Here’s an Idea: Lower the Bar!

We are usually told to aim high. I don’t think that works in times like these. I say lower the bar. Start small.

Begin your passion project? Finish your screenplay? I don’t think so.  We are all way too stressed out, distracted, cycling through anxiety and depression, and worried about the future.

But maybe we have an hour. Maybe we have just one hour. Just sixty minutes to think creatively. A small bit of bandwidth to play with ideas and muse about– “What if?”

The One Hour Screenwriter breaks down the creative process into steps you can take in just one hour. Each session builds on each other until you actually have a finished screenplay.

Don’t stress. Keep it simple. Just give it an hour.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

The Pandemic won’t last BUT you can write a screenplay that lasts. It just takes an hour.

Here’s an Idea: Lower the Bar!

We are usually told to aim high. I don’t think that works in times like these. I say lower the bar. Start small.

Begin your passion project? Finish your screenplay? I don’t think so.  We are all way too stressed out, distracted, cycling through anxiety and depression, and worried about the future.

But maybe we have an hour. Maybe we have just one hour. Just sixty minutes to think creatively. A small bit of bandwidth to play with ideas and muse about– “What if?”

The One Hour Screenwriter breaks down the creative process into steps you can take in just one hour. Each session builds on each other until you actually have a finished screenplay.

Don’t stress. Keep it simple. Just give it an hour.

Here’s another Idea: Lower the price! Get $50 Off at Checkout Enter: SPECIALSALEOHS

The Pandemic won’t last and neither will this offer. But you can write a screenplay that lasts.
It just takes an hour.

WELCOME
NOVELIST &
SCREENWRITERS!

The highest praise a reviewer can give a novel is that it is “cinematic.” A great story unfolds like a movie in the reader’s mind. That’s what every film script must do as well. Someone reading your screenplay must be able to “see” your movie. Whether you are writing a novel or a screenplay you will find the tools here to make your story flow like a film in someone else’s imagination! I can help you “Get to the Heart of the Story®.”

Visit the One Hour Screenwriter website.
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What Others Have to Say:

“Laurie Hutzler has a method of exploring and developing characters that I personally found very useful. Her gentle process of posing insightful questions should help any writer create deeper, richer and more vivid characters.”

Paul Haggis, Oscar® Winning Writer/Director of Crash, Writer of Oscar® Winning Million Dollar Baby, Writer/Director of In the Valley of Elah, Writer of Quantum of Solace, Writer of Flags of Our Fathers, Creator of EZ Streets (CBS) and Co-Creator of The Black Donnellys (NBC)

“Laurie Hutzler has a terrific sense of story. She has a gift for inspiring and motivating writers to do their best work. Laurie’s approach will help any writer dig deeper and find the heart of their story. Heart is what great storytelling is all about.”

Bobby Moresco, Oscar® Winning Co-writer of Crash, Writer/Director of 10th and Wolf, Writer of EZ Streets (CBS) and Co-creator of The Black Donnellys (NBC)

“Laurie has taught me more than anyone about the central importance of character in any screenplay. Her method of character analysis provides an invaluable tool for the writer who needs a non-destructive way to self-critique his or her screenplay. At the heart of every Oscar® Winning Best Film, is a screenplay that is the Best. Laurie’s methods help writers create their Best.”

Peter Fudakowski, Producer of Tsosti, Oscar® Winning Best Foreign Language Film

“Laurie Hutzler knows all the right questions to ask that get you to know your characters inside and out. Her material works, period.”

Mick Betancourt, NBC Staff Writer, The Black Donnellys and NBC Staff Writer, Law and Order: SVU and Comedy Central Comedian

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“Laurie’s keen grasp of storytelling and her focus on emotional truth have inspired our teams of writers, producers and directors around the world. Whether in Germany, Britain, Hungary, Australia – the list goes on – Laurie’s practical, entertaining methods work in harmony with local cultural specifics. The result has been better stories, more truthful characters and creative teams with a better understanding not only of drama, but of themselves”

Nick Malmholt, Head of Creative Development, Worldwide Drama, FremantleMedia

 

What Is Holding You Back?

1. Lack of Talent? The less you worry about talent the easier screenwriting will be for you. Children don’t worry about talent. They approach creativity with a sense of discovery, wonder and play. If you’re a beginner, dump your anxiety about talent right now! If you’re already a professional writer, it’s an impossible to perfect what’s already perfect. Your voice is perfectly suited to you! These techniques will free you and you’ll discover in minutes a day how to write with truth, authenticity and heart. You just need to release the amazing gift inside of you. This eBook will unlock the creative voice you already possess.

2. Lack of Time? You’re a busy person with an already demanding schedule. You’ve probably worried that it takes full-time effort to do your script justice. This simply isn’t true. Research shows that the most productive writers experience intense creativity in short bursts. You can write your script in one-hour blocks of sustained effort. These short creative sessions add up over time. This eBook shows you exactly how to make the best use of every minute you have. You will finish your project even if you’ve got a full-time business or career, have demanding family obligations, have civic or social duties or have other pressing personal demands on your time, If you value your time and have very little to spare, this eBook gets you writing quickly and effectively in the time you do have.

Just Unlucky? Luck has nothing to do with executing a simple, practical and effective writing plan. Luck has nothing to do with finding your unique voice. Luck has nothing to do with accomplishing your goal of finishing your script. Follow the step-by-step guidelines the eBook sets out and you’ll learn how to connect personally with your character and story in a way that is authentic and real. You’ll learn how to stick with your project and overcome the creative blocks stopping you. Unlock the powerful voice you already posses and discover a nonstop route to completing your screenplay successfully. This eBook will unlock the wonderful stories already inside of you.

4. Fear of Failure? Don’t back away from, deny or hide from your fear. Don’t try to cover it up or push it away. Instead, learn how to make fear your strongest ally. Learn how to use your fears and anxiety to create powerful and compelling movie moments. These screenwriting techniques will teach you how to harness your fear and make it work for you rather than against you. Use your fear to make your script unfold successfully! This eBook will show you how to put ALL your emotions to work in a clear a step-by-step plan and using real-life specific examples. This eBook will show you exactly how to make fear your best friend!

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“By clearly demonstrating how to write a screenplay in a single hour a day, Laurie Hutzler has demolished the last great excuse not to write…Keep her materials within easy reach and refer to them often, because it is an instruction manual for screenwriting success. I loved it. Great stuff.”

Michael Colleary, Co-Producer and Co-Writer of Box-Office Hit Face/Off, Co-Writer of Laura Croft Tomb Raider, and Producer and Co-Writer of Firehouse Dog

What You Need To Accomplish Your Dream

You already have an idea of what you want to write. You already have the seeds of a story ready to germinate and grow. So all you REALLY need is:

1. A Workable Plan: You need to organize your screenwriting time and use every moment effectively. This eBook has a proven day-by-day and hour-by-hour plan that makes the most of every moment you do have. It has tremendous flexibility and an easy, creative flow. You will be inspired and not inhibited by a clear process designed to enhance your creativity and develop your own unique voice. Use this eBook to make every minute writing count.

2. Screenwriting Confidence: These techniques start with your life experience and your own emotional journey so you will write with complete confidence and authority about what you already know best— your own personal experience! You will learn how to turn your own thoughts, feelings and emotions into powerful fictional stories. Your screenplay will have the ring of truth because it comes from an authentic place deep inside of you! NO ONE can write your story except YOU!

3. Thoughtful Guidance: I will be with you every single day in writing prompts, every week in audio lessons and written writing assignment. Hour-by-hour, day-by-day, I will be right along side of you every step of the way, providing gentle questions to prompt you, ideas to inspire you and crucial screenwriting tips, trick and information to lead you in exactly the right direction. You’ll never flounder or stall wondering,“What should I do next?” Everything in the process is carefully and clearly explained. I have been teaching and consulting all over the world for years. I have busted the toughest blocks and have broken through the thorniest plot and character problems in both television and film. You are in very experienced hands. I know exactly how to encourage and inspire you and move you past all your writing limitations.

I know how to keep a writer writing! I have motivated hundreds of writers just like you to take the crucial steps necessary to complete their screenplay successfully.

“The absolutely essential reason for any writer to use Laurie’s techniques is because they work. You can actually capture your creative lightning in a bottle, set it on a shelf, and uncork whenever you need it— first draft to the umpteenth revision. I kid you not!”

James V. Hart, writer of Hook, Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, Contact, Tuck Everlasting, Sahara and August Rush

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What You Will Learn

1. How to write your screenplay in an easy, creative flow and in just one hour a day!

2. How to use your own life experience and personal emotional journey to create powerful fictional plots and characters.

3. How to blast through writer’s block and other creative stalls that hamper and inhibit your screenwriting.

4. How to create a rich, complex and vivid protagonist.

5. How to solve the most difficult story plotting problems through character actions.

6. How to make your screenplay entertaining, surprising and most important of all, MEMORABLE.

7. How to reveal your character’s back-story in a way that is interesting, fresh and dynamic.

8. How to keep your plotting streamlined, simple and emotionally moving.

9. How to incorporate unique plot twists and turns.

10. How to use all your own fears and inhibitions to create memorable movie moments.

11. How to create and maintain conflict throughout your screenplay.

12. How to make a character’s interior thoughts, feelings and emotions active, visible and observable.

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First I will help you will zero-in on the protagonist. My unique and surprising definition of this character contains an essential key that solves a myriad of plotting problems. This important insight alone may help turn your screenplay around and make it work more effectively.

You will also learn a powerful two-minute exercise. In just 120 seconds you will discover what makes a film truly memorable. It’s something that you know already and which is an important trigger in all the films that you love best. You aren’t consciously aware of it. But it is right there in plain sight and your own experience proves it. Discovering this secret is a totally an eye-opening experience. It’s something you can use RIGHT NOW in your own screenplay.

“Laurie’s materials are remarkable because they are are a unique combination of analysis, tools of the trade, inspiration and encouragement. The biggest obstacle to writers is self belief. That is why I find Laurie’s work so inspiring. It acknowledges the painful personal, self-doubting process involved in writing screenplays. Not only that, her work gives writers critical professional tools. It’s a formidable and empowering combination.”

Claire Dobbin, Head of the Australian Film Festival and International Development Executive

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I subscribe to a wonderful financial newsletter on how to spend money wisely and gain financial independence.  I recommend it to everyone especially in these tough economic times.  It’s free and packed with ideas on how to make the most of your money.  Check out http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm

The article below from a recent issue of that financial newsletter talks about how incremental change adds up to a whole new direction, and a brighter financial future.  It’s certainly true financially, but it is equally true in writing as well.

Writing just one hour day can produce a new script in just 22 weeks, using The One Hour Screenwriter eCourse.  That means you could complete two new scripts a year with weekends off and eight weeks of vacation time or time for rewrites.  And that’s while holding a full-time job, meeting social and family obligations and all the other duties in a busy life.  This self-study eCourse takes you through the writing process from idea to finished first draft in an easy step-by-step manner.  The Course explains exactly what you need to do day-by-day and hour-by-hour to complete your new draft.  You will never feel, blocked, stuck or stymied again.  You will never wonder what should I do next?

If you have terrific story ideas languishing in your file drawer or wonder when you will ever get the time to write all the great ideas in your head this eCourse will help you get them on the page and out the door! You can use the course material over and over again to write any number of scripts.  It’s a small investment of time that could change your life as a writer.

Here is the article on how increment change can transform your financial future (and the same principle applies to your writing future):

We determine the trajectory of our lives based on the decisions we make when times are tough. Let’s start by considering what a trajectory is. According to the Random House dictionary, it’s the “curve traced by a projectile object or body in its flight.” In other words, for this quote, it’s the path that we’re on. I picture the trajectory of a missile in flight. I don’t know it for a fact, but I’d bet that the course corrections are very, very small. Yet, they can make a big difference in where the missile flies and lands.

Why does such a small change make such a dramatic difference in the end? Because the direction has been changed. So the longer we go in that direction the greater the distance between where we are and where we would have been. Think of the missile example. Even a one-degree change in course will make a huge difference after the missile goes a thousand miles or more.

OK, so NASA can make a small change and affect the trajectory of a space shuttle, but is it true that we determine the trajectory of our life? We could debate it, but I’d argue that it’s true. Our choices make a difference. Perhaps not a noticeable difference at first, but one that will change where we end up in the future. It happens the exact same way as the missile. A minor course correction maintained over a long time can make a huge difference in where we end up.

Let’s consider a simple (and somewhat silly) example. Suppose that you’re a 20 year old coming out of class. Feeling thirsty you search out a vending machine. Sodas (and bottled water) are $1. You reach in your pocket and pull out a single. Into the machine it goes. And, your thirst is quenched. As you walk away from the vending machine, you notice a water fountain that you hadn’t seen before. Oh, well. It’s only a buck.

True, but did you know that if you put that single dollar to work earning interest, it would be worth $46 when you were 70 years old and looking for retirement income? Still not impressed? Suppose that you bought that $1 drink every day for 50 years. If you had used the water fountain instead and saved the money, you would have accumulated $209,000! Quite a difference in the trajectory.

Obviously, that’s a made up story. No one is going to go to a vending machine once a day, every day for 50 years. But, it does give you a feel for what happens when you routinely say, “It’s only a buck.” Say it too often and you’ll be adjusting your financial trajectory.

Now let’s take a look at the final part of the quote. It talks about the decisions that we make when times are tough. I don’t suppose that tough time decisions have any greater impact on our trajectory than any other decision. But they could be more important because we have a smaller margin for error. When you’re right on the edge, you don’t need anything that would push your trajectory to a point where it spirals out of control (I can see them intentionally destroying a missile that’s gone off course).

I guess that what I’m saying is that the stakes are higher when you’re facing tough times. And, you’re already under pressure, which might compromise your ability to make decisions. So it’s important to move cautiously. Don’t make decisions without thinking about how the choice might affect your future financial trajectory.  (“Small changes can make a huge difference over a sustained period of time.”  LH

Subscribe to The Dollar Stretcher Newsletter here.  Sign up for the 22-week The One Hour Screenwriting eCourse here.

Managing our time needs to become a ritual too. Not simply a list or a vague sense of our priorities. That’s not consistent or deliberate. It needs to be an ongoing process we follow no matter what to keep us focused on our priorities throughout the day.

I think we can do it in three steps that take less than 18 minutes over an eight-hour workday.

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day. Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make this day highly successful. What can you realistically accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like you’ve been productive and successful? Write those things down.

Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day. And by the beginning of the day I mean, if possible, before even checking your email. If your entire list does not fit into your calendar, reprioritize your list. There is tremendous power in deciding when and where you are going to do something.

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz describe a study in which a group of women agreed to do a breast self-exam during a period of 30 days. 100% of those who said where and when they were going to do it completed the exam. Only 53% of the others did.

In another study, drug addicts in withdrawal (can you find a more stressed-out population?) agreed to write an essay before 5 p.m. on a certain day. 80% of those who said when and where they would write the essay completed it. None of the others did.

If you want to get something done, decide when and where you’re going to do it. Otherwise, take it off your list.

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus. Set your watch, phone, or computer to ring every hour. When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour productively. Then look at your calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going to use the next hour. Manage your day hour by hour. Don’t let the hours manage you.

STEP 3 (5 minutes) Review. Shut off your computer and review your day. What worked? Where did you focus? Where did you get distracted? What did you learn that will help you be more productive tomorrow?

The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the same thing in the same way over and over again. And so the outcome of a ritual is predictable too. If you choose your focus deliberately and wisely and consistently remind yourself of that focus, you will stay focused. It’s simple.

The One Hour Screenwriter eBook shows you exactly how to implement a sustainable writing schedule and gives you the step-by-step organization and direction to finish your screenplay.  You’ll never be stuck or stymied again because hour-by-hour you will know exactly what to do.  Great exercises, check lists and specific assignments to move you through your script in an easy continuous flow.

“But the more important thing is to write everything down. I would say, Write down what’s going on around you, what’s going on in your family, on the street, and with your friends. Just keep writing and writing. You don’t even have to think it’s a script. Write down as much as you can, and then out of that you might eventually be able to pull a picture which, over the years, I have been able to do.” Martin Scorcese

Here’s how to put that philosophy into practice every day. Below is a FREE LESSON from the One Hour Screenwriter eBook.

Sit back and remember your most risky behavior. It could be an act of rebellion, a gamble (successful or unsuccessful), a brief adventure, a moment of daring, a crazy scheme, a wild leap of faith, a transgression, a crime or any other reckless activity.

What exactly did you do? Did you get away with it? What consequences did you pay? Was it worth the risk? Or did you have regrets?

Describe as completely as you can a situation when you left caution to the wind. Who or what prompted you to undertake this dicey activity?

Was anyone else involved? What was their contribution to the situation? How did you feel before, during and after taking the chance you took?

Can you remember what the day was like and what you wore? What are your other sense memories (sight, sound and feeling) of that risky moment in your life? How did the situation or activity engage all your emotions?

Did you make a personal leap of faith to do this? Did the activity make you feel stronger or more confident?

Did it make you feel foolish? Was there a let down afterwards? Was there relief? Was there exhilaration? Write about everything you felt.

Was this activity something you agonized about and summoned the courage to undertake over time, or was it an impulsive action taken in the heat of the moment? What made the experience memorable?

Take 10 to 15 minutes to complete this exercise. Do not censor yourself; write whatever comes to mind. Don’t be worried about being articulate, artistic or interesting, just write. Let your memories flow freely.

Now write this exercise from your character’s point of view. What are the riskiest things your character does in the story? How does that make your character feel?

Ask your character the same questions above. Your character should have several risky moments in the story. What are they?

List and describe these moments as completely as you can. Add this material to your Film Project Notebook.

The One Hour Screenwriter eBook explains how you can use your own life experience to write a script. The eBook breaks the writing process down into easy, clear bite-sized increments. You are guided step-by-step through writing your story. Order your copy today!

Force your character to risk everything in facing his or her fear. Unless your character faces the fear or secret shame, your character will never be free. Your character will constantly be forced to cling the mask and seek its “protection.” A character that hides a secret shame will never be able to live a truly authentic life. As long as that fear and shame is lurking in the background the character will always be its slave.

Love and fear are inextricably bound together. All your character’s worries and anxieties about love will cluster right at the root of his or her fear. Your character’s worries and concerns about love don’t just color his or her romantic relationships. They bled into every single relationship and interaction the character has with another human being in the story. These fears are especially intense in dealing with the antagonist. The smart antagonist deliberately plays on this fear to try to weaken or tempt your character to be his/her own worst enemy. In a story and in life any decision based on fear is the wrong decision.

Your character’s fear is your most important emotional tool as a writer. Anytime you get in trouble in a scene, a sequence or an act— go right to your character’s fear. How does this constant underlying static of anxiety or worry operate in the dramatic or comedic action of the story? Bring the character’s fear to the surface in every scene, every sequence and every act. Take every opportunity to make the character’s physical and emotional situation and entanglements play off the fear and magnify it.

Make fear wreak havoc with the character internally. Find a way to demonstrate this conflict externally through the character’s actions. Make the worst thing that could possibly happen to the character take place on successively deeper and more risky personal levels. Then show us what the character does in response. Remember: It is through action that a person’s true character is revealed.

Fear isn’t just a prime motivator of protagonists. When antagonists do evil deeds they are most often motivated by fear. Giving the audience an glimpse of the antagonist’s fear humanizes him or her and makes this character a more complex and fully realized individual.

The above is an excerpt from The One Hour Screenwriter eBook.