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Jurgen Wolff

London most of the time, Southern California some of the time

Interests: Books, theatre, films, drawing and painting, cartooning, animation, conversation, travel, photography, fitness, marketing, graphic design.

Recent Activity

Writing "improvised" dialogue

Can you write dialogue that sounds improvised? Should you? Eric Roth, co-writer of the current version of "A Star is Born," talks about how he abandoned his usual approach to writing dialogue: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/eric-roth-having-mindset-writing-a-star-is-born-1161322 I saw the film recently, and I... Continue reading

Posted Nov 18, 2018 at Time to Write

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Put our prejudices to use in your fiction

Our prejudices--our tendency to pre-judge people--can be pernicious in real life, but you can use it to your advantage when creating characters for your fiction. A study at the University of Texas at Dallas found that our first impression of... Continue reading

Posted Nov 3, 2018 at Time to Write

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Plagiarism is rife on Amazon, featuring the amazing (fake?) Dr/Nurse/Radiologist Ben Moore

Beware if your book is successful on Amazon, it may become the target of very well organized plagiarists. Fitness expert Ari Whitten described how he was ripped off within a very short time of the release of his book on... Continue reading

Posted Oct 20, 2018 at Time to Write

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The Most Unexpected Romance

You know how it goes in romance novels or movies: They hear about each other and they mock each other. But then they meet. They realize they were wrong. They fall in love! Familiar, yet fresh each time because the... Continue reading

Posted Sep 30, 2018 at Time to Write

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Need inspiration? Watch this!

If you're a writer, artist, or other creative type and need a little inspiration, click on the link below to see an amazing animation of the middle panel of Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights"--be sure to watch it... Continue reading

Posted Sep 21, 2018 at Time to Write

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Writing advice from the amazing Anita Loos

Anita Loos was one of the most successful screenwriters, authors, and playwrights of the 20th century. She and husband John Emerson wrote a book called, How to Write Screenplays, published in 1921. It included this advice, which applies equally to... Continue reading

Posted Sep 16, 2018 at Time to Write

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Four mistaken beliefs about writing

There are a few bits of writing advice that I run across a lot that I think are bogus and may be damaging your confidence: "You must write every day." It's great if you do write every day, but there... Continue reading

Posted Sep 13, 2018 at Time to Write

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Jurgen Wolff's SCRIPT COACH workshop - Nov. 5 in Central London.

I am again teaching my Script Coach workshop for Raindance. the next session is on Monday November 5, and there's one more after that on Monday evenings. The topics: Nov 5: Gaining confidence and overcoming blocks Nov 12 5: Guerrilla... Continue reading

Posted Sep 2, 2018 at Time to Write

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Is your script or novel idea any good?

How can you tell whether your idea for a screenplay or novel will interest anyone? The other day I taught a 'taster' session for my Script Coach workshop that's running again at Raindance in Central London starting on October 15,... Continue reading

Posted Sep 2, 2018 at Time to Write

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The power of "Thank You"

First, thank you for reading this blog. A new study reveals the power of saying 'thank you,' for both the person who says it and the receipient. Here's how the experiment was reported in Science Daily: "Published in Psychological Science,... Continue reading

Posted Aug 29, 2018 at Time to Write

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How long does it really take to get into a new habit? (And tips for doing it)

Maybe you've run across the idea that it takes 21 days for a new behavior to become a habit. It's all over personal development scene. Maybe you've tried it and found it didn't work for you (I have). There's a... Continue reading

Posted Aug 16, 2018 at Time to Write

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A documentary trick that also works for fiction films and novels

What makes a character (or a real person) interesting? An article on Ozy.com reveals, "For filmmakers Elizabeth Delaune Warren and Danya Abt, quirk is key. The eccentricities and complexities that drive people also drive their documentary filmmaking. 'You take someone... Continue reading

Posted Aug 12, 2018 at Time to Write

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Write it right: eke, eek!

This is one of my favorite misspellings recently: "While this quaint little monster movie doesn't quite manage to eek its potential out for its whole duration..." What the reviewer meant was eke (although he may have said eek! during the... Continue reading

Posted Aug 2, 2018 at Time to Write

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How to Schedule Procrastination

Despite being aware of many productivity techniques, I still struggle sometimes with procrastination. Here's a little technique I've found helpful when I've been avoiding a simple task for some reason: Schedule procrastination by scheduling the task. Rather than saying, "I'll... Continue reading

Posted Jul 16, 2018 at Time to Write

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A MICRO-APPROACH TO IMPROVING YOUR WRITING

Especially when you're just getting started, learning how to be a good writer seems overwhelming. Even when you're experienced, if you're honest with yourself you know there's always room for improvement (I certainly do.). But how to go about addressing... Continue reading

Posted Jul 9, 2018 at Time to Write

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WISE ADVICE FROM ANDY WARHOL

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make more art." --Andy Warhol Continue reading

Posted Jul 7, 2018 at Time to Write

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A top agent's tip about creating characters

Top agent Jonny Geller, who represents John le Carre, among others, offers this writing tip on the Curtis Brown site: "Every character you write is living a moment in time and it must be true and real in the moment.... Continue reading

Posted Jul 5, 2018 at Time to Write

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AI is not a threat to writers yet (Unless you're William Borroughs)

Wired.com reported on a movie made by Artificial Intelligence (one called Benjamin). Here's an example of how Benjamin responded to the question, "What's next for you?": “The staff is divided by the train of the burning machine building with sweat.... Continue reading

Posted Jun 12, 2018 at Time to Write

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HOW THEY GOT HAN SOLO WRONG

In The Weekly Standard, John Podhertz gets it right about why the makers of Solo got Han Solo so wrong: "There’s no bad boy to Alden Ehrenreich’s young Han; he’s a boy scout who is determined to save the love... Continue reading

Posted May 31, 2018 at Time to Write

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Do you have to know the ending?

Once in a while I read about a successful writer who cheerfully declares, "I never know what's going to happen next, I just start writing and let the characters lead me." Please, can you send some of those characters my... Continue reading

Posted May 28, 2018 at Time to Write

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Get feedback on your log line or first pages - Deadline May 20

Friends of mine are running an online charity auction for the Scouts and I've just donated a one-hour consultation. Here's a description: Get a One Hour Consultation with Jurgen Wolff, author of 9 books including "Creativity Now" and "Your Writing... Continue reading

Posted May 14, 2018 at Time to Write

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How to support your own creativity (and that of others, too)

Steven Spielberg has said that what gave him the courage to trust his creativity was a statement from his mentor Sid Sheinberg, at the time the head of Universal Studios. He told the 20-year-old Spielberg, "I will support you as... Continue reading

Posted May 9, 2018 at Time to Write

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What to write about

"Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." Barbara Kingfisher Continue reading

Posted May 4, 2018 at Time to Write

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A photo a day improves wellbeing; how about a paragraph a day?

Two UK researchers have reported that taking a photo each day and posting it online improves wellbeing in the form of "self-care, community interaction, and the potential for reminiscence." Basically, looking for something different or interesting to photograph and post... Continue reading

Posted May 1, 2018 at Time to Write

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How to manage an ensemble storyline

How do you construct a storyline that does justice to all the characters in a large ensemble? An extreme version of that problem confronted the writers of Avengers: Infinity War. One of the writers, Christopher Markus, described their solution in... Continue reading

Posted Apr 25, 2018 at Time to Write

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