Advice — linda seger

What makes an Academy Award-nominated script? As I wrote my newest book on three Academy Award-nominated films - Sideways, Shakespeare in Love, and Crash - I wondered if it would be possible to find patterns that seemed to be true for most of these films. I wondered if it would it be possible for a writer to analyze the patterns we see in Academy Award-nominated films, in order to learn to write up to the level of a great script. As I looked at the many films nominated over the past twenty years, I began to see some patterns that...

Question from Gloria in KS: I would be interested in reading about the process of taking a book that is not your own through the screenwriting process and into a movie format. I understand how to get it into a workable and enjoyable screenplay format -- that's the easy part. What do I need to do beyond that? If it is an older book, do I still need to get 'permission?' Who has to 'sign off' on the project? It's obviously not your original idea -- although making a movie from the story is your idea, and the screenplay is...

A phone conversation with Linda Seger on the subject of Writer's Block ~~ 'What happens with a lot of people is that they stay within their safety zone, always doing things where they're safe and secure. So I say go and do something where you don't feel safe or secure and see how you feel. See what you learn. So if you've never been to a Country & Western bar, go. Or take a flying lesson. Or take the train down to San Diego to see what it feels like to be on the train, who you see, what kind...

What's happening with screenwriters around the world? How are they being trained? What are they writing about? What are their concerns? In 1988, I began giving seminars abroad, first in Australia and New Zealand, then Rome and England and Moscow and Spain, and, since then, in 18 countries, including such fascinating places as Egypt and Bulgaria. Since about 1990, I began consulting internationally, working on scripts from over 20 countries, including Singapore, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina and Casablanca. International screenwriters have a kind of love-hate relationship with Hollywood. Actually, I think many American screenwriters feel the same way. On the one...

Linda Seger is a popular consultant and lecturer who travels throughout the world speaking to new and established filmmakers on creative ways to make a screenplay great. In this segment of an in-depth interview she gave to Writers Store staffers, Seger discusses the creative process, what it means to her and exercises for writers to use to expand their own creativity. As a script consultant Linda Seger has worked with more than 2000 scripts, from 'The Neverending Story II' to 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.' She is the author of two bestsellers, 'Making A Good Writer Great'...