Writing the Personal Story: The Heart of the Art

a one day workshop designed for writers who aspire to create the “intimate” screenplay in the tradition of movies such as “Bend It Like Beckham,” “Shine,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Rain Man”, or “Sideways.” The workshop invites writers to dig deep into their unique emotional reserves, and to search their memories in order to render a distinctive story which expresses a strong individual “voice.”

The workshop will explore how the heart and the mind function in the creative process. When does thinking help the writer, and when does it interfere with writer’s instinct?

Individual and group exercises - both written and verbal - are designed to help the writer cull the distinct elements of personality, relationship, place, personal objects and life experiences to use as elements of the emotional tapestry of his/her screenplay.

At the core of the workshop is the underlying reality that for a screenplay (of any genre) to truly succeed, the characters and relationships must be compelling. The workshop is designed for writers who wish to share their works-in-progress, or the writer, of any medium, who simply wants to investigate the creative process.