Rationale

Why feedback matters.

It’s hard to write; it takes time and effort. Often we get in the weeds and struggle to move past blocks, whether we know what they are or not.

I’ve been there: struggling to find the characters, not knowing what to do in the second act, hating the script (at the moment), and knowing something needs to change but not what it is. I’ve felt what it’s like to be in those moments and know how to spot and move past them. And that’s where I can help.

Whether you’re a new writer looking to learn, an established writer searching for the next level, or a director or producer ready to shoot, I’ll come in with fresh eyes and hold the story in my hands as something special, evaluating it from all angles to get to know it intimately, then give you comments on what I love, what doesn’t make sense yet, and my perception on what it’s like to move your script forward into something truer than it was before, closer to finished and more ready to shoot.

You’re good at writing. Though, no matter how good, you need help…we all do. You can trust my notes will be honest, but kind—rejoicing in the good and weighing in on what isn’t yet, helping you send it on the way to beauty.

Learn Why I Care

Sculpting/Writing

My Favorite Analogy About Giving the Best Notes to a Writer

Writing is like sculpting. You have an idea in your head about what it might look like, so you grab a small slab of marble and give it a go. When you’re done, you realize it’s poor, but you study it and learn a lot. The picture in your mind becomes clearer and you grab another slab of marble and go again. As you do this again and again, it gets closer to what you envision.

So at some point, you ask others for their thoughts. Most people, when they share, tell you what you should change. While that can be helpful, it’s rarely the clearest, most-helpful way to give insight, because the sculptor can’t possibly know what that picture in your head looks like. So while it’s far easier for them to say “the nose should be way smaller,” it’s far more helpful to say “the nose is grossly large,” sharing their experience. That way the sculptor can say “Oh, perfect, that’s what I was hoping for” or “Oh, damn, I need to turn it down” or “Alright then, gotta make it even bigger.” This is the best way to give notes on a script, sharing your experience so the writer can learn from it, not be told what to do.

There’s a place for readers to offer ideas and certainly there are lots of patterns in storytelling that leave space to educate/remind the writer of things, but those things are all secondary to simply sharing your experience and thus honoring the intention and beauty of the idea within the author’s mind and heart.