Dear Dr. Paige Turner, With several completed pieces of material polished and ready to go out into the world, suddenly I’m faced with a terrifying new writing challenge – the query letter. While I’ve worked to master my craft, this bizarre half man-half beast hybrid of letter writing/sales pitch/self-promotion leaves me baffled, and, to be […]
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S-E-X Tips for Screenwriters: What to say when people ask if I’m a “real writer”?
Dear Doctor T., The absolute worst part of the holidays wasn’t the travel travails, shopping stress, or even the heated family political arguments. It was the incessant questions from so called well-meaning family and friends: You still doing that writing thing? So when are we going to see your name on the big screen? You’re […]
Negotiations: It’s Nice To Be Important, But It’s Important Not To Be A Jerk
Dear Paige, Woman-to-woman, do you think women always get the shaft in negotiations? I’ve read about top tier actresses getting paid far less than their male co-stars and even less than male supporting actors. I want to stand up for myself and get the best deal possible, but aren’t women who do this labeled “bitches”? […]
S-E-X Tips for Screenwriters: Reading for Friends and Strangers “Just Say No!”
Dear Paige, I‘m a giving kind of guy, so I’m always open to reading the work of other writers. I’ve put a lot into building my skills as a writer. I think this is a great way to build relationships. But Paige, some of these scripts… umm, stink. Despite this, I’ll kill myself on creating […]
S-E-X Tips for Screenwriters: Avoiding Logline Wipeouts
Dear Doc Turner, I give up. I can’t do it. I consider myself a writer, but putting together a logline has been more frustrating than writing an entire screenplay. How can a single sentence be so hard to write? I read up on loglines online and followed all the advice I could get. I’ve tried […]
S-E-X Tips for Screenwriters: The Free Rewrite
Dear Paige, I couldn’t be more excited! I’m finally working with a real, Hollywood professional! At first, they told me they LOVED my script. What a rush! But now they want me to make all these changes. For free. I thought that once I was a real, working writer, I’d be getting paid to write. […]
S-E-X Tips for Screenwriters: Are You Writing With Beer Goggles On?
Paige, please settle this debate once and for all. I’ve had it with all the back and forth. Is it really necessary to outline a script before you begin? I adore the thrill of the moment. Creating little details is so pleasurable. It’s the tiny touches that are arousing. Letting the story take me where […]
S-E-X Tips For Screenwriters: The Happy Ending
Dear Paige, I’m hoping for your advice. I’ve gotten my script into the hands of readers, and the feedback I’m getting is that they don’t like the ending. I don’t want to cave to peer pressure and the relentless push toward commercialized crap by grafting on a traditional, clichéd happy ending to my romantic comedy. […]
S-E-X Tips For Screenwriters: Ticking Off Your Reader?
Paige pops by to present Pet Peeves readers proclaim particularly pesky. Dear Doctor T, I’ve got a good script. I’ve been entering it in contests and getting nowhere. No wins, no placing, not even a “show” to show for it. I’ve shelled out big bucks for coverage and gotten a bunch of picky notes. […]
S-E-X Tips for Screenwriters: Rewriting – When Is Enough Enough?
Dear Doctor Paige, I feel I can turn to you for help with my problem. Everything was perfect until I started rewriting. You see, my script and I have been together for a while now. A long while. At first, the mere thought of the concept thrilled me. It was intoxicating to run my eyes […]
S-E-X Tips 4 Screenwriters: Staring At A Blank Page? Symptoms Of Resistance Syndrome
Now here’s a sticky question from my readers that I think Dr. Paige Turner would be more qualified to deal with than I am. “Paging Dr. Turner, Dr. Paige Turner to the ER.” Dear Paige, This is hard for me to talk about, I hesitate to bring it up, but I know you will […]
Dear Dr. Paige Turner: Pitch Meetings Part 2 – A Disaster Story
You may think you learned all you need to know about how to take a pitch meeting in Paige’s last column. But that’s just the beginning of the story. Here’s Part Two of her reply to “The Beav” about movie pitch meetings – the fantasy and the reality. Over to you Paige. B.E. Dearest Eager, […]
Screenwriting Elevated 2021-22
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