here ordering toast and tomatoes and then... god help us all. Due... soon... so some discussion in this thread can take place before Tuesday. Don't make me put on my turtleneck and windbreaker.

I've got my head down this week, prepping for the Emotional Authorship Seminar - aka What They Don't Teach You in Film School ... where I'm going to take students through exactly how I analyze projects at studios. How I create primal character dynamics that take those scripts to the next level and finally get them green lit! So I might be a little quiet here this week as I build that seminar out since this is the first in a series I'll be teaching. And I want everything to be absolutely top notch. What's on your plate and what are you determined to bring to the table this week? Let's get specific about our goals, so we don't get lost in the holiday shuffle. Now, don't get me wrong, it's incredibly important to be able to show up and appreciate everything we have to be grateful for during this time of year. But if we can keep plodding and plotting our way through December, we'll be able to enter the new year with a whole new energy vs having to play catch up. Drop your goals below!

I know it's been quiet this week, but there's a lot moving in the background and I'd love your input. I'm lining up guest writers to come in, talk shop, and answer your questions — including Phil Stark, screenwriter-turned-therapist and author of How to Be a Screenwriter. He wrote Dude, Where's My Car? and spent years on That 70s Show, so he'll have plenty to share. I want to start having guest writers and agents and such in regularly. How's Phil sound as one to kick it off? Also I dig deeper into how to run this community well, I've been exploring the Skool "Challenge" feature — and I think we might have something here. A December Challenge built around pages, word count, or scene output could be a great way to get momentum. But only if it's supportive, collaborative, and genuinely fun — not another source of pressure. We all put enough weight on ourselves already. So before I build anything, I want your take on this: Would a December writing challenge help you? If yes, what would make it feel motivating instead of stressful? Drop your thoughts below. I want to hear from you — and I want to shape this with you, not at you.