The Writers Junction Blog

Getting your MFA: Nine Deciding Factors

2012-01-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

Should I get an MFA? It’s a big question many writers have asked themselves -- a big question made up of many not-so-little ones (i.e. cost, time commitment, etc.). Last Sunday’s info session with Goddard College (special thanks to Aimee Liu and everyone else who joined us that night!) helped in giving us some answers to those questions, along with interesting insights into Goddard’s low-residency MFA program.

If you’re thinking of getting an MFA in creative writing, here’s a checklist of factors you should consider:

1. Do I need to get my MFA?

Teaching: If you plan to teach creative writing, getting your MFA is often considered a prerequisite, especially if you’re seeking a job at a formal institution such as a university.

Structure: Enrolling in an MFA program may help in imposing some much-needed structure to your writing with regular deadlines, assignments, etc. Ask whether you'll graduate with a completed manuscript. Of course, you can design that structure on your own or through other means, but an MFA program necessitates a formal, precisely defined schedule. Goddard MFA students make regular progress on full-length manuscripts as they submit their work to advisors every three weeks or so.

Craft: Through the course of two (or more) years, MFA students complete rigorous workloads that help in developing and honing their craft. Goddard MFA students explore and develop a lot of different writing skills while completing a series of packets that include creative work, annotations, and critical responses to works on required reading lists.

2. Where should I get my MFA?

Faculty: The relationships you develop while working with your advisors are essential. Be sure to research the faculties of each program and see who you might work with.

Genres: Before you enroll in an MFA program, make sure they offer your genre! Consider whether fluidity between genres is important to you. Goddard’s MFA program allows students to study and explore many different genres and forms, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, YA, screenwriting, playwriting, graphic novel writing, etc.

Schedule: One of the most crucial questions you need to ask yourself is whether you can commit the time it takes to get your MFA. Be sure to compare the curricula and residency schedules of different MFA programs and determine how each would fit into your own schedule. Besides the packets they complete about every three weeks, Goddard MFA students participate in two eight-day residencies per year. The program typically takes two years to complete.

Cost: Tuition is pretty steep, and essentially the same for most low-residency MFA programs. Goddard’s MFA program fees amount to almost $9000 per semester.

Location: Even with a low-residency program, you’ll want to do your research and find an environment that is the most desirable, inspiring, and conducive to your writing. Goddard MFA students choose to spend their residencies at one of two site options: Plainfield, Vermont, and Port Townsend, Washington.

Diversity: A program with a diverse student body offers a diversity of life experiences you can be exposed to and learn from, and can potentially enrich your own experience and writing.

For more information about Goddard College’s low-residency MFA program in creative writing, please visit: http://www.goddard.edu/masterfinearts_writing.

Eating Crow after Christmas: Why I Guess I Don't Really Absolutely Hate e-Readers Anymore

2012-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

I am by no means retracting all of what I said in my previous post on the subject, and I'm not even writing this because my feelings have radically changed, but perhaps I was a bit too harsh and hasty in saying I despise e-readers.

I was compelled (coerced, really) to re-evaluate my views when I received the Hunger Games trilogy for Christmas. I had been dying to read the series, and placed it at the very top of my two-item wishlist (the other item being the 2011 version of JANE EYRE on Blu-ray). Come Christmas morning, I open a card from my parents, in which I find a slip of paper simply saying, "The Hunger Games..." Confused, I look over at my mom, and that's when, with an evil grin (okay, not really), she brings out her Kindle.

My mom, who had been pestering me for months to use her cursed Kindle, had gotten me The Hunger Games, alright -- with electronic strings attached. The horror!

While she went on about how much she wanted me to borrow her Kindle and swore I'd love it if I just tried it out, and that she'd be happy to get me one if I did, I repeatedly pressed at the screen and grew quickly frustrated by its infuriating lack of response... before my mom pointed out the arrow keys and reminded me that it wasn't a touch screen. Oh. Right.

So my sentimental, anti-e-reader principles were reluctantly set aside. As I expected, I missed (and still do!) the physicality of a real book -- its weight, how it would fit just right in my hands, the strangely satisfying texture of its pages, the ease with which I could flip through it. But if I was itching to indulge in a Hunger Games binge, I'd have to endure. And so I grumbled and sighed and resigned myself to the Kindle's soulless buttons.

However, even the Kindle couldn't detract from the thrill of reading a great series for the first time. As I devoured the first two books, the bane of my existence slowly became an object I haven't allowed myself to keep too far out of reach. And I suppose, with this positive association with The Hunger Games, the Kindle has forced me to be a bit more open-minded about it.

While immersing myself in the world of Hunger Games, I discovered a curious Kindle feature called "highlights." With Kindle, readers have the ability to highlight their favorite quotes, and those that are particularly popular are marked as such in all Kindles. It's so fascinating to see what passages many other readers feel compelled to highlight. Like my previous admission about the usefulness of reading Amazon reviews, Kindle's highlights feature bears a form of communal spirit that is unique to online communities of readers. Reading these underlined quotes, and knowing they are highlighted because hundreds of readers find significance in them, brings a special, powerful emphasis to the author's words, and gives us a glimpse of that magical connection between author and readers. And that, I must admit, is pretty romantic.

Though I still miss the physicality and cover art of books (because I must confess I am one of those people who lets books' covers largely dictate my first impressions of their content), and I still don't see a great fit for e-readers in building a personal library (with shelves and all the trimmings) or enjoying a leisurely afternoon of perusing and stumbling upon hidden treasures in a bookstore, I think I'm kind of starting to get used to this newfangled contraption.

Is it possible to develop Stockholm Syndrome for an object?

What We Did Today

2011-11-09T15:04:00.000-08:00

by Leigh-Ann and Daniel

Hi, I'm Leigh-Ann and this is my Spark partner, Daniel. Today, we watched the first two minutes of a movie called INCEPTION. First we watched it with no sound and we tried to see what was going on. I learned that you can also understand a movie by the way they use the camera. I had a feeling inside me like something bad was going to happen and Daniel had a moody feeling inside him. We've noticed what we can see in a movie with no sound. We watched it over a few times and then with sound and saw what was really going on with all the noises and sound effects. We also did storyboards and wrote stories with some dialogue. I had fun doing these activities and of course watching the movie that looks really interesting.

A Story by Leigh-Ann and Daniel

2011-11-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

There was once a little girl named Lily. She lived in the countryside and one day she decided to go for a long walk. When she left for a walk, she saw a thing coming closer to her but it was coming from the sky. She got scared and hid under an oak tree. She heard a loud sound and then she saw a Roman person looking at her. They stared at each other for a few minutes because she couldnt believe her eyes. The Roman said to her, "You must come with us to help us with our duties." Lily got so scared she ran back home and gave her mom such a big hug. Her mom knew Lily had got in to bad mischief. "Knock knock" -- the Roman was trying to get in but Lily told her mom, "don't open the door!" but it was too late. The Roman knocked down the door and grabbed Lily and took her back to the space ship and flew her to another place she had never seen. After that, no one has seen or heard of Lily again.

Meet our Spark Apprentices: Leigh-Ann & Daniel!

2011-10-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hi this is Leigh-Ann and Daniel. We are apart of a program called Spark. Spark is really cool because we get to come to The Writers Junction. The Junction is really awesome because we get to write different stories and meet new people. There's a lot of nice and funny people at The Writers Junction. The Junction is really cozy and half of the time people are writing and the other half people are just relaxing on the comfy couches. When you walk in you feel welcome and relax. When you come all your stress from driving and the traffic goes away. When you are here you feel calm and there are so many good books to read that came from the writers here at The Junction. This is the best place to get all your books, plays, and movies done.
- By Leigh-Ann and Daniel, local 7th-graders

This Week's Writing Contest

2011-09-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Complete the following sentence on Twitter (or here!) for a prize:

"You know you're a writer when..."

#JunctionContests
Deadline: Wednesday, September 21st, 3:00pm

Quickie: The Soundtrack Behind Your Story

2011-09-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

One day I was perusing the Lending Library here at The Junction (Note to members: remember to check it out if you’re in need of a book!) and came across a short story anthology called Please: Fiction Inspired by The Smiths, edited by Peter Wild. Though I’m not very familiar with The Smiths and admit to being discouraged from reading the anthology by disappointed reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads, I was intrigued by the idea of it and thought it might be a fun and immersing experience to try writing a story in direct response to a playlist.

Instructions: Put your iPod (or iTunes, or any other kind of music device/playlist) on shuffle and listen to 5-7 songs. Write in a stream of consciousness through the songs, but listen carefully and write in focused response to them. Who, where, when, why, how, and what do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel from the music? Does a story emerge? Would a story more cohesively emerge if you switched the order of the songs? Do the transitions between songs coincide with turning points?

Have fun, and happy writing!

Freewrite of the Week: These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

2011-09-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

We had a great time at the UCLA Writers Faire last Sunday, and were intrigued by some advice given at one of the panels, "Writing Your First Novel." In response to a question about how to actually start writing a novel, mystery novelist Linda Palmer said she likes to begin by creating a cast of characters and exploring their opinions. We wholeheartedly agree with her character-first approach!

As important as the plot or situation is in a story, characters are the ones that are reacting to the situation, or even instigating it along with even more situations. Forming your characters' opinions and outlooks on life is essential because they dictate how your characters think, behave, talk to and connect with other people, and ultimately propel the plot. As interesting as a nun-in-training becoming a governess to a former naval officer's seven children sounds, it becomes a lot more interesting when the captain thinks it's best to keep his children at a distance with a strictly enforced schedule, the children think that torturing all their governesses is the only way to get their father's attention, and the nun-in-training thinks it's a good idea to butt heads with the captain to get the children the fun and affection they need. Throwing all these different opinions into the mix is what makes "The Sound of Music" such a great story as they interact, clash, and change each other.

Besides being important on the level of the story, your characters' opinions make up a big part of the connection between you and your reader. By creating a character with beliefs, values, and feelings, you make him/her more real, interesting, and relatable -- someone your readers come to feel that they know. The "My Favorite Things" scene is a moment we witness Maria's belief in the unifying power of music, and we are swept away right along with the children in a carefree, whimsical recollection of favorite things. It's a moment when the children feel connected to Maria, and so do we.

Developing things as profound as your characters' opinions can seem daunting, but you can ease into it by thinking about fun and simpler things first, such as their likes and dislikes (e.g. favorite and most despised foods, films, etc.).

Your task: In a 10-minute stream-of-consciousness exercise, list some of your character's favorite things. And by "things," we mean anything: objects, pastimes, hobbies, interests, ideas, words, stories, songs, sounds, smells, memories, places, people, seasons, time of day, days of the week, etc. We're leaving it up to you!

*The next step: Explore your character's forms of "when the dog bites" and "when the bee stings," or situations akin to Gretel's fear of thunderstorms. What would make your character feel sad, angry, or scared? Write about an event that makes your character want to "simply remember [their] favorite things."

Second Summer Lit Marathon a Success!

2011-08-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

Last Friday's Lit Marathon was a huge success, thanks in big part to our spectacular slate of performers. We took it easy on the literary marathoner audience this year and brought them seven hours of entertainment instead of last year's 24-hour program. The evening, benefiting The Young Storytellers Foundation, was jam-packed with hours of entertaining and insightful readings. Our very own Ashaki Jackson kicked the night off with solemn, moving poetry in memory of her grandmother, laced with humorous asides. She was followed by author Jillian Lauren, who shared an exclusive snippet of her upcoming novel, Pretty, which hits stores August 30th.

As the evening progressed, guests trickled in and out of the Library, listening to the performances from the Lounge while mingling by the open bar (our lovely bartender's recommendation: UV cake-flavored vodka + root beer = extra delicious root beer float! Thanks to UV for this donation!) and buying scrumptious pastries from the Miss California contestants' charity bake sale. The atmosphere was very relaxed and social. Ben Weber, our honorable MC, kept the good times rolling with light, easygoing banter in between acts.

One of the night's highlights was the TV writers' panel, moderated by Jay Gibson and featuring Deirdre Shaw Gibson (JANE BY DESIGN, LIFE UNEXPECTED), Liz Tigelaar (ONCE UPON A TIME, LIFE UNEXPECTED), Bruce Miller (EUREKA, MEDIUM), and Jami O'Brien (HELL ON WHEELS, BIG LOVE). The panel shared insights about how they got their start and what it's like in the writers room from assistant to showrunner perspectives. As a creator, Liz shared her own perspective of assembling a team of writers that would work well together. Deirdre and Jami, as current staff writers, emphasized the importance of an encouraging environment with a showrunner who, rather than shooting ideas down without producing alternative solutions, helps in massaging the ideas into kernels that can be used. Bruce shared his experience from ER to Eureka, including the roller coaster last-minute cancellation (read more here from Deadline Hollywood) of the show just days before the panel.

Towards the middle of the evening, it was my (Jacqui's) turn to go up on stage! I performed three of my songs, "Angry Welts," "Love Song for the Hopeless Romantics," and "Giddy." The warm reception from the audience paid great testament to the vibrant, enthusiastic, and supportive writers' community I'm honored to be a part of here at The Junction. :) *Junction note: Singer-songwriter Jacqui is awesome and delightful -- if you get a chance to see her play, don't miss it!

As the night wound down, the stage was graced by spoken word artists and writers who shared sneak peeks at their working novels. In addition to the talented David Francis, Rita Williams and Nicole Wells, late night was highlighted by Rich Ferguson's spoken word, including one of our favorites, "To The Judgmental Rushing-to-Conclusions Cashier at My Local Supermarket." From humor to deep thoughts: "And when we kiss... present, past, future -- with my love, I never know in what tense I exist." Rich was followed by his fellow The Nervous Breakdown writer Anne Walls, who channeled a young adult hypochondriac from her debut novel. Return Literary Marathon warrior Sean Hill then charmed the crowd with his stage presence and spoken word pieces on love, and Anna Metcalf shared a second excerpt from her novel about house-sitting an abandoned mansion on the Tennessee/Kentucky state line. Finally, the night closed with Brooke Bastinelli, who gave voice to damsels in distress with tongue-in-cheek poems about just wanting to be "kept."

All in all, we had a grand time at this summer's Lit Marathon. Many thanks to all of you who joined us, and stay tuned for posts of the videos on our YouTube channel!

Only TWO DAYS LEFT until the 2nd Summer Lit Marathon!

2011-08-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Revisit last year’s wildly popular 24-hour literary marathon in redux with new & returning stars. This event will feature some of the literary, entertainment, & music world's best & brightest. Take a look at our stellar line-up:

7:15PM- Ashaki Jackson*- poetry

7:30PM- Jillian Lauren author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem- excerpt from upcoming novel Pretty

7:50PM- Mark Sarvas* author of Harry, Revised- fiction

8:10PM- Inside The Writer's Room: A Panel – get the inside scoop on a television writers room with showrunners & staff writers including: Liz Tigelaar (LIFE UNEXPECTED, ONCE UPON A TIME), Jami O'Brien (HELL ON WHEELS, BIG LOVE) , Bruce Miller (EUREKA, MEDIUM), Deirdre Shaw Gibson (LIFE UNEXPECTED, JANE BY DESIGN) & more!

9:10PM- Sarah Monson- comedy

9:30PM- Brad Listi author of Attention. Deficit. Disorder- fiction

9:50PM- Jim McCaffree- humorous excerpts from self-help blog

10:00PM- Tatiana Blackington- excerpt from The Sanctuary, winner of The Nervous Breakdown's Novel Contest

10:15PM- Mark Rizzo* TV/film writer & storytelling veteran

10:35PM- David Francis author of Stray Dog Winter- excerpt from new novel

10:55PM- Rita Williams author of If the Creek Don't Rise

11:20PM- Rich Ferguson- spoken word

11:40PM- Anne Walls- comedy

MIDNIGHT- Neal Brennan* co-creator of Comedy Central's CHAPPELLE'S SHOW

12:20AM- Nicole Wells- personal essays

12:30AM- Sean Hill- spoken word

12:50AM- Anna Metcalf- humor/memoir

1:10AM- The Dub Collective acoustic band featuring Jacqui Fauni*

1:30AM- Brooke Bastinelli- poetry

And of course, your most honorable Master of Ceremonies...

Ben Weber* actor, writer, Geico Caveman

Performances will be going for 7 (not 24!) hours straight, as will the food, drinks, & revelry. There will be a silent auction, giveaways, & you can check out the amazing workspace that is The Writers Junction. We will donate a portion of the evening's proceeds to The Young Storytellers Foundation.

Buy your tickets now for $8 each:

junctionlitmarathon.eventbrite.com

or roll the dice at the door for $2-12 admission.

*notes Writers Junction member

No Romance in e-Reading: The Heartbreak of Closing the Shop Around the Corner

2011-08-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

When Borders first announced they were filing for bankruptcy back in February, I was devastated, but still held out a bit of hope since they were only closing some of their stores, and fortunately the one in Torrance (my local store) would remain open. Call it optimistic or naive, but I thought maybe -- just maybe -- taking this step would help them eventually turn around. Alas, they are closing all their doors for good.

I've read lots of different opinions on the matter -- some chalking it up to mismanagement, some calling it poetic justice because Borders was responsible for a lot of independents going out of business (like Tom Hanks' Fox Books to Meg Ryan's Shop Around the Corner), etc. But as my fellow card-carrying (though those cards are useless now, except maybe as collectors' items in 200 years) Borders Rewards members would attest, many of us are deeply saddened. One particularly disheartening reason Borders is closing up shop is that they couldn't keep up with the "e-volution" of books, with their Kobo getting left in the dust by Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook.

Yet another reason for me to despise e-readers. Grr.

Sure, they save trees, space, time and money (at least in the long run), and as a Millennial, I'm supposed to covet all sorts of cool technology, but as a rather old-fashioned gal myself, I just have no desire to buy an e-reader. Where's the romance in pressing some buttons instead of being able to turn a page and relish its strangely satisfying texture under your fingertips? Where's the communal spirit in shopping for books online (besides the reviews... which I must admit are incredibly helpful)? Where's the serendipity in instantly clicking "purchase" rather than spending a Sunday afternoon idly perusing the shelves for hours and stumbling upon a book that seems to be made for you?

Just as there's something about the act of grappling in an empty post office box that doesn't quite translate to checking your e-mail, the e-reading revolution lacks the organic shopping experience offered by bookstores like Borders. Of course, I don't think Borders' closing is a sign that all brick-and-mortar bookstores will be going extinct anytime soon (knock on wood) -- but I sincerely hope the e-books revolution doesn't completely take over and wipe the society and romance out of reading.

What do you think about Borders' closing? Are e-readers the bane of any other book lovers' existence out there? Or have you made the switch?

I AM THE GREATEST: Meditations on Swagga

2011-07-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

by Jack Solowey

Swagga.

Brian Urlacher has it. He advertises a dank (good smelling) deoderant by that very name. He also has over 1,000 career tackles in the NFL – both cause and consequence of his undaunted swagga.

Muhammad Ali is a swagga O.G. Correction: triple O.G. He murdered a rock and injured a stone. He made medicine sick.

He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. Down goes Frazier! Up with Muhammad Ali.

Bill Buckner does not have swagger. LMFAO 1986 World Series.

“As sure as night is dark and day is light” Johnny Cash has swagga. Nowadays we might not immediately see the swagga in a lovesick countrysinger. But come on people, far lesser men than Mr. Cash could have crooned the copper off a coin if only they had Johnny’s voice.

Does Bob Dylan have swagger? You may now be shaking your head, Muhammad Ali and little Bobbie Zimmerman on the same list? What’s the weight differential there?

But I say, is being scrawny a crime? Joan Baez didn’t think so. Mmmmmm. Alright Bob, ok.

Lest we forget that Bob Dylan stood side by side with Muhammad Ali saying “Hell no we won’t go!” to the virtueless and vexing violence that were the Vietnam War and Cambodian clusterf***. Furthermore, Johnny Cash GAVE the man his guitar. I mean Johnny Cash literally went over to Dylan, took the guitar off his back and said, “Here Bob, take it. Just have it bro.”

I rest my case.

Frank Sinatra? The man did it his way. He flew us to the moon.

You better believe Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have swagga. Even that third guy that nobody remembers, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins has it. The man left the planet. Have you?

Werner Von Braun?

He built some pretty sweet rockets. But the sonofab*tch was a Nazi.

“Vonce ze rockets go up who cares vhere zey come down said Werner Von Braun.”

Werner does not make the cut, but Tom Lehrer sure does!

Nazis, by definition, are antithetical to all other human beings on this list.

Killin Nazis, however, now that is a different story. Sgt. Donny Donowitz makes the list. You may know him better as the “Bear Jew.” “He bashes Nazi’s brains in with a baseball bat ‘swhat he does.”

As for the real life version, have you heard of Yonatan Netanyahu?

Lemme tell you ‘bout my boy Yoni.

This Israeli paratrooper landed in Uganda dressed as Idi Amin, busted into a terrorist controlled airport guns ablazin. Thrice Uzi-ed to death a score of terrorists, and saved 100 hostages. He had more than a little help from the Sayaret Matkal. They all make the list.

Yoni also made the Dean’s list at Harvard University, but I won’t hold that against him.

This brings us to the issue of using swagga for good. Now Peter Parker’s uncle, Ben, understood the subject well. Peter Parker himself contains the dichotomy of swagga-morality. Whereas Spiderman represents the use of one’s innate swagga for good, Venom represents its use for evil.

Kanye West has been portrayed as having dealt with the Peter Parker dilemma.

He did sing the song on swagga, so he should be a shoe in.

One day, on the corner, Kanye West surveyed his surroundings and came to the realization that no one else in the general vicininty possessed the same degree of swagga. T.I., M.I.A., and Jay-Z all came to the same conclusion, and without question have got swagga.

Kanye, however, has been villified in the press for allegedly having been impolite to Taylor Swift at some awards ceremony or something. Let me go on record here and say that Taylor Swift’s melliflouous narration of the struggles of a teenaged girl dealing with the pressures of popularity and image-consciousness deserves a swagga nod. But Kanye was right, so too does Beyoncé. It should go without saying that she makes the list. I’m sure all the single ladies agree.

Now closing the book on the Kanye is simple. The man loves his mama. If you don’t understand why this gives Kanye an unequivocal thumbs up, then you don’t deserve an explanation.

Speaking of Mamas, Margaret Thatcher has sooo much Swagga (eventhough the British Miners union wouldn’t think so).

The Lady survived an assasination attempt, and told the commies to kiss her arsenal.

So, you might now be saying, alright Jack, I see what you did here. But who are you? I mean, who gave you the right to declare who has swagga and who doesn’t?

First off, let me respond to that query by saying, these fine ladies and gentleman do not have swagga because I say they do. They just do. I am but politely directing your attention to the high concentration of swagga particles in these individuals. I mean, these men and women are 99^th percentile, 3 whole standard deviations above the mean.

Second, if I myself did not have swagga I might say something like: I’m sorry mister, I’m just a kid with poor to mediocre hand eye coordination, please don't hurt me.

My real answer to your question though is: That was me, then I started using swagger from Old Spice.

Who’s laughin now?

Me.

Harry's Valuable Lessons: Coming of Age with Voldemort and Osama

2011-07-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

by Jack Solowey

(Spoiler Alert: reveals the ending of the Harry Potter saga and the fate of the Al Qaeda terrorist.)

This morning, at 12:00 am the final installment of the Harry Potter movie series, The Deathly Hallows Part II, was released in American theatres.

To the viewing public, Voldemort is now dead, and so is Osama.

On the night we learned that American special forces successfully killed Osama Bin Laden, a large number of American college students went out into the streets to express their emotions. Many waved American flags, some cheered, others sang the national anthem, and several answered questions for reporters.

The next day, in the media frenzy that surely had to follow the killing of the world’s most wanted mass-murderer, many voices criticized these students.

Pamela Gerloff of the Huffington Post wrote, ‘Celebrating’ the killing of any member of our species--for example, by chanting USA! USA! and singing The Star Spangled Banner outside the White House or jubilantly demonstrating in the streets--is a violation of human dignity.”

The Guardian’s Mona Eltahawy decried, “No Dignity at Ground Zero,” “It didn't take 10 minutes for the frat party atmosphere to sicken me.”

Rather than condemning personal acts of catharsis, Neil Howe, the scholar credited with naming my generation the Milennials, sought to explain these acts of “celebration” in the context of my generation’s experience.

"It's like Voldemort is dead," Howe declared. "It's a Harry Potter world. For this generation, there's either pure evil or pure good. There's no anti-hero. They're out to get rid of these terrible forces and have a celebration. A happy ending. This is very defining for their generation.”

I take exception to this absolutist categorization, as both a member of the milennial generation and a fan of the Harry Potter series, which Howe would probably say is a redundant statement.

Howe is entirely right that the Harry Potter morality play informed my generation’s moral identity, but for that very reason his assertion that we embrace a primitive black and white view of the world is dead wrong.

In condemning the Milennial’s reaction to O.B.L.-K.I.A., Gerloff and Eltahawy tried to portray us as frivolous immoral jingoists. Based on the Pew Research Center’s recent publication Milennials: Portrait of a Generation, however, Gerloff and Eltahawy would aptly be described as factually incorrect journalists. Pew: “This generation is the most culturally diverse in the history of the nation, college-focused and more tolerant than any before them. They believe that good parenting, successful marriage and helping others are among the most important things in their lives.”

It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the Harry Potter series, that a generation said to have learned valuable ethical tropes from those books is the most tolerant in history. In the Harry Potter saga, Voldemort and his “Death-Eater” followers seek to purge the wizarding world of “mudbloods” – wizards with non-magical family. Voldemort and the Death-Eaters wage a campaign to impose racial purity, in a manner akin to Hitler and the Third Reich. Harry and his cadre of protectors give shelter to the non-Aryan wizards and seek to defeat Voldemort’s wehrmacht.

While this is surely a tale of good vs. evil, it is not as Howe suggests, without nuance or shades of gray. In the days preceding the rise of Voldemort, Harry tries to warn the Ministry of Magic (the government of the wizarding world) that the “Dark lord is back.” The head of the Ministry, Cornelius Fudge, however, refuses to acknowledge the danger in a Neville Chamberlain move. When Harry refuses to be censored, the Ministry declares him a terrorist and the press labels him public enemy number one. Nevertheless, Harry continues his quest to reveal the truth and protect the community.

Dr. Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development would place Harry’s actions at the highest level of morality. Harry transcends the “Primitive Ethics” of obedience and punishment in not cowing to the Ministry’s threats. He then rises above the “Conventional Morality” of law and order in refuting the government’s dogma.

Harry exercises rational ethical thought beyond the demands of his id and his superego. Not only is he able to tease out right from wrong in the face of obfuscating authority figures, but he also risks personal harm to do so.

He is an ideal role model for a generation that was gripped by tragedy at a young age. Surely, many children of the milennial generation who lost their parents in Osama’s fires took solace in Harry’s story: his own parents were murdered by Voldemort.

I do not look askance at the 10-year-old boy who saw the Twin Towers destroyed on a TV in his 5^th grade classrooom one Tuesday morning in September. I do not question his education when he learned that day that Osama Bin Laden was the face of evil. I don’t shake my head that this boy navigated adolescence reading the story of another brave boy, who selflessly fought to protect his community and friends in the face of withering opposition from the government and the press.

And I certainly do not have the temerity to question the manner in which this young man chose to respond to his President’s declaration that “justice has been done.”

Dynamic Dialogue Contest

2011-07-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Your task: Complete the following dialogue with two of your own lines for a prize.

Character A: Honey, I'm home!
Character B: How was your day?
Character A: (your line here)
Character B: (your line here)

#JunctionContests
Good luck, and have fun!

Deadline: Tuesday, July 19th, 4:00pm

Freewrite of the Week: Things that are Worse Left Unsaid

2011-07-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

Unless you’ve been unyieldingly blunt your whole life, you’ve probably experienced the backlash of saying one thing and meaning another. And I’m not talking about idioms. What I’m talking about are the things we say with the often counterproductive hope that people will read between the lines, respond the way we want them to, and -- here’s the tricky part -- actually mean it. As irrational or futile as this strategy can repeatedly prove to be, it remains a standard device in our social interactions and, as art imitates life, makes a regular appearance in our characters’ dialogues.

Take the "Does this make me look fat?" conversation -- a classic example that has put many a man in an impossibly precarious position. You’ve seen it in countless films, episodes, and commercials -- a woman grimacing in front of a mirror, turning this way and that, smoothing the form-fitting cocktail dress she has to wear to a gala that night. Then the camera slowly pans out and you see a guy fidgeting in the corner until she asks him the dreaded question. His response? As many different answers as there can be, it must be a variation of "no" if he wants to avoid the couch.

Of course, fiction or a lot of moxie can get people to respond in a way others wouldn’t (and are advised not to) try at home. Let’s say Fidgeting Guy was possessed by Rhett Butler and blurted out, "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn," before jauntily walking off into the fog that has inexplicably filled the bedroom. Not likely in real life, but much more interesting than a faint-hearted, "Of course not, honey." Switching things up can turn a nameless couple’s cliched interaction into a scene packed with character and chemistry that is singularly and undeniably yours. Take the maddening, skillful manipulations of Scarlett O’Hara and add a dash of the dashing, undaunted, and deliciously rakish (yes, I’m a big fan) Rhett Butler, and you’ve got a dynamic that can yield scenes and scenes of explosive energy you know belongs only to Ms. Margaret Mitchell.

Your task: Write a scene in which one character surreptitiously tries to get another character to say what he or she wants to hear.

Whether you write your characters' interaction as amicable, volatile, decidedly done, or open-ended, just remember to have fun!

Good luck, and happy writing!

How Many Drinks Must One Man Down, Before You Can Call Him a Man?

2011-07-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

by Jack Solowey

There are a lot of similarities between America in 2011 and 1968. In both eras, the United States finds itself mired in unpopular foreign wars and highly partisan domestic politics. It is no surprise then, that the cultural products of that tumultuous year parallel the artistic expression of today. Then and now, protest songs top the music charts and provide anthems for socially aware youth.

Katy Perry is the Joan Baez of my generation – a subtly sensual bohemian princess, shunning makeup and campaigning for civil rights. Baez belting out “We Shall Overcome” with Martin Luther King Jr. during the March for Freedom and Jobs at the Lincoln Memorial never fails to give me goosebumps. Equally chilling, is Katy Perry’s cognizant articulation, “Pictures of last night  Ended up online, I'm screwed, oh well  It's a blacked out blur, but I'm pretty sure it ruled!”

Perry even alludes to Baez’s 1967 arrest at an anti-war protest: “With my favorite party dress,  warrants out for my arrest,  Think I need a ginger ale,  That was such an epic fail.”

Right on Katy Perry! The Containment Policy was an “epic fail!”

Whereas Katy Perry is married to the skinny rockstar Russel Brand, who goes by the stage name Aldous Snow, Baez once had a famous fling with her own name-changing skinny man: Robert Zimmerman, a.k.a. Bob Dylan.

In 1968, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix tag-teamed the legendary anti-war song “All Along the Watchtower.” When Hendrix covered Dylan’s lyrical brilliance with his far-out guitar strumming and soulful voice, the single shot straight to the Billboard top 10. Hendrix's opening chords melt your face like a blast of napalm on the Mekong Delta. The same can be said for LMFAO’s bass-thumping #1 hit “Party Iraq.”

“Party Iraq” opens with the stirring lyrics:

“Party Iraq is in the house tonight

Everybody just have a good time

And we gonna make you lose your mind

Everybody just have a good time.”

The first line references the house-to-house fighting that took place in the deadly Battle for Fallujah in 2004. The United States Marine Corps and 82^nd Airborne Division consider their fight against Zarqawi’s Al-Qaeda in Fallujah the “heaviest urban combat” since the battle for Hue City in Vietnam in 1968. LMFAO’s line “And we gonna make you lose your mind” pays hommage to the high incidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among the US veterans who served in Fallujah.

With young Americans laying down their lives in combat overseas, the youth at home would not and will not rest until societies reevaluate their principles. In 1968, The Beatles performed their iconic “Revolution,” lending a nuanced voice to the call for rebellion. In spite of extremism and destruction, The Beatles assuage “Don’t you know it’s gonna be all right.” In 2011, Hot Chelle Rae offers a similar message, declaring, “It’s all right, all right, tonight, tonight.”

While The Beatles lend support to the popular calls for reform, singing:

You say you want a revolution

Well, you know

We all want to change the world

Hot Chelle Rae takes demands for revolution one step further, chanting:

La la la, whatever,

la la la, it doesn’t matter,

la la la, oh well,

la la la

In 1964 and 2008, Americans elected change candidates Richard Nixon and Barack Obama respectivey. Both candidates campaigned on promises to end costly wars started under previous administrations. Years into both of these presidencies, however, the wars in Vietnam and Iraq dragged on, and new operations began in Cambodia and Lybia.

Disillusioned youths in both generations turned to artists to vocalize their dissatisfaction with an unyielding status quo. The 1960s countercultural, civil rights, and anti-war movements were ultimately successful in bringing about lasting change.

As for the fate of this generation’s struggle, the answer my friend is blowin in the wind.

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Seriously Short Fiction Challenge! Take it!

2011-07-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, two interns created a flash fiction contest. Sadly, they only received 2 responses. They didn’t know what to do with the fabulous prize they picked out so they decided to extend the deadline.

The triumphant smile was wiped clean off her face when she saw the time. 4:01. Shoulders slumped in defeat, her eyes lit anew - an extension!

Short stories long -- Since we understand that post-4th-of-July haze has prevented a lot of you from accepting the SERIOUSLY SHORT FICTION CHALLENGE, we've extended the deadline to Tuesday, July 12th at 4:00 pm. Good luck, and happy writing!

Seriously Short Fiction Challenge

2011-06-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

Your task: Write a story in 140 characters or less on Twitter/Facebook (or here) for a prize.
#JunctionContests

Deadline: Tuesday, July 5th, 4:00 pm

Good luck!

It’s NOT about ME? Good one, David Brooks!

2011-06-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

by Jack Solowey

David Brooks recently wrote a delightfully sarcastic opinion piece directed at 2011’s class of college graduates. Speaking to the grads, Brooks ‘modestly proposes’ that the world is not a mere playground for their novel amusement.

Ha! Good one, David! It doesn’t take a college education to understand the simple fact that an undergraduate degree is the ticket to a lifetime of ease and happiness. In 2010, Brooks’s own paper, The New York Times, published a study that identified a strong direct correlation between education and well-being. As a college “sophomore,” which is Greek for ‘knows everything,’ I have already learned that such a correlation always implies causality.

At the close of his piece, Brooks wryly quips, “Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center.” This can only be a joke, because as all people, especially college students know, happiness is achieved by avoiding tasks. Where Pharaohs and Caesars used slaves to spare themselves from agonizing labor, college frat boys use pledges.

In fact, a college education guarantees future joy because it teaches you how to get out of working. Pretending to observe another religion’s holiday in order to push back a deadline, and counting alcohol served to minors as “community service” are just a few of the ways in which college students practice the art of shirking responsibility.

College courses even explicitly instruct the future leaders of the free world on how to cut corners. Only in a college economics classroom will you come to understand such complex ideas as “Post-Keynesian Chartalism.” This theory asserts that governments can pay off their debt by printing money that doesn’t actually exist. While this notion may sound “counter-intuitive” or "f***ing ridiculous" to a non-college graduate, to a college grad it makes perfect sense. College students even learn to apply this concept outside of the classroom. With “bursar bills” students can charge food and other necessary items to their parents without asking for the money upfront.

With college-educated leaders who know such clever tricks, our government can pay for things even though it is $14.2 trillion in debt. Luckily, our elected officials understand that they don’t have to waste time and resources paying off our debt in the present, because some even more educated generation will simply get around to it in the future.

Furthermore, Brooks’s colleague Tom Friedman reported yesterday on another one of our highly educated government’s laborsaving success stories. According to Friedman, modern presidents are only expected to make policy for their first 100 days in office, even though they are elected to an entire four-year term. Ask not what your country can do for you – ask how you can evade doing anything for your country. Thanks Kennedy School of Government!

In the past, hard work made this country great. Other people’s hard work. While uneducated people composed the rank and file of the proletariat labor force, the “smart” ones avoided all that Dickensian drudgery by taking 8 semesters of gen ed. classes.

It is wholly unjust that even today some Americans do not have the opportunity to go to college and thereby avoid a lifetime of challenging toil. As our founders envisioned, however, we continue to move towards a “more perfect Union.” In President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union Address he stated, “We’ve ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students.”

We still have not yet achieved the ideal where 100% of Americans receive college degrees, but with every generation we move closer to that goal. At this point, you may be wondering, “if everyone goes to college and learns how to get by without doing anything productive, who will do the dirty work?”

Once again, executives with MBAs from the nation’s leading business schools have devised an easy solution: out-sourcing. Now that most Americans are far too educated to perform “necessary tasks” we simply must hire people in other countries to perform those jobs for us.

Already, we see the fruits of our emphasis on college education. Unemployment is now officially at 9.1%, meaning that fewer and fewer Americans have to work at all. At this rate, college may be the ticket to an entirely work free future.

Freewrite of the Week: Obsessions and Confessions

2011-06-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

Whether it's an embarrassing collection of drugstore romance novels or your Aunt Abby and Martha's crowd of poisoned septuagenarians buried in the basement, we've all got obsessions we'd rather not announce to the whole world. So why would you want to write about them? Or better yet, why have authors and screenwriters poured their guiltiest pleasures and dirtiest secrets into their work, knowing full well how much they're revealing to their audiences? As terrifying as it may be, writing about our obsessions can lead us to the story we want to tell, so fiction can be a form of confession. Of course, that confession can be as cathartic or discreet as we want to make it, as dictated by the unwavering laws of artistic license. (Just don't make it all up and call it an autobiography, a la James Frey.)

Getting in touch with our obsessions can unlock insight about ourselves as well as our characters. What does your obsession say about you (besides the fact that you're obsessed with something)? Maybe you care deeply about the ones you love and would do anything to prevent them from going to prison for murder (and maybe that's what makes you as charming as Cary Grant). Why exactly do you feel so guilty about your guilty pleasure? Maybe your archaic ideals of romance are so closeted because they clash with your attitude as a modern woman. Deconstructing our obsessions can help us translate them into our characters' desires and flaws, which can help us figure out what obstacles they need to overcome to attain their desires, etc. Before you know it, a plethora of plot bunnies will emerge!

Your task: Write for 10 minutes about the one obsession you don't want anyone to know about. And don't hold back -- you can always bury it with those gentlemen in the basement...

Good luck, and happy writing!

Hockey Fans Defy Stereotypes

2011-06-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

by Jack Solowey

The usually tranquil seaside city of Vancouver erupted in chaos last night, following the Canucks's 4-0 defeat by the Boston Bruins in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. At the close of the third period, otherwise mild-mannered Canadians took to the streets in an atypical display of human emotion. 150 were injured as the British Columbians burned cars, smashed storefronts, and unleashed lifetimes of pent up aggression.

"This is the first time in my life I've burned anything. Even birthday candles used to scare me, but torching that Mountie's horse felt pretty good eh!" stated Ethan Taylor an investment banker and Vancouver native. "Now that I've tasted blood, I don't think I can ever go back to my timid Canadian ways."

We caught Taylor marching with a cohort of crazed Canucks fans from the Rogers Arena to a local liquor store. There, the mob proceeded to loot bottles of Molson Ice and Canadian Club Whiskey in order to make molotov cocktails.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had to be called up to halt this unprecedented destruction of property. Upon hearing that a mass of 70,000 hooligans was rampaging in the streets of Vancouver, R.C.M.P. Commissioner William Elliot is reported to have said "Stop messin' around ya no-good hoser! There aren't 70,000 people in all of Canada!" Elliot only realized that the call for assistance was not a prank when Prime Minister Stephen Harper personally begged him to step in.

Perhaps even more shocking than Canada's latent urge to riot is Boston's sudden ability to maintain basic standards of human decency. Win or Lose, the Boston Police Department was prepared for an orgy of drunken violence that would last well into the wee hours of the morning. Barricades were set up along pub-lined streets, and hundreds of riot police in full body-armor established a tight perimeter around TD Garden. Surprisingly, these efforts were unnecessary.

Following the presentation of the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe trophy to Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and Bruins goalie Tim Thomas respectively, Bostonians put down their pints of lager, paused for a 20 second golf-clap, and exited single-file out of all local bars and restaurants.

One Bostonian, when asked why he was acting like a civilized member of society, stated, "I have wo[r]k in the mo[r]ning at John Hancock Insu[r]ance, I can't stay up all night drinkin' just becaws a' some stupid hawckey gayme. That'd be wicked irrespawnsable.

U.S. Snubbed Again by Glitzy International Affair

2011-06-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

by Jack Solowey

The first full lunar eclipse in over a decade is taking place today, but you wouldn't know it. While South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia will be able to witness this breathtaking celestial phenomenon, the United States will not be attending. Left off the guest list, the US will have to make alternate plans for the evening - perhaps renting a movie with Canada.

After President Obama and First Lady Michelle were overlooked for an invitation to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Americans have been feeling left out. This recent snub, by the heavens themselves, is just the latest blow to our national ego.

An avuncular man who identifies himself only as "Sam," as he is too embarrassed to use his real name, had this to say while choking back tears, "I didn't even want to go to that stupid lunar eclipse. That's weak small time sh*t. 'For me, it's solar or nothing.'* The moon would be a nobody without us. We made the moon a big deal by hanging out there in 1969, and now it thinks it can host a party without us. Real cool bro!"

Like most Americans today, Sam is visibly upset. American detractors, however, haughtily delighted in their new-found social superiority. Even New Zealand tried to be cool, chiding, "I bet those Yank mates feel more left out than a Kakapo at a Kiwi party!" The joke, however, was lost on Mongolia and South Korea who just shrugged their shoulders at the comment.

Insiders at the Gala report that it was indeed a star studded affair. Astral celebrities such as the Virgo constellation were visible shortly after the party kicked off. The entire catering hall was bathed in an intense red light that emerged when the earth passed directly between the moon and the sun.

As for future Lunar-American relations, sources close to the moon's promoter say that the United States can expect an invitation to the next total lunar eclipse no later than August 21, 2017. Skeptical Americans won't be holding their breath.

*The Simpsons episode 251 written by John Frink & Don Payne, Directed by Mike Scully

Twitter Contest 6.14

2011-06-14T17:12:00.001-07:00

Complete the last line of the limerick on twitter for a special prize! #JunctionContests

There once was a Junction for Writers

All brighter than all kinds of lighters

They worked hard all day

So then they could play

...your line here…

Happy Writing!

Experts Report: American Productivity Down 83.4% Today

2011-06-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

by Jack Solowey

Writers Junction productivity analysts made a startling discovery upon entering the office this morning.

"I opened the door and there were reams of dot matrix paper all over the floor. You know, that old printer paper with the perforated edges and holes on the side," reported Junction intern Colij Stoodint.

The Junction's Level of Activity Monitoring Equipment, or L.A.M.E., had been working in overdrive to churn out new graphs since 9 am EST. At that time, Americans on the eastern seaboard were clicking onto their Google home-pages and noticing the interactive Les Paul "doodle."

L.A.M.E. is a remote monitoring station that records the average national level of productivity in a continuous line graph similar to a Seismometer or EKG. It is financed by the federal government, and located in Santa Monica California.

"It was game over as soon as the first laptop was booted up. By 9:15 am EST the graphing pins were already recording in the bottom quartile of productivity. At noon, the national activity level was down 83.4% below the daily average," Stoodint reports.

From Boston to Richmond, right when the workday began, Americans could not help but spend hours trying to record 30 second ditties on the digital mini-guitar Google provided. A New York Times columnist who chose to remain anonymous states, "I was about to email a source in Lybia when I discovered the doodle. When I looked at the clock again I realized that Paul Krugman and I had been riffing nonstop for 3 hours!"

While the national productivity level fell to its lowest point since the Rebecca Black video was released, there were some positive developments to come out of the Les Paul doodle. Apparently, if you type ddfggfdsaasddss on your keyboard the guitar plays "Ode to Joy."

Nevertheless, when Stoodint and his colleagues first saw the daily L.A.M.E. reports they thought their worst fears had been realized.

"Ever since the internet was developed, The Pentagon has feared that an enemy of the state might release an app. or flash game so distracting that it would cripple the US on the eve of war. So, as soon as I walked in this morning I got Sec. Def. Robert Gates on the horn. Well, I should say that I called him up after struggling to play "Smoke on the Water" on google for 45 minutes..."

More Room to Write at The Junction!

2011-06-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

Announcing...

The Bullpen!

We are excited to introduce The Junction's new light and airy writing room with 18 more writing spaces. Already a hit with the regulars, the room is in the "way back" behind the Deadline Room. Check it out. We leave standard old office cubicles in our dust. And we still have more improvements in store for this room!

More pics of the work while it was in progress on our Facebook page.

How to Create Characters Readers Want to Spend Time With: A Junction Master Class with Corey Mandell

2011-05-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

Do your characters have enough character?

Only 25 spots are available -- be sure to grab one before they're all taken!

This will be a hands-on workshop.

Scroll down for details and ticket info.

From Corey:

Many of the professional screenwriters I know say they know people with far more natural ability than themselves who do not have careers, and will never have careers, because of their writing process. Process is how we write, how we create our characters and stories.

Psychologists note some people's natural process is to create conceptually while others use a more intuitive approach. Conceptualists tend to write outside in, starting with concept or situation. Intuitives tend to write inside out, starting with character or theme. The result is that conceptualists tend to craft well-structured scripts populated by less-than-compelling characters while intuitives tend to write strong characters and dialogue, but their scripts lack sufficient structure.

Successful writers are able to write both conceptually and intuitively. They get the best of both worlds.

This four-hour master class offers guided writing exercises and tools to help participants strengthen and integrate these two creative approaches in order to be able to write their most compelling characters. The class will also share a variety of specific processes professional working writers use to write their first drafts. Please come prepared to do a lot of writing.

Sunday, June 26th

12:00pm-4:00pm

At The Writers Junction

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Limited Seats Available

General Admission: $40

Attendees must buy tickets here:

http://createcharacters.eventbrite.com

Junction members, check our previous email for your discount code

open to members & non-members

About Corey:

Corey Mandell is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written projects for Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Family, Working Title, Paramount, Live Planet, Beacon Films, Touchstone, Trilogy, Radiant and Walt Disney Pictures.

Corey is also a distinguished instructor at UCLA, where he earned his MFA. His students have gone on to sell or option scripts to Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Fox 2000, MGM, Universal, Showtime, USA Network and Lifetime. Others have gained admission to the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, the AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Program and Sundance Screenwriter's Lab.

The New Short Fiction Series Emerging Voices Group Show

2011-05-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

The Writers Junction is proud to be partnered with The New Short Fiction Series, Los Angeles's longest running spoken word series, in introducing the most promising of new West Coast writers. One of our very own members was featured in The New Short Fiction Series Emerging Voices Group Show in 2005 -- Deirdre Shaw, whose debut novel, Love or Something Like It, was published by Random House in 2009.

Sponsored in part by Barnes & Noble, join us for "a night of vibrant, living art (Forth Magazine)" at...

The 8th Annual Emerging Voices Group Show

Presented by The New Short Fiction Series

Sunday, May 8th
7:00pm-9:00pm

Doors open at 6:30pm

Hosted at The Writers Junction

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Admission: $10 with advance purchase, $15 at the door

Limited Seating

open to Writers Junction members & non-members

For advance tickets and program information, visit www.newshortfictionseries.com or call 866-811-4111.

The New Short Fiction Series continues its 15^th Season with its 8th Annual Emerging Voices Group Show, featuring new fiction by Tracy Olson Chait, Rae Cline, Luis Garcia Romero, Liska Jacobs, Eric Weintraub and Omar Zahzah.

The performance stars spoken word artist Sally Shore, with guest cast Alain Benatar (Passions), Dana DeRuyck (Perv:The Cat), Matt Ferrucci (Wilde Salome, Real Men, Real Issues), Judd Hollander (The Fix) and David St. James (Big Love, Transformers: Dark of the Moon).

Seats are limited, so reservations are strongly recommended. And don't be late! Doors open at 6:30 pm, and performances begin at 7:00 pm.

For more information, and to purchase your tickets, visit www.newshortfictionseries.com or call 866-811-4111.

The New Short Fiction Series is a member of the Pasadena Arts Council's EMERGE Fiscal Sponsorship Program.

About the Authors:

Tracy Olson Chait grew up in Cape Cod, where her first job was making chowder in the back of a fish market. She holds an MA from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, where she was the Sypher Scholar. Chait parted with her snow shovel in 2003, and currently leads writing workshops for high-risk teens with the nonprofit WriteGirl. Recently published in the Santa Monica Review, she is at work on a collection of connected short fiction and lives in L.A. with her husband, one-year-old daughter and two against-type Chihuahuas.

Rae Cline received her BA in English from Michigan State University, moved to Ann Arbor, and began a wildly exciting career in the music industry booking Nirvana club shows, opening for Jello Biafra, and managing meet and greets for the Rolling Stones, the Spice Girls, and a buck naked Mojo Nixon. A Los Angeles resident since 2002, Cline won first prize in the American Literary Review Fall Fiction Contest (2006) and was a finalist for UCLA's Kirkwood Prize (2008). She writes the popular science blog, Storm and Stress: Notes from My Amygdala.

Luis Garcia Romero is a former journalist who studied short fiction at UCLA. His work has been published in Concisely Magazine, and will appear in a forthcoming issue of Villains Magazine. Garcia Romero was the co-editor for Glib and Sincere, a zine featuring micro fiction and micro nonfiction.

Liska Jacobs graduated from UCLA's creative writing program in 2008. She was nominated for the 2009 and 2010 Kirkwood Prize in literary short fiction. Jacobs' writing aims looks at the variations of truth and authenticity in everyday life, which she explores on her blog, Boy Lovers. She is currently pursuing a MFA through Vermont College School of Fine Arts' low residency program, and lives in West LA with her husband.

Eric Weintraub has been creating stories ever since he first learned how to read and write. As a high school senior, he wrote and directed the short film Send or Delete for the Santa Monica Police Department, which won major awards at three popular Los Angeles film festivals and was broadcast throughout the statewide. Many of Weintraub's short stories are based on personal experiences from his time in high school and college, as well as while working as a script reader for actress, Jennifer Lopez. Currently a USC student, Weintraub is an editor and photographer for Scribe magazine and is completing his first novel.

Omar ZahZah is a student at California State University, Long Beach. His work has been featured in Vulcan: A Literary Dis-Allusion, The Chiron Review and RipRap.

Theme, Character and the Transformational Arc

2011-04-04T12:37:00.001-07:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

"Don't wait for your destiny to happen -- create it."

In a nutshell, this is why writers write. We have an innate desire to create fictional worlds by drawing inspiration from our own lives. According to screenwriting consultant Tawnya Bhattacharya, who so eloquently phrased our lot in life in the quote above, storytelling stems from the need to express our beliefs, values, and goals -- or our own personal themes.

Her workshop, Theme, Character and the Transformational Arc, last Tuesday illuminated the process of finding our stories' themes as a complex and intensely personal experience.

Tawnya defined theme as "the heart of your story," so the process of finding it involves getting in touch with what you want to say, what you think of humanity, and what you really care about. Since theme plays such a central role, it has to pervade your story entirely -- from your main character's emotions, goals, and actions, to the more subtle elements of symbolism, contrasting characters, etc., which is why it's essential to find and flesh out your theme first.

So how do we tackle the daunting task of finding our story's theme? Here's a peek at the four-quadrant approach that Tawnya shared with us (note: the inverted numbering reflects its deconstructive process).

(2) Flaw -- Tawnya brought up a great point about the relationship between theme and your main character's flaw -- simply put, they're complete opposites. She also mentioned that our characters' wants aren't what they need, but to get what they want, they need to cure their flaws. When working out our themes, we have to start by focusing on our main characters' "before" state; their stage of life and the flaws they have to overcome to get what they need and, in doing so, carry out the universal messages we're trying to convey.

(3) Second-Act Journey -- To get from the "before" state to the point where our themes are realized, our characters have to go on an adventure, develop relationships, and learn from experiences that make them confront their flaws. At this stage, we work through the meat of the story and map out our characters' transformational arc.

(4) Climax -- When we examine the turning point in our characters' transformational arc, we get a particularly vivid sense of the example we want them to set for our audience -- whether it raises them up with a feeling of glorious triumph or sinks them into an all-time low.

(1) Theme -- Once we've worked out the events we want our characters to go through (especially the magical moment of their transformation), our theme begins to emerge. At this point, we step back and ask ourselves, "Why did I put my character through all this? What's the point? What is the lesson learned?" You might not get a straightforward answer the first time around, but brainstorming and analyzing your thematic threads will help you whittle down to the heart of your story.

To learn more screenwriting tips and techniques from Tawnya, visit her site at http://www.scriptanatomy.com/.

The Executive Series for Screenwriters: Making Hollywood Work for You

2011-03-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to attend an all-inclusive screenwriting conference, but just couldn't commit a full weekend to it? Or - have you committed to a conference only to be disappointed that it wasn't as informative as it should have been? We've got a great alternative for you:

The Executive Series for Screenwriters:

Making Hollywood Work for You

Brought to you by No BullScript Consulting

Hosted at The Writers Junction

Tuesdays & Wednesdays

May 3rd - May 25th

7:00pm - 9:00pm

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

$50 per class or $299 for all 7 classes

*** 10% Discount on Full Class Series for Writers Junction Members ***
For discount code, check your e-mail!
Attendees must R.S.V.P. here:

http://theexecutiveseries.eventbrite.com

open to Writers Junction members & non-members

This 4-week, 8-class series brought to you by No BullScript Consulting is taught by Top Hollywood Executives ready to bring their extensive expertise to you. Read on for a list of the classes.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday in May, a new 90-minute workshop will tackle a different topic on screenwriting and the ins and outs of working in Hollywood. These aren't just panels or shooting the breeze -- these are comprehensive, informative classes taught by Industry Insiders that will teach you how to excel in screenwriting, structure, genre writing, graphic novel writing, pitching, the development process, and more.

You can pick and choose which courses you'd like to take and order each individually ($50 each plus processing fees, see schedule below), or take them ALL for a great discount! Ordering all classes (only $299 including processing fees) is like getting 2 for FREE, including a Panel Discussion with ALL of the executive instructors, plus you will receive a FREE copy of Daniel Manus' E-Book, "No B.S. for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective" and you'll be automatically entered to win a FREE copy of Final Draft 8!

Four weeks, eight 90-minute classes, seven Hollywood Insiders, and countless topics that will help you learn the ins and outs of writing and working in Hollywood. It's the most comprehensive 4-week class series on screenwriting and the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. It's like your own private screenwriting conference.

Below is a list of all 8 classes. More detail on each class is available HERE. For full bios for all the instructors, please go to the Classes Page on www.nobullscript.net.

Class 1 - May 3rd - What the Hell are Executives Thinking?

(Instructor - Danny Manus)

Class 2 - May 4th - Structure from the Executive Perspective

(Instructor - Naomi Beaty)

Class 3 - May 10th - Getting and Keeping Representation

(Instructor - Rachel Miller)

Class 4 - May 11th - Pitch Like a Pro

(Instructor - Jessica Green)

Class 5 - May 17th - Writing Horror Films Doesn't Have to be Scary

(Instructor - Rudy Scalese)

Class 6 - May 18th - What's So Funny: Deconstructing the Studio Comedy

(Instructor - Luke Ryan)

Class 7 - The Graphic Novel is the New Screenplay

(Instructor - Joe LeFavi)

Class 8 - May 25th - A Panel Discussion with ALL the Execs/Instructors

About No BullScript Consulting:

No BullScript Consulting is run by former Development Executive Daniel Manus, one of the most popular script consultants around. In 2010, he was ranked as one of the Top 15 "Cream of the Crop" Consultants by Creative Screenwriting Magazine. At No BullScript, we approach your scripts from the executive perspective. We pride ourselves on improving your script and cutting the bull out of your story. We can design the perfect consulting package for whatever you and your script might need. We help you get it where it needs to be -- and get it out into Hollywood through the No Bull Hollywood Connection. It's like having your own personal development executive helping you and your project! Check out www.nobullscript.net for more info.

Get in the Frenzy

2011-03-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

It's official: March Madness is spilling over into April! For those of you who've always wished there was a NaNoWriMo for screenwriters, you're in luck. Sign up now for Script Frenzy and take on the huge, exhilarating task of writing a 100-page script in one month. Put that inner critic on mute and go at it with reckless abandon (at least until the rewrite). And you won't be alone; almost 13,000 writers have signed up already. Join them now!

Script Frenzy 2011

The Challenge: Write 100 pages of original, scripted material

in the 30 days of April.

(Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films,

and graphic novels are all welcome.)

When: April 1-30

Cost: FREE! (They run on donations.)

Who: Everyone (worldwide) is welcome. No experience required.

Prizes: Happiness. Creative juices. Pride. Laughter.

Bragging rights. A brand-new script.

How: Sign up! Tell everyone that you are in the Frenzy.

Get ready to start writing on April 1.

About Script Frenzy:

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April. As part of a donation-funded nonprofit, Script Frenzy charges no fee to participate; there are also no valuable prizes awarded or "best" scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 100 pages is victorious and awe-inspiring and will receive a handsome Script Frenzy Winner's Certificate and web icon proclaiming this fact. Even those who fall short of the word goal will be applauded for making a heroic attempt. Really, you have nothing to lose -- except that nagging feeling that there's a script inside you that may never get out.

For more information, and to sign up, please visit: http://www.scriptfrenzy.org

Screenwriting vs. Novel-Writing

2011-03-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Are you a novelist who's curious about screenwriting or a screenwriter considering a switch to prose? We think two articles by Derek Haas would be of great interest to you. As author of the novels The Silver Bear and Columbus, as well as co-writer of the screenplays 3:10 TO YUMA and WANTED, Haas has been on both sides of the fence. Earlier this week, he offered enlightening insights about the differences between screenwriting and novel-writing in his guest posts for MulhollandBooks.com.

Check them out here:

Seven Things Novelists Should Know About Screenwriting

Seven Things Screenwriters Should Know About Writing Novels

About Derek Haas:

Derek Haas is the author of the bestselling novel THE SILVER BEAR and the Barry Award-nominated COLUMBUS. Derek also co-wrote the screenplays for 3:10 TO YUMA, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, and WANTED, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, and Angelina Jolie. His forthcoming film, THE DOUBLE, starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace, is directed by his screenwriting partner Michael Brandt and will be released in 2011. He is also the creator and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed website Popcorn Fiction. Derek lives in Los Angeles.

About Mulholland Books:

Mulholland Books is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company devoted to publishing the best in suspense fiction. Their website is intended to be a community hub for readers and writers of suspense, crime, mystery and thriller fiction to gather to discuss any and all topics related to the genre.

The Televisionary Writers Workshop with Tawnya Bhattacharya

2011-03-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ready to be a TV writer? Or the creator of your own television show? Aspiring writers need an exceptional spec and original pilot in their portfolio to break in to the business. Make sure you're armed with the tools you need and give yourself the best shot at success with...

The Televisionary Writers Workshop

With Tawnya Bhattacharya

6 Saturdays, starting April 23rd to May 28th

From 11am - 2pm

At The Writers Junction

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Limited to 10 Spots*

Price: $595

***$395 for Writers Junction members***

RSVP here:

http://televisionarywriters.eventbrite.com

In this intensive 6-week workshop, writers have the option to focus on a TV spec or an original pilot. Tawnya will guide you step by step through the process of crafting your script from concept to solid first draft to prepare you for staffing, development and the studio writing program application process.

Lectures will cover:

· Hooks

· Arena

· Loglines & Pitching

· TV Story Structure

· Tone & Genre Expectation

· Character Development

· Dynamic Relationships

· Conflict and Obstacles

· Dilemmas & Goals

· Stakes

· Theme

... and more.

Additionally, each writer will receive weekly peer feedback and instructor critique and evaluation of weekly assignments and material in a supportive environment.

*Because of the hands-on nature of this course and attention spent with individual projects, class is limited to 10 writers.

About Tawnya Bhattacharya

Tawnya Bhattacharya was a distinguished writing instructor at Writers Boot Camp for many years before launching her story consultancy company, SCRIPT ANATOMY. Through classes and individual consults, she has helped hundreds of writers at various levels create, develop and elevate their projects to the next level.

A working screenwriter, her TV pilot "Grand Coulee," was one of six scripts selected for the FOX Writer's Initiative and her "Nurse Jackie" spec, written with her writing partner, got the team into NBC's Writers On The Verge. She has a TV pilot optioned by FOX, several optioned features, including with one of the producers of "Go" and another being packaged by CAA, as well as numerous writing assignments under her belt. She and her writing partner are currently in development with a seasoned producer with their original pilot, BULLET. Tawnya is repped by Rabiner/Damato Entertainment and CAA.

For more about Tawnya and Script Anatomy, visit www.scriptanatomy.com

Testimonials

"She strikes the perfect balance between supportive and honest, always offering nuts-and-bolts solutions along with her insightful feedback."

There are a lot of different screenwriting theories out there. Tawnya's well-rounded background as both a screenwriter and writing instructor allows her to pick the most useful bits from the most successful approaches and put them to work making a good script great. Her dry sense of humor makes her a natural for comedy, but she's just as comfortable with an action setpiece or a character drama. And her experience in front of the camera gives her first-hand knowledge about how to write pages that engage actors. She's strikes the perfect balance between supportive and honest, always offering nuts-and-bolts solutions along with her insightful feedback. - Kevin Lee Miller, screenwriter with an optioned feature at Sony, Grand Prize Winner Final Draft Big Break Competition; 2-Time Winner, Worldfest-Houston Int'l Film Festival

"Tawnya is extremely knowledgeable and supportive and I recommend her to anyone seeking a teacher."

What sets Tawnya apart from other teachers I've had is her unmatched enthusiasm for the art and craft of writing. She has a deep understanding of what makes stories work, and is great at communicating that to her students. Her class was always warm and open, but also very focused. People were encouraged to speak up, but if things got off topic, she would get everyone focused on writing again. Tawnya is extremely knowledgeable and supportive and I recommend her to anyone seeking a teacher. - Kiyong Kim, 2010-2011 Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship recipient

"Tawnya was the best screenwriting instructor I could have asked for."

Tawnya was the best screenwriting instructor I could have asked for. I am certainly a better writer for having had her as my teacher and am very lucky to have her continued support. She has a wonderful ability to get to the heart of storytelling with clear insight and determined precision. She has a no-nonsense style with a nurturing heart. I endorse her teaching one hundred percent. - Wendy B., Screen & TV Writer

"Tawnya Bhattacharya is like a screenwriting personal trainer."

Everyone has an idea. But to turn that idea into a 100-page screenplay takes dedication, discipline and hours of work. Tawnya Bhattacharya is like a screenwriting personal trainer. She'll help you to whip that underdeveloped 98-pound weakling of an idea into a full-blown feature-length commercial screenplay. You'll love the results. - Tim Grant, Optioned Screenwriter & Blogger @ Post-Mortem Depression

"If you really want to learn what it takes to craft story, you'd be hard pressed to find a better instructor."

Tawnya is an outstanding screenwriter and instructor. Period. I can honestly say if you really want to learn what it takes to craft story you'd be hard pressed to find a better teacher. Tawnya's approach, input and critiques are both insightful and astute. No matter what, she gives it to you straight. And in this business a straight talker is a rare gem. - David Angel Rodriguez, TV & Screenwriter

Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting & How to Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance at Success

2011-03-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

by Jacqueline Fauni

Aspiring screenwriters are acutely aware of the slim, bordering on impossible, odds that they'll find success in their chosen profession. Finding success can become a fingers-crossed, Goldilocks act -- hoping for just the right balance of hard work, talent, and luck. Sounding familiar? But when Corey Mandell brought this up on Sunday during the encore presentation of his seminar, Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting & How to Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance at Success, he simply said, "I disagree."

Why? Corey believes that most aspiring screenwriters fail not because they don't have the right connections, or because they don't have enough talent, but because they aren't equipped with certain skill-sets needed to write on a professional level. He teaches these skill-sets, rather than the more common structure-based class. We love it! Here's a brief rundown of the skill-sets:

1. Writing in compelling cinematic conflict. This may sound obvious to the experienced writer, but it isn't always so simple. Corey's goal is to get writers to the place where they are naturally writing conflict without thinking about it. Developing this ability is crucial, since a screenwriter's first priority is to grab their readers' attention and make them want to keep reading.

2. Creative integration. Many writers tend to write either conceptually or intuitively. Conceptualists are more inclined to start with a concept and focus on structure, while intuitives focus on organically developing their characters and theme. Successful writers can do both. Training yourself to integrate both your conceptual and intuitive sides in your work can prevent you from letting the one you're naturally best at dominate and handicap your storytelling.

3. Process. One problem that writers may unknowingly face is that they're using a writing process that doesn't work best for them. In Corey's class, writers try different processes to discover which ones help them create their strongest material.

4. Structure. Corey likens a great script to a fine wine in a fine glass, with the glass as the screenplay's structure and the wine as the writing itself. Rather than imposing a universal formula to your work, learn how to find a custom-made glass for your particular wine -- or how to create a structure that supports and enhances your own story.

5. Rewriting. As daunting as it can be, writers know that rewriting is an extremely important part of the writing process. Unfortunately, it can turn into a huge waste of time and effort when it doesn't really improve your work. The trick is to learn how to be critical about the critiques you get and figure out how to make changes that improve, yet still preserve the essence of the movie that plays in your head.

To learn more about Corey's classes and how to develop these skill-sets, click here.

Script Pipeline Writing Competitions 2011

2011-03-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Got a screenplay idea you've been dying to flesh out? Can you already see your film playing in theaters worldwide? Script Pipeline can help you make it happen.

9th Annual Script Pipeline 2011 Screenwriting
and
4th Annual Script Pipeline 2011 TV Writing
Competitions

***Deadline: May 1, 2011***
Entry fee: $50

Special 20% Discount for Writers Junction members

Check your e-mail for the promo code!

To register and find out more about the contests, visit

The Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition

and

The Script Pipeline TV Writing Competition

From Script Pipeline:

Originally launched in 2002 as the Script P.I.M.P. (Pipeline Into Motion Pictures) competition, the contest sets its sights on discovering new and up-and-coming creative talent worldwide.

The Script Pipeline contest as a whole has grown significantly over the past eight years and is now one of the largest competitions in the world as far as global reach and number of entrants. In 2010, over 3,000 screenplays were received for the Screenwriting and TV Writing Competitions combined, thus far the biggest season yet and indicative of a steady growth over the last several years. The total monetary prizes increased in 2010 as well to $20,000 distributed across the top 20 finalist and winning writers.

But Script Pipeline goes beyond simply awarding cash to screenwriters. Like a small handful of other competitions, our finalists are given industry circulation to approximately 200 qualified companies, including agents and managers, looking for new material. Yet, unlike any other amateur screenwriting competition, finalists are given true one-on-one assistance.

Here's a breakdown of what ALL finalists receive, beyond prizes:

Phone or in-person consultation with Script Pipeline's Director of Development to review the screenplay and receive additional, detailed notes
Assistance in polishing the finalist's script before circulation
Query/logline review by one or more analysts
A separate meeting with a Script Pipeline consultant to discuss marketability and strategy when sending out their work--who's looking for what, the current state of development, and most anything concerning the business side of the spec world
Access to active managers and producers looking for specific types of writers for paid writing assignments (*dependent on what leads we have at that time of the year).
The opportunity to send other screenplays or treatments to Script Pipeline for review by our Director of Development
Additional types of mentorship and professional support, such as help in navigating the industry from a career standpoint, or linking up with other talent for the purposes of self-producing

The intent here is to not only support dedicated screenwriters as long as necessary, but allow our industry contacts to continuously receive upper-echelon material from current and previous finalists, with the ultimate goal of seeing these scripts financed and produced.

Click here for more information about the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition, and here for more information about the Script Pipeline TV Writing Competition.

About Script Pipeline:

Script Pipeline is a full-service screenplay analysis and resource hub designed for writers, producers, and film industry professionals. For over 10 years, Script Pipeline has been a leader in screenplay analysis, serving not only as a coverage service, but a link connecting up-and-coming writers with development executives. Through a composite directory, Script Pipeline has gathered the specific needs and submission guidelines of production and management companies, literary agencies, independent producers, and creative executives searching for scripts.

Along with extensive resources, this information is available through their members-only Writers Database, where users may search through 1,300-plus listings. Database members also have the ability to send queries/loglines for free review and inquires about writing, film, and the industry in general.

As well as annual screenplay and teleplay writing contests, the company continues to offer top-notch coverage services and the potential to have one's material circulated to production companies, agents, and managers through our Writers Workshop, which reviews screenplays, short scripts, and TV specs and pilots. Rave reviews and success stories continue to fuel the Workshop, as more and more writers benefit from Script Pipeline's wide array of offerings, from one-on-one consultations to basic story notes. This past year, the 2010 Screenwriting Competition garnered over 3,000 total entries, and the TV Writing Contest continued growth from 2009.

Corey Mandell's Professional Screenwriting Seminar is Back!

2011-03-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Bummed that you couldn't get into Corey Mandell's Professional Screenwriting Seminar in January? Burning to get into one of his classes after attending Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting & How To Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance at Success this past Sunday? Now's your chance!

Professional Screenwriting Seminar

With Corey Mandell

8 meetings on Mondays, April 25 - June 20, 2011

(no class May 30)

7:30-10:30 pm

At The Writers Junction

1001 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90401

Cost: $445

***$50 discount extended to all Writers Junction members***

Class size limited -- this will fill up fast!

Open to members & non-members, but discount for members only.

To sign up: please email Lisa Mulcaster at lisa@coreymandell.net.

Why take the class?

To be a better writer.

To turn your weaknesses into strengths.

To develop a valuable set of tools you won't learn about anywhere else.

FROM COREY:

There are two essential skill-sets required for screenwriting success: the ability to write scenes that grab a reader's attention and make them want to keep reading, and the ability to sequence those scenes into the most compelling order (story structure). These skills are not equal.

The first skill is far more important than the second one. Many writers believe they already write sufficiently strong scenes, characters and dialogue, and that if they could only get better at story structure they'd be able to write professional-level scripts. Unfortunately, this is too often not the case.

I met a producer who received 116 script submissions from writers at a pitch fest. He read the first scene or two of each script, but would only continue reading if those scenes were written to professional-level standards. I asked how many scripts he read beyond the first couple of scenes?

He said only two.

Which means he tossed 114 of the 116 scripts after only a few pages.

The single most important skill required for success is the ability to write original, powerful, and compelling scenes. If a writer can't consistently do that, all the story structure in the world won't save them. Without this ability, a writer simply has no shot.

ABOUT THE CLASS:

This intensive eight-week class will analyze highly successful scenes and provide weekly writing assignments and review of participants' work in a supportive, yet challenging environment. By working on emotional context, narrative intensity, high impact pacing, set-up's, build and pay-off's, participants will learn the tools necessary to conceive, write, and edit professional caliber scenes essential for any successful screenplay.

Additionally, this workshop will focus participants on developing the four essential screenwriting skill sets required for long-term success -- writing clear and compelling professional level conflict, strengthening and integrating both the conceptual and intuitive muscles, process, and rewriting.

Once participants demonstrate the ability to write professional level scenes, they will move on to learning structure -- writing sequences which bring overall story structure into play. And since the structural mistakes writers make in sequences are the same they make in screenplays, sequence work will allow participants to move down their learning curves at an accelerated rate.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Corey Mandell is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written projects for Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Family, Working Title, Paramount , Live Planet, Beacon Films, Touchstone, Trilogy, Radiant, and Walt Disney Pictures.

Corey is also a distinguished instructor at UCLA, where he earned his MFA. His students have gone on to sell or option scripts to Warner Brothers, Paramount , Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Fox 2000, MGM, Universal , Showtime, USA Network and Lifetime. Others have gained admission to the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, the AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Program and Sundance Screenwriter's Lab.

Theme Schmeme

2011-03-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Theme Schmeme

A Seminar with Julie Gray

Wednesday, March 16th

7:00pm-8:30pm

At The Writers Junction

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

open to members & non-members

$25 for Junction members

$30 for nonmembers

Limited Seats Available

Purchase tickets here:

http://themeschmeme.eventbrite.com

Everyone knows the best kind of party is a themed party, but throwing one can be pretty daunting. First, you have to decide which theme you want -- 80s, murder mystery, or masquerade? -- and then you have to agonize over all the details that come with it -- What colors for the plates and cups? Make a playlist or hire a DJ? Should I dress like Michael Jackson? Whodunit? Which masks should I buy? What games? What day? What time? What else!? And after all that, you still have to worry about whether all your guests are having a good time or if they think the theme is stupid.

The same rules apply to writing. But theme doesn't need to be intimidating. In fact, it's fun. And it's the thing that makes your script have that certain SOMETHING that executives respond to and audiences lap up. Learn how to articulate and express the theme of your story on every page, through every character.

About Julie Gray

A regular contributor to the Huffington Post, Julie Gray directs the Just Effing Entertain Me Screenwriting Competition and The Golden Age of Television Competition. Julie consults privately with a variety of writers all over the world and has taught at the Oxford Student Union at Oxford University, The West England University in Bristol, Wilmington University in Delaware and San Francisco University in Quito, Ecuador. Julie teaches screenwriting classes at Warner Bros., The Great American Pitchfest, The Creative Screenwriting Expo and the Williamette Writer's Conference in Portland, Oregon. A volunteer at the Afghan Women's Writing Project, Julie is co-founder of Stories Without Borders, a non-profit organization committed to fostering the creative voices of students and women through the medium of film. A resident of Los Angeles, California, Julie's book, Just Entertain Me: How to be the Writer Everyone Wants to Read is slated for release through Michael Wiese Publications in January, 2012.

Theme, Character, and the Transformational Arc

2011-03-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

Do movies like Little Miss Sunshine and Black Swan or shows like Damages and Mad Men blow your mind, but you can’t quite put your finger on why they do? One possible factor is their ironclad grip on theme. Dissect the ways in which theme can be thoroughly explored with screenwriter and story consultant Tawnya Bhattacharya in Theme, Character and the Transformational Arc. Tawnya will analyze one film and one television show through their themes, then walk you through a theme progression map that will allow you to chart theme in your own story.

Theme, Character and the Transformational Arc

Why we walk away from some movies and TV episodes feeling nothing and how you can avoid making the same mistakes

With Tawnya Bhattacharya

WHEN: Tuesday, March 29th from 7:00-9:00

WHERE: The Writers Junction, 1001 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90401

RSVP: http://themetransformarc.eventbrite.com

There will only be space for 35, so reserve your spot today!

Theme is an essential ingredient in storytelling. It is the foundation on which your story is built - the spine, the core, the heart and soul. Theme gives depth and meaning to action and purpose to characters. It connects us emotionally and makes us care. Though theme is one of the most important components in screenwriting, many writers struggle with it and it's often the first thing to go missing in a script. That's no surprise. A difficult animal to explain, it's rarely touched upon in books and courses beyond 'it is the moral of the story and the lesson learned.' While this is true, it's merely a jumping off point.

Theme is the essence of your unique voice. It's what you have to say to the world. It is your bold perspective. It's your opportunity to take a stand and offer a distinct point of view. Whatever you believe in your bones about life and the human condition, say it strongly with theme and a flat piece of writing will become a powerful one. Theme is a mirror, it's your chance to show us all how to be better people, how to live a better life, either through example or cautionary tale.

In this workshop, Tawnya will demystify theme and explain how writers can implement theme in their stories and make them resonate universally and have greater emotional impact. She will cover how theme is carried through the protagonist, ways of expressing theme visually, in dialogue, through action, conflict and opposing values, how to arc your characters through the journey in a feature screenplay or reflect theme in your TV specs and pilots with your A, B and C story.

About Tawnya Bhattacharya:

For more about Tawnya and Script Anatomy, visit www.scriptanatomy.com

Testimonials:

“She strikes the perfect balance between supportive and honest, always offering nuts-and-bolts solutions along with her insightful feedback.”

There are a lot of different screenwriting theories out there. Tawnya’s well-rounded background as both a screenwriter and writing instructor allows her to pick the most useful bits from the most successful approaches and put them to work making a good script great. Her dry sense of humor makes her a natural for comedy, but she’s just as comfortable with an action setpiece or a character drama. And her experience in front of the camera gives her first-hand knowledge about how to write pages that engage actors. She’s strikes the perfect balance between supportive and honest, always offering nuts-and-bolts solutions along with her insightful feedback. — Kevin Lee Miller, screenwriter with an optioned feature at Sony, Grand Prize Winner Final Draft Big Break Competition; 2-Time Winner, Worldfest-Houston Int’l Film Festival

“Tawnya is extremely knowledgeable and supportive and I recommend her to anyone seeking a teacher.”

What sets Tawnya apart from other teachers I’ve had is her unmatched enthusiasm for the art and craft of writing. She has a deep understanding of what makes stories work, and is great at communicating that to her students. Her class was always warm and open, but also very focused. People were encouraged to speak up, but if things got off topic, she would get everyone focused on writing again. Tawnya is extremely knowledgeable and supportive and I recommend her to anyone seeking a teacher. — Kiyong Kim, 2010-2011 Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship recipient

“Tawnya was the best screenwriting instructor I could have asked for.”

“Tawnya Bhattacharya is like a screenwriting personal trainer.”

Everyone has an idea. But to turn that idea into a 100-page screenplay takes dedication, discipline and hours of work. Tawnya Bhattacharya is like a screenwriting personal trainer. She’ll help you to whip that underdeveloped 98-pound weakling of an idea into a full-blown feature-length commercial screenplay. You’ll love the results. – Tim Grant, Optioned Screenwriter & Blogger @ Post-Mortem Depression

“If you really want to learn what it takes to craft story, you’d be hard pressed to find a better instructor.”

Tawnya is an outstanding screenwriter and instructor. Period. I can honestly say if you really want to learn what it takes to craft story you’d be hard pressed to find a better teacher. Tawnya’s approach, input and critiques are both insightful and astute. No matter what, she gives it to you straight. And in this business a straight talker is a rare gem. – David Angel Rodriguez, TV & Screenwriter

Write to Change the World

2011-03-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

Get inspired to think and write big (and we don't mean font-wise).
Get motivated to give voice to the causes you believe in.
Get connected with highly influential mentor-editors.
Get heard.

The OpEd Project presents…

Write to Change the World

When: Sunday, March 6^th, 10 am – 5 pm

Where: 109990 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90024

Register here.

From the OpEd Project:
“This highly interactive day-long seminar will challenge you to think more carefully and more expansively about your knowledge and experience, and why it matters. We will explore the source of credibility; the patterns and elements of powerful evidence-based argument; the difference between being “right” and being effective; how to preach beyond the choir; and how to think bigger—so that we can have greater influence and value in the world. You will emerge with a powerful argument for an idea or cause you believe in, and a network of high-level mentors. This seminar is about empowering you to find your voice and make a case for the ideas and causes you believe in—whether in print, online, on TV, before your board of directors, to potential funders or investors, or on the steps of Congress. And it is about the collective difference we can all make by doing so. “

About The OpEd Project:
“The OpEd Project is an initiative to expand the range of voices we hear from in the world, with an immediate focus on increasing the volume of women thought leaders in the public sphere to a tipping point. Since women currently do not submit to key opinion forums with anywhere near the frequency that men do—and because these gateway forums feed all other media and drive thought leadership and policy—we target and train women experts at top universities, think tanks, nonprofits, corporations and community organizations to write op-eds and more broadly to take thought leadership positions in their fields; we connect them with a national network of high-level mentor-editors, and we channel them to the media gatekeepers who need them, across all platforms. The OpEd Project is the recipient of seed funding and a 2008-2010 fellowship from Echoing Green.”

New Price Reduction for Making The Power Move from Amateur to Pro, this Sunday!

2011-02-25T15:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that subject line right. The new, reduced ticket price for Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro: A Master Class in Career Strategy for Writers is now a 60% savings at:

*$40 per ticket*

Please note that we've also changed the time to 12-5 pm, Sunday, March 6. Take advantage of this incredible deal and buy your tickets today.

That's not all: new price, new time and new panelists, too. We are pleased to announce the addition of two speakers to the panel -- founder and CEO of Voyage Media Nat Mundel, and personal branding and marketing expert extraordinaire Nance Rosen. This is an excellent opportunity to meet them and learn from their expertise.

For a taste of the insights from the Voyage Team watch the trailer: http://voyagemedia.com/videos/seminars/seminar_sizzle_for_writers_copy.mov

Voyage Media & The Writers Junction present:

Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro: A Master Class in Career Strategy for Writers

Sunday, March 6, 2011

***12 pm - 5 pm***

At The Writers Junction

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica 90401

***NEW PRICE: $40 per ticket! It's a steal!***

Purchase tickets here:

http://powermovemasterclass.eventbrite.com

or on the Eventbrite widget below!

Space is limited, and seats will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis.

In case you haven't heard...

Establishing a career as an entertainment professional requires much more than just talent-it requires strategy. Step out from behind that computer and approach the industry as a business person with a product to move and no time to waste.

This class, taught by the executives and producers of Voyage Media, a company that has helped writers, producers, and directors package, polish and pitch over 1,100 high-profile entertainment projects in film, TV, and branded entertainment, offers the industry insiders' frank and honest instruction - stuff you'll never read in the trades or the how-to books-- on creating strategy and selling your work.

Who will be there?

*Nat Mundel - Founder / CEO of Voyage Media*

Nat is a consummate adventurer and storyteller. After a successful career as a professional mountain climber, Nat formed Voyage in 2002 to help filmmakers develop, market and sell their projects. Notable projects the company has helped develop include BROTHERS (Lionsgate), THE ASSASINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Warner Bros), PET SEMATARY (Paramount), THE FORGOTTEN (ABC), MIAMI MEDICAL (CBS), LE REV (Wynn Las Vegas), MILLE MIGLIA (Ferrari World) and others. In addition to entrepreneurialism Nat enjoys surfing, flying, and personal growth. He lives with his wife in Topanga, California.

*Nance Rosen*

A media commentator on CNBC, Nance Rosen has been named "America's Top Job Coach." Investor's Business Daily featured her in its Managing for Success column. Over 420 media outlets cover Nance on Personal Branding, Social Media, Business Communication and Success. She's a former marketing executive with The Coca-Cola Company, the number one most recognized brand in the world. She founded a division for Bozell Advertising and Public Relations, now Omnicom. She delivers keynotes and training, and coaches clients on marketing themselves to media and other high visibility positions. Her latest book is The Ugly Truth About Your Reputation: How to Create and Manage Your Personal Brand. Her last book is Speak Up! & Succeed: How to get everything you want in meetings, presentations and conversations. Nance is now CEO of NanceSpeaks! and Executive Publisher at Pegasus Media World. In 2009, she produced a Wall Street Journal bestseller, BusinessWeek bestseller and the number one sales book on Amazon. Nance is a world-class speaker and a faculty member at UCLA Extension. Her websites are NanceSpeaks.com and NanceRosenBlog.com. Nance is on the nominating and judging committees for the Personal Brand of the Year Award, a global competition. She is also the Tuesday columnist for PersonalBrandingBlog.com, with 104,000 followers.

Jesse Israel

Jesse Israel is a feature film producer living in Los Angeles and a consultant at Voyage Media. His upcoming projects include AARON & SARA, starring Emma Roberts and Josh Hutcherson and directed by Neil Patrick Harris. Jesse also spent many years as an executive and Vice President at Alcon Entertainment, where he worked on movies such as THE BLIND SIDE, THE BOOK OF ELI, LOTTERY TICKET, and THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2. He has also worked at Warner Brothers Pictures, Silver Pictures, Village Roadshow and Circle of Confusion. Before moving to Los Angeles, Jesse was a producer for Dateline NBC. Jesse has an MFA from The Peter Stark Producing Program at The University of Southern California and a BA in History from Dartmouth College.

Elizabeth Kushman

Elizabeth Kushman is a 10-year veteran of the entertainment industry who got her start as an office Production Assistant on Wes Craven's DRACULA 2000. She continued working with Craven as his Creative Executive, developing such films as PULSE, CURSED and THE HILLS HAVE EYES. Elizabeth went on to work at Kadokawa Pictures USA, where she rose to the rank of Vice President of Production. For Kadokawa, Elizabeth was Associate Producer of Takashi Miike's MASTERS OF HORROR: IMPRINT (infamously banned as too shocking for broadcast) and of the TV series MASTERS OF HORROR: DREAM CRUISE. She was also a Co-Producer of the Warner Bros. feature ONE MISSED CALL which was a box office success grossing $45 million worldwide. From 2008-10, Elizabeth was Vice President of Development & Production at Dimension Films, where she supervised a diverse slate including HALLOWEEN 2, YOUTH IN REVOLT, THE ROAD and SCREAM 4 for Bob and Harvey Weinstein. She is now an independent producer in LA and a consultant at Voyage Media.

Victoria Foster

Victoria Foster has worked in film development since 2004. She assisted a senior agent in the Motion Picture Literary Department at Creative Artists Agency, and pitched projects in the agency's Creative Group, to clients such as Hilary Swank, Cruise-Wagner, Flower Films, and many others, and served as Director of Development for two CAA motion picture directing clients. She was involved in the development of SEASON OF THE WITCH, PATHFINDER, and most recently helped package SHRINK, which debuted at Sundance in 2009, and she is now VP of Development & Production at Voyage Media.

In addition, we are pleased to announce that at the end of the day we will also be including a special guest speaker who produced The Blair Witch Project.

It's harder than ever to break in to entertainment in a real way, but those that do reap richer rewards than ever. Sign up for Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro now to find out how you can employ the right strategies to drive your career powerfully forward.

Online Ticketing for Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro: A Master Class in Career powered by Eventbrite

Early Bird Gets the Movie Deal!

2011-02-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

Is your film the next I Am Number Four? Or will your creative vision take you Somewhere else? Figure out the next move for your project with Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro:

In-person seminar on selling a project and building a career
Learn the unspoken rules and "secret handshakes" straight from Hollywood insiders
Shows how to move out of the amateur pool and start working

Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro offers Insider knowledge on the strategizing, selling, politicking, self-agenting, reputation-building, and other business skills you need to establish a paid, lasting career in the industry.

Taught by the executives and producers of Voyage Media, a company that has helped writers, producers, and directors package, polish and pitch over 1,100 high-profile entertainment projects in film, TV, and branded entertainment, this course provides a fresh-from-the-field perspective on building a career in an exclusive, seemingly impermeable industry. It teaches you how to:

Avoid wasting time on the wrong ideas (and start spending time on the right ones)

Stop going it alone. Choose supporters and delegate the way the pros do

Be your own agent - and use their best tricks to your advantage

Get ready to pitch and sell so you don't blow it when your moment comes

Build a reputation that will get you hired again and again

Spot and avoid the common mistakes everyone seems to keep making

You'll get frank and honest instruction - stuff you'll never read in the trades or the how-to books - on creating strategy and selling your work from the course speakers, including:

Jesse Israel

Jesse Israel is a feature film producer whose upcoming projects include AARON & SARA, starring Emma Roberts and Josh Hutcherson, and directed by Neil Patrick Harris. As a Vice President at Alcon Entertainment, he worked on films including THE BLIND SIDE, THE BOOK OF ELI, LOTTERY TICKET, and THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2.

Elizabeth Kushman

Elizabeth Kushman is a 10-year veteran of the entertainment industry who got her start as an office Production Assistant on Wes Craven's DRACULA 2000. Elizabeth went on to work at Kadokawa Pictures USA, as Vice President of Production and Dimension Films, where she supervised a diverse slate for Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Victoria Foster

Victoria Foster has worked in film development since 2004. She holds an MFA in Film Directing and Entertainment Business from the USC school of Cinema-Television, assisted a senior agent in the Motion Picture Literary Department at Creative Artists Agency, and pitched projects in the agency's Creative Group, to clients such as Hilary Swank, Cruise-Wagner, Flower Films, and many others, and served as Director of Development for two CAA motion picture directing clients. She is now VP of Development & Production at Voyage Media.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

10 am - 6 pm

At The Writers Junction

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica 90401

The Early Bird Discount ($80 tickets) will be offered until FEBRUARY 27TH. Tickets sold after Feb. 27th will cost $100, so buy your tickets today!

Purchase tickets here:

http://powermovemasterclass.eventbrite.com

or in the widget below!

Space is limited, and seats will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Online event registration for Making the Power Move from Amateur to Pro: A Master Class in Career powered by Eventbrite

Indie vs. Studio and Where You Fit In!: Seminar with Daniel Manus

2011-02-15T12:47:00.001-08:00

Is your film the next Iron Man or the next Little Miss Sunshine?

Find out next week at "Indie vs. Studio and Where You Fit In!," a seminar led by script consultant Daniel Manus. Start learning the business and make your movie happen!

When: Wednesday, March 2nd
Where: The Writers Junction, 1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Admission: FREE!
All attendees must register here.
open to members & non-members

From Daniel Manus:
"In the ever-changing worlds of studio and independent film, sometimes it becomes unclear where your project fits best. This class will cover: How to know if your project is better suited for studios or indies; The different types of companies and the differences between them; What studios are (and aren’t) looking for; Financing options and how indies and studios differ; Packaging-- the best way to get your work noticed and differences between packaging for indies and studios; Indie story archetypes; Option vs. Attachment Agreements; Getting your indie script noticed; Q&A"

Daniel Manus has a multi-faceted understanding of the film industry, and here's a chance to get a glimpse of it for FREE! Seats are limited, so make sure to come early!

About Daniel Manus:
Daniel Manus is an in-demand script consultant and founder of No BullScript Consulting. In 2010, he was ranked Top 15 "Cream of the Crop" Consultants by Creative Screenwriting Magazine. He’s been a development executive in Hollywood for several years for companies including Clifford Werber Prods and Sandstorm Films. He is the author of "No BS for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective," a columnist for The Business of Show Institute and teaches seminars across the country.

LA GrandSLAM Championship: Into the Wild

2011-02-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

Shake yourself out of next week's Monday morning blues with some intense verbal action at The Moth's LA GrandSLAM: VIII, hosted by comedian Brian Finkelstein. Watch skillful storytellers get primal as they duke it out with their wildest tales!

When: Monday, February 21st
Where: The Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Doors open at 7 pm
Stories begin at 8 pm
Seats are on a first come, first serve basis, so make sure to arrive early!

From The Moth:
"The Moth presents the GrandSLAM, a battle of wits and words -- fierce, hilarious, heartbreaking and all points between. Listen as ten StorySLAM champs tell tales about Mother Nature or human nature, backwoods and boondocks, the beast within, or the beast on the other side of the tent wall. Stories of survival skills or Guys & Girls Gone Wild.

The Moth is dedicated to finding intriguing people to tell inspired stories. At The Moth StorySLAM, those people find us. On this night, using words as weapons, they word-it-out to determine The Moth's LA GrandSLAM Story Champion!"

Whose voice will be the victor? Buy your tickets ($18 each) at www.ticketweb.com to find out!

Flawed but Loved: Writing Character

2011-02-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

Here’s a tip from screenwriting teacher Julie Gray in Monday night’s detailed workshop, Writing Organic Characters Straight From the Heart: invest in flawed but active main characters.

In order to make that tangible investment in our characters, Julie’s writing exercises had us asking our main characters a series of questions about who they are, what they want, and why they so desperately want it. The idea is to answer these quickly and instinctively and then to explore how those desires change over the course of your story. Fully investigating your characters desires can pull you out of writers block or trigger a detail that transforms your understanding of your character.

Julie encourages writers to also ask similar questions of yourself (I am….? I want…?) Asking these questions can give you insight about yourself, and what you might want to change about yourself. This is no small thing since we often have the sticky, albeit unavoidable, habit of imbuing a lot of ourselves in our main characters.

Story is no story without a flawed main character. Don’t make the mistake of falling too much in love with your character on page one…Julie wants us to fall in love with who our character becomes at the end of the story instead. Don’t make them so likable from beginning to end that they never get a chance to grow and change. Unfortunately, we may be unwilling to admit our characters’ flaws because we don’t want to get into our own.

If there was one thing Julie wanted writers to take away from the night it was to make your character's flaws active, active active. Can others identify the flaw in the way your character acts? Where “arrogance” is an active flaw (a braggart who puffs up his chest and walks around like he owns the place), “fear of failure” is not. You can use fear of failure as the building block, but try “perfectionism” on for size as that character’s active flaw and see how the story grows.

It might not be a very pretty sight, but ripping off the Band-Aids that cover our characters’ scars is an act of tough love that we need to do to keep them honest, and to not so gently prod them into becoming characters to be truly smitten with in the end.

For more writing tips from Julie Gray, visit her screenwriting blog, Just Effing Entertain Me.

UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting Accepting Apps for Fall 2011

2011-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Been thinking about getting a screenwriting degree in 2011? Been feeling like you could really use some structure, deadlines and high level critiques? Consider the latest from UCLA's Professional Program in Screenwriting...

"What do the writers of Clash of the Titans 2, the January 5 episode of Law & Order: SVU, and the soon-to-be-aired USA Network film The Space Between starring Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo have in common? They all graduated from the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting.

You’re familiar with the world-renowned MFA Screenwriting Program at UCLA. Maybe you’ve thought about applying, but you don’t have the time for a degree program, and maybe those pricey film “academies” have you seeing red.

The UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting

is exactly what you’re looking for.

Offered both online and on campus, the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting was created to bring a greater number of promising screenwriters to the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. This is the perfect way to get a respected UCLA screenwriting education, to receive honest feedback on your screenplays, and to work under a regimen that will allow you to come away with two completed feature-length screenplays in only one academic year - all while keeping your day job.

Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2011

www.tft.ucla.edu/professionalprograms

Alumni of the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting have sold material to Paramount, MGM, New Line, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Nickelodeon, Regency, Miramax, Sony, Warner Bros, and more. Alumni include Wendy Diane Miller (the upcoming MTV movie The Truth Below), Travis Wright (Eagle Eye starringShia LaBeouf), Cindy McCreery (the upcoming New Line film Soccer Mom), Fernley Phillips (The Number 23 starring Jim Carrey), and David Wagner & Brent Goldberg (The Girl Next Door, Van Wilder)."

Questions? Call (310) 825-6124 or send an email to

ProfessionalPrograms@tft.ucla.edu.

Beyond Words - WGA and Academy Award Nominees Panel

2011-01-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

This panel sells out quickly every year! Grab your ticket! At 20 bucks, it's a steal.

http://www.wgfoundation.org/noms.aspx

The description is plain, yet the panel is anything but. To give you an idea, Judd Apatow was the most recent moderator.

From the WGA:
"Beyond Words features the WGA and Academy award nominees for original and adapted screenplays. This is a moderated panel discussion held at the Writers Guild Theater just before the award shows in the spring. Dessert reception to follow. Beyond Words is co-presented by the Writers Guild Foundation and Writers Guild of Amerca West. Special support is provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."

Ticket info:
At the Writers Guild Theater - 135 S. Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills
Tickets:
$20 (plus $1.99 fee) - General
$15 (plus $1.99 fee) - WGA & ATAS members with valid ID
$10 (plus $1.99 fee) - Student with DATED CURRENT ID
Prices do not include online booking fee. Prices increase at the door ($25, 20, 15).
NO REFUND, NO TRANSFER. SALES END 2:30 DAY OF EVENT (IF NOT PREVIOUSLY SOLD OUT).

Launch Party Pen Densham's Riding the Alligator - Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing

2011-01-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

WHERE: Writers Store
3510 West Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA
WHEN: January 13, 7:00pm-10:00pm

Celebrate the release of award-winning producer/writer/director and USC adjunct professor Pen Densham’s new book, Riding the Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing (And Not Getting Eaten), at The Writers Store on Thursday January 13, 2011.

Hollywood bigwigs from Ron Howard to Jeff Bridges to Paul Haggis are extolling the many virtues of Pen’s thoughtful screenwriting guide, which explores specific writing techniques while simultaneously imparting industry-tested strategies for carving a successful, long-term career.

Pen will sign books and discuss creative philosophies and professional secrets, plus insights from his company, Trilogy Entertainment Group.

This event is FREE, but you must RSVP to attend via the Facebook or by calling The Writers Store directly (310) 441-5151. Read more about Pen's book at www.RidingTheAlligator.com.

Get a Quick Dose of Theater

2010-12-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

Check out these One-Minute Plays by many great playwrights including Junction writer Larissa FastHorse at...
East LA Rep

Saturday, December 11 & Sunday, December 12
Time All shows at 8:00 pm
Admission - $15
Tickets available at the door, but RSVPs appeciated.
http://oneminuteplays.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/tickets-on-sale-for-the-la-one-minute-play-festival/

Member Happy Hour

2010-11-29T18:15:00.000-08:00

Junction Function:

MEMBERS ONLY HAPPY HOUR

Have a drink and hang an ornament on our tree!

THIS WEDNESDAY

December 1

5pm-8pm

We've gone too long without a Junction Members Only happy hour. The time has come. Beat the post-Thanksgiving, 5-day-workweek blues with tree trimming at The Junction!

Meet a member you never even knew you didn't even know.

Cheers

New Date for Paul Attanasio at USC => Dec. 1, 2010

2010-11-15T13:02:00.001-08:00

Please come join M.G. Lord's USC Masters of Professional Writing (science-writing) class as she will be hosting:
Film and TV writer Paul Attanasio!

NEW DATE: Dec. 1!!! - Paul Attanasio (Oscar-nominated for Quiz Show, Executive Producer of House)

PAUL ATTANASIO TO VISIT:

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 @ 7:00PM

New Location!!: Taper Hall (THH) 102

Free and Open to the Public

Please RSVP to mpw@college.usc.edu

Aspiring Journalists! Master Class in Narrative Journalism

2010-11-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

Writers Junction Member Mike Kessler is teaching the following class toward a Certificate in Journalism at UCLA Extension January 11, 2010 - March 8, 2010:

Master Class in Narrative Journalism: Turning Facts into Stories

Call it what you like--narrative journalism, literary journalism, New Journalism--it all means the same thing: riveting, character-driven articles about the issues, pitfalls, and victories that affect individuals, groups, and sometimes the world. That can mean a death-row knuckle-clencher, a profile of the neighborhood grandma, or a curtain-raiser about a government department awash with corruption--and you can write about any of these once you acquire the right tools and understanding of the form. Because powerful narrative journalism requires multiple revisions, you spend nine weeks reporting, writing, and revising just two articles, with the goal of making at least one of them ready for publication in a newspaper, magazine, journal, or website. Along the way, you deconstruct great works of narrative journalism, learn how to identify and develop story-worthy characters; optimize reporter-subject relationships; develop characters; recognize and humanize complicated topics and themes; employ structure and pacing; and write clearly, using one's own voice. Includes guest lectures from accomplished journalists. Prerequisite: Proficiency in college-level writing. X 432 Reporting and Writing I recommended, but not required. Elective course in toward Certificates in Journalism.
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=W1732

UCLA: 154 Dodd Hall

Tuesday, 7-10pm,

January 11 - March 8

9 meetings total

Science & the Screenplay - Two Great Free Lectures at USC

2010-11-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Learn from Michael Tolkin (THE PLAYER, DEEP IMPACT) & Paul Attanasio (QUIZ SHOW, DONNIE BRASCO) for FREE! Visit MG Lord's Masters of Professional Writing science-writing class for discussion and Q&A into the art and craft of writing science.

From the USC Masters of Writing Program:

Michael L. Tolkin has written numerous screenplays, including The Player (1992), which he adapted from his 1988 book by the same name, and for which he received the 1993 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. A follow-up book, Return of the Player, was published in 2006. For M. G. Lord's science class, he will discuss his screenplay for Deep Impact (1998)--and the real science about asteroids that went into it.

MICHAEL TOLKIN TO VISIT:

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 @ 7:00PM

Taper Hall (THH) 102

Free and Open to the Public

AND

NEW DATE: Dec. 1!!! - Paul Attanasio (Oscar-nominated for Quiz Show, Executive Producer of House)

PAUL ATTANASIO TO VISIT:

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 @ 7:00PM

New Location!!: Taper Hall (THH) 102

Free and Open to the Public

Junction Function with Corey Mandell: Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting & How To Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance at Success

2010-10-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting & How to Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance At Success
Seminar with Corey Mandell
Thursday, November 11th
7:30pm-9:30pm
FREE!
Limited Seats Available (*THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT - YOU MAY R.S.V.P. TO JOIN THE WAITLIST*)
must R.S.V.P. here
open to members & non-members
1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401
~
We certainly are not saying you're failures, and we know you are not most people, but we do want you to have the best possible chance to succeed. So, come to this free two hour writer salon hosted by accomplished writer & UCLA professor Corey Mandell to learn five main reasons people fail at screenwriting. You'll come away with specific insights and hands-on tools that can help give you the best possible shot at success. Perfect for experienced screenwriters as well as beginners.

What if most of what's being taught about screenwriting is wrong? What if the rules, paradigms and secrets widely touted in books, seminars and classes not only don't improve your chances of making it, but could actually sabotage you? And what if there were specific skill sets nobody talks about that could dramatically boost your chance for success?

Corey Mandell has developed a methodology to avoid those pitfalls and you have a chance to learn all about it for FREE!

About Corey Mandell:

From Corey's Students:

No one, and I mean no one, is teaching what Corey is teaching. This is the best workshop I have ever attended. There is no way to describe how beneficial it is. I always felt close as a screenwriter, but after taking this workshop I was able to make the necessary changes in my writing and recently sold my first script to Paramount.

~Michael Helvin, writer of The Lesser Heart.
I'd written 11 screenplays without any success. During that time I read every screenwriting book and attended all the seminars. After four weeks with Corey I FINALLY knew why my scripts didn't work, and more importantly, what to do about it. I used everything he taught me to write a script that landed me a manager and then my first script option. THANK YOU.

~Monica Owens, writer of Timebends
Every client I sent to work with Corey has taken great leaps and bounds. His techniques are ingenious, unique and valuable for both beginners and seasoned professionals. I can't recommend it enough.

~Jeff Graup, Literary Manager, Graup Entertainment
Corey's instruction is ground-breakingly brilliant. I received my MFA in Filmmaking where I took dozens of screenwriting courses. My thesis film won the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards. I have representation as a writer/director. I have written five screenplays in the last two years. I've read every book there is on the subject. I don't say this to brag. I say this to make a point. Corey's class is the biggest wake up call of my life. I have devoted tremendous time, effort, and money to the craft of screenwriting, yet Corey's class is the best investment of them all. I've never witnessed such drastic improvement in my writing in just a few short weeks.

~Patrick Alexander, writer and director of Rundown
Over the years, I've developed an impressive distaste for screenwriting courses. Most offer little more than paint by numbers formulas and inapplicable industry advice. But Corey's class is the exception to the rule. It was a wake up call to me. Corey's teaching method is so unique, so singular, and effective it made me wonder how I ever wrote without it. It's hands down, the best class out there!
~Gary Lundy, writer of A Happening of Monumental Proportions and Stache
Taking Corey's class was the single best thing I've done. I learned more from working with Corey than from all the other books and classes I've encountered put together. I can't sing his praises enough.

~Lauren Ludwig, ABC's The Gates
Corey is by far the best writing teacher I've ever had and taught me techniques I had never heard of before or since. After finishing his class I landed an agent and my first produced writing credit on the A&E show The Beast. I sill consult the notes from Corey's class in my writing as they've been indispensable.

~Keith Schreier
After taking Corey's seminar I had a whole new perspective on what makes a film great. The techniques and tools he gave us applied to every client's screenplay, regardless of genre, and I'm amazed that no one has taught this approach previously. I highly recommend people take the time to hear what he has to say and absorb it.

~Richard Demato, Literary Manager and Partner, Fuse Entertainment
I feel as if I've been liberated from Story Structure Hell. I never could fit myself into those formulas and yet felt guilty and inadequate that I was unable to make it work according to their edicts. It always felt constricting and wrong. Thank you for showing me a sane way out.

~Jennifer Hoffman

The Junction

This week's NYT "Lives" column by TWJ Member Aaron Bloom!

2010-10-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

A must-read: this week's acrobatic "Lives" column in the New York Times Magazine by Junction member Aaron Bloom. You can't make this stuff up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/magazine/17lives-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

West Hollywood Book Fair - Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010

2010-09-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

The Junction will be at the West Hollywood Book Fair this Sunday, Sept. 26th so come by booth E22 to say hello to us and to WordHustler and to The Nervous Breakdown - we'll all be raffling cool stuff.

Why Not Try White Noise To Help You Focus?

2010-09-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Check out simplynoise.com - a free site that broadcasts varieties of that fuzzy background sound. It offers pink, brown and white noise (we didn't know what they all were either). Some writers at The Junction swear by it to keep distracting noises out (not that we have any distracting noises here, no!) and the creative juices flowing. Try it with Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones for an insanely hyper-focused environment.

If the sound bar takes too long to load, try the Simply Noise Classic interface.

What are these colored noises? White noise and pink noise are produced by combining sounds of all different frequencies together. Pink noise emphasizes lower frequencies, and, from what we can gather, brown noise emphasizes even lower ones.

If you oscillate the pink or brown noise, it sounds a lot like the ocean. Apparently some people use this sound to help them sleep. We've had all three sound choices on just while writing this post and are quite surprised to find ourselves feeling both calmer and more focused.

Ok, time to ~~nap~~ work.

Apply for the Annenberg Beach House Writing Residency

2010-09-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

You could have your own large private office in the beautiful, historic, seaside Marion Davies Beach House. Apply to be the Writer in Residence by September 24 for a November 2010 - January 2011 residency - the idea is to complete a work in progress.

We are rooting for a Writers Junction member to be the next Annenberg Writer in Residence!

From the Santa Monica Beach House:

In honor of Marion Davies’ own artistry and her support of artists, and to further the work of the City of Santa Monica to promote culture and the arts, a Resident Writer will be working in the historic Marion Davies Guest House and giving public readings and events through November, December and January, 2010-2011. The Writer in Residence will be followed by a Choreographer in Residence, call to be posted in December. If you are interested in applying to or forwarding this info, please download the Writer Residency Application towards the top of the page at:

http://beachhouse.smgov.net/plan-your-day/events-and-happenings.aspx

THIS would be your residence (at least, your work residence.):

If you don't yet know why the Beach House is so glam, read here.

Bring Your Short Story to the Big Screen!

2010-08-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

Announcing the Page to Screen Writing Contest!

For all information about this contest please visit the link HERE

WordHustler and The Nervous Breakdown are pleased to announce the Page-to-Screen Short Story Contest! For decades, Hollywood has turned to short fiction for inspiration, starting with the printed page and ending with some of the most memorable movies in cinema history. Films like Memento, American Splendor, Minority Report, The Rear Window, The Wild One, Brokeback Mountain, Rashomon, A Christmas Story, and 2001: A Space Odyssey all have their origins in the short story form.
Deadline: MIDNIGHT - December 15th, 2010

Entry Fee: $15

What to Submit: A short story under 10,000 words (aka under 30 pages), along with a cover letter. Manuscript critiques are also available for an additional fee of $25/story. Simply add $25 to the "Additional Fee" section of the checkout, bringing your total additional fees to $40, and our WordHustler Editors will provide you with a detailed critique of your story. Stories of any genre considered.

Judged by: Sara Gruen, Author of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (Feature film coming out 2011) and APE HOUSE, coming out from Random House September 2010

Grand Prize: Publication and Featured Author Slot on TheNervousBreakdown.com, an Amazon Kindle, and Final Draft Screenwriting Software!

Second and Third Place Prizes: Powell's Gift Certificates

BONUS PRIZE: The Top Ten Entries will ALL be read and considered for screen adaptation by a panel of four Entertainment Industry Executives! Talk about page to screen!

Screenwriting Expo Contest Deadline Tuesday night, Aug. 24

2010-08-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

FINAL Deadline - Tuesday Night!!

$30,000+ in cash prizes and great exposure.

The 2010 Creative Screenwriting Expo Screenplay Contest is open for submissions now.

What they say about the contest:The Expo contest gets you three things most contests cannot offer: access, education, and promotion.

With one of the largest grand prizes in any screenplay contest and the power ofCreative Screenwriting to promote its winners better to a wider audience than anyone else, the Expo Contest is the one contest you should save for this year.

And, Tuesday is the FINAL chance to enter!

http://www.screenwritingexpo.com/screenplaycompetition.2010.html

http://screenwritingexpo.com/register.html

CB2 Coolest Space Contest

2010-08-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Help us win $10,000 to spend at CB2!
CB2 is hosting a coolest space contest over the next month and we entered The Writers Junction! The space with the highest number of votes has a chance to win a $10,000 spending card. This could do great things for The Writers Junction. Please, take the time and just click VOTE at HERE! Only takes a second!
Thanks for your time,
The Writers Junction

For more information about this contest visit http://www.theselbycontest.com/

UCLA Writers Faire - Volunteer for The Junction!

2010-08-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

Members!

What: Volunteer at our table at the UCLA Writers Faire & receive 5 extra Junction guest passes and our eternal gratitude.
When: Sunday, August 22 - 10am-3pm
Where: UCLA Young Hall Courtyard - Parking $10 in Structure 2

Email us here if you're interested!

The Junction will have a table at the UCLA Writers Faire this Sunday, 10am-3pm. Stop by if you are attending the faire! Volunteer an hour of your time at our table and receive 5 extra free Junction Guest Passes.

The event is free, so why not come, spend an hour gushing about The Junction, the tour around to the other tables, grab a bite at the Nom Nom truck and catch a panel discussion while you're at it?

Download the schedule here. Junction Member Mark Sarvas will be on the Creating Compelling Fictional Characters Panel at 11:50am.

Campus map here - Type "Young Hall" to find the courtyard.

From UCLA:

This festive day features 24 free mini-classes and panel discussions in creative writing and screenwriting, hosted by fall Writers' Program instructors. Students get free writing instruction, chat with instructors, register for most fall courses at a 10 percent discount, learn more about the Writers' Program, discuss goals with advisors, and visit with graduate writing programs, community and professional organizations, and writing-allied businesses.

Hope to see you there!

The Junction

Author Panel "Sophomore Success" - Watch the Video!

2010-08-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Sophomore Success: Author Panel at The Writers Junction 24-Hour Literary Marathon from Writers Junction on Vimeo.

We're so pleased to be able to share video from the fantastic Author Panel "Sophomore Success" at our 24-Hour Literary Marathon.

Authors Brooke Berman, Brad Listi, Mark Sarvas, & Deirdre Shaw shared their insights from publishing their first novel. See what lessons they'll bring with them into their second. Hear about choosing agents, fighting for your cover, grass roots organizing, attacking social marketing, hiring a publicist and generally standing up for yourself and your work. Learn from their mistakes! Don't do what they did! Or do do what they did. See for yourself. Check out the video.

Main take-away: You are your book's best advocate. (Cheat sheet at 56 min and 40 seconds.)

AUTHORS:

Brooke Berman - No Place Like Home: A Memoir in 39 Apartments
Brad Listi - Attention. Deficit. Disorder.
TWJ member Mark Sarvas - Harry, Revised
TWJ member Deirdre Shaw - Love or Something Like It
Moderator: Eileen Gibson Funke - co-founder of The Junction

Relax & Write - with Maia Danziger

2010-08-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

Junction Function

Relax & Write - with Maia Danziger

Tuesday, August 17th

6:30pm

Free

must R.S.V.P. here

open to members & non-members

1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Shake that fear of the blank page...

Writing consultant Maia Danziger will run a one-evening workshop for The Writers Junction that is typically exclusive to her clients only.

Check out the Relax & Write website here.

A few lucky attendees will be able to have their writing workshopped by Maia!

Maia works with established and up and coming writers to unlock intuition and creativity in a safe and nonjudgmental setting. With guided meditation and an open, playful, and practical ear, she helps her students access and express their inner voice. Writers return home with a writing method that forges a repeatable path, a clear and easily accessible way to get deep writing done.

But don't take our word for it...

After sixteen years of steady work as a screenwriter, with Maia's help I feel that I am at last beginning to listen to a voice within me that has been quiet for too long, and to give that voice a place in my writing.

~Susan Shilliday, Screenwriter, A Wrinkle in Time, Legends of The Fall,

I Dreamed of Africa, Thirtysomething

More than a teacher, more than a coach, Danziger is an alchemist-Relax & Writehelps you discover your unique blend of talent, tenacity, and lo and behold, maybe just a touch of genius.

~Beverly Kopf, writer, The View

24 Hour Literary Marathon is here! Incredible Performances!

2010-07-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

PERFORMERS!

9 AM- Dennis Cruz - spoken word

9:20 AM- Johnny Walker - comedy

10 AM- Ashaki Jackson* - poetry

11:20 AM- Karen Forman & Co - improv

1 PM- Drew Droege - comedic essay

2 PM- David Francis - prose fiction Stray Dog Winter
2:20 PM - Ben Weber*- special scene specifically for the 24-hour marathon!

3 PM- James Greer - music/prose

3:40 PM- Lindsey Goldstein - memoir

4:30 PM- Author Panel featuring Deirdre Shaw*, Brad Listi, Mark Sarvas*, and Brooke Berman

6 PM- LIFE UNEXPECTED Panel - featuring creator Liz Tigelaar & star Shiri Appleby

7 PM- Jose Rivera with Sona Tatoyan excerpt from premiere novel Love Makes the City Crumble

7:30 PM- Jillian Lauren - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

7:50 PM- Joseph Powell - poetry

8 PM- Mark Rizzo* - comedic piece (about Scranton, PA people!)
8:20 PM - Dave Yaden - music performance

8:40 PM- Garrett Socol - play

9 PM- Mahogany Improv Group - Upright Citizens Brigade improv

10 PM- Ben Loory - prose short story

10:20 PM- John Singleton - poetry

10:40 PM- Nicole Wells - comedic essay

11:20 PM- Rich Ferguson - spoken word

11:40 PM- Anne Walls* - comedic essay

12 Midnight- Movie Performance - When Harry Met Sally

2 AM- Brock Walters - comedy

2:20 AM - Joseph Mattson - Empty the Sun prose/audio recordings

2:40 AM - Joe Wengert - comedy, Upright Citizens Brigade

3 AM- Anna Metcalf - essay

4 AM- Karaoke Party! - musical!

6 AM- Sean Hill - spoken word

6:20 AM - Kate Gilbert - prose

7 AM- Vanessa Libertad Garcia - dark comedic fiction

*Esteemed Member of The Writers Junction

Featuring ART by ARTISTS:
Bethany Barton bethanybARTon.com
Serena Zanello ctrl-arch.com
It's awesome and it's for sale.

STORY STRUCTURE FOR TV SPECS & PILOT SCRIPTS

2010-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Story Structure for TV Specs & Pilot ScriptsSTORYWISE SEMINAR with consultant JEN GRISANTI

Saturday, July 17, 2010
4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
at The Writers Junction
1001 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica 90401

The cost of this event is $85.00
Register now on Jen's site here.
Limited space available.

This 2 1/2-hour exclusive seminar is all about guiding you to write standout TV spec & pilot scripts that increase your chances of getting staffed and selling a pilot.

Jen will:
-go in depth into story structure for television spec and pilot scripts
-break down several current shows that make strong specs
-teach her formula that will help you write a strong spec script
-discuss pilot structure in the context of the top pilots picked this year
-use her workbook to break down those pilots' story structures so that you will learn how to improve your own writing
-cover universal moments, theme, symbolism & messages

Jen has rave reviews. We recommend the video on her home page.

Jen Grisanti is a former Current Programs Executive for Spelling Television, Inc. & CBS/Paramount. Jen created her consulting firm to help talented writers break into the industry. Her goal is to empower you to give the studio executives what they want without compromising your talent and integrity.

The Writers Junction Blog

Getting your MFA: Nine Deciding Factors

Eating Crow after Christmas: Why I Guess I Don't Really Absolutely Hate e-Readers Anymore

What We Did Today

A Story by Leigh-Ann and Daniel

Meet our Spark Apprentices: Leigh-Ann & Daniel!

This Week's Writing Contest

Quickie: The Soundtrack Behind Your Story

Freewrite of the Week: These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Second Summer Lit Marathon a Success!

Only TWO DAYS LEFT until the 2nd Summer Lit Marathon!

No Romance in e-Reading: The Heartbreak of Closing the Shop Around the Corner

I AM THE GREATEST: Meditations on Swagga

Harry's Valuable Lessons: Coming of Age with Voldemort and Osama

Dynamic Dialogue Contest

Your task: Complete the following dialogue with two of your own lines for a prize.Character A: Honey, I'm home!Character B: How was your day?Character A: (your line here)Character B: (your line here)#JunctionContestsGood luck, and have fun!

Deadline: Tuesday, July 19th, 4:00pm

Freewrite of the Week: Things that are Worse Left Unsaid

How Many Drinks Must One Man Down, Before You Can Call Him a Man?

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Seriously Short Fiction Challenge! Take it!

About a week ago, two interns created a flash fiction contest. Sadly, they only received 2 responses. They didn’t know what to do with the fabulous prize they picked out so they decided to extend the deadline.

Seriously Short Fiction Challenge

Your task: Write a story in 140 characters or less on Twitter/Facebook (or here) for a prize.#JunctionContests

Deadline: Tuesday, July 5th, 4:00 pm

Good luck!

It’s NOT about ME? Good one, David Brooks!

Freewrite of the Week: Obsessions and Confessions

Hockey Fans Defy Stereotypes

U.S. Snubbed Again by Glitzy International Affair

Twitter Contest 6.14

Experts Report: American Productivity Down 83.4% Today

More Room to Write at The Junction!

How to Create Characters Readers Want to Spend Time With: A Junction Master Class with Corey Mandell

The New Short Fiction Series Emerging Voices Group Show

Theme, Character and the Transformational Arc

The Executive Series for Screenwriters: Making Hollywood Work for You

Get in the Frenzy

Screenwriting vs. Novel-Writing

The Televisionary Writers Workshop with Tawnya Bhattacharya

Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting & How to Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance at Success

Script Pipeline Writing Competitions 2011

Corey Mandell's Professional Screenwriting Seminar is Back!

Theme Schmeme

Theme, Character, and the Transformational Arc

Write to Change the World

New Price Reduction for Making The Power Move from Amateur to Pro, this Sunday!

Early Bird Gets the Movie Deal!

Indie vs. Studio and Where You Fit In!: Seminar with Daniel Manus

LA GrandSLAM Championship: Into the Wild

Flawed but Loved: Writing Character

UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting Accepting Apps for Fall 2011

Beyond Words - WGA and Academy Award Nominees Panel

Launch Party Pen Densham's Riding the Alligator - Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing

Get a Quick Dose of Theater

Member Happy Hour

New Date for Paul Attanasio at USC => Dec. 1, 2010

Please come join M.G. Lord's USC Masters of Professional Writing (science-writing) class as she will be hosting:Film and TV writer Paul Attanasio!

NEW DATE: Dec. 1!!! - Paul Attanasio (Oscar-nominated for Quiz Show, Executive Producer of House)

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 @ 7:00PM

New Location!!: Taper Hall (THH) 102

Free and Open to the Public

Aspiring Journalists! Master Class in Narrative Journalism

Science & the Screenplay - Two Great Free Lectures at USC

Learn from Michael Tolkin (THE PLAYER, DEEP IMPACT) & Paul Attanasio (QUIZ SHOW, DONNIE BRASCO) for FREE! Visit MG Lord's Masters of Professional Writing science-writing class for discussion and Q&A into the art and craft of writing science.

MICHAEL TOLKIN TO VISIT:

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 @ 7:00PM

Taper Hall (THH) 102

Free and Open to the Public

AND

NEW DATE: Dec. 1!!! - Paul Attanasio (Oscar-nominated for Quiz Show, Executive Producer of House)

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 @ 7:00PM

New Location!!: Taper Hall (THH) 102

Free and Open to the Public

Junction Function with Corey Mandell: Why Most People Fail at Screenwriting & How To Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance at Success

This week's NYT "Lives" column by TWJ Member Aaron Bloom!

West Hollywood Book Fair - Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010

Why Not Try White Noise To Help You Focus?

Apply for the Annenberg Beach House Writing Residency

Bring Your Short Story to the Big Screen!

Screenwriting Expo Contest Deadline Tuesday night, Aug. 24

Your task: Complete the following dialogue with two of your own lines for a prize.

Character A: Honey, I'm home!
Character B: How was your day?
Character A: (your line here)
Character B: (your line here)

#JunctionContests
Good luck, and have fun!

Your task: Write a story in 140 characters or less on Twitter/Facebook (or here) for a prize.
#JunctionContests

Please come join M.G. Lord's USC Masters of Professional Writing (science-writing) class as she will be hosting:
Film and TV writer Paul Attanasio!