Amy Suto 10/15/13 Amy Suto 10/15/13

Good Books: The Fault in Our Stars

I've been trying to find new authors to add to my list of favorite authors on my Facebook page (a prestigious list of high importance and influence, I assure you) when I made the mistake of reading John Green. I say mistake because once I read The Fault in Our Stars, I knew I was going to get nothing done in the next week while I made my way through all his other books.So today's blog post is dedicated to John Green, who stole my productivity but instead gave me something much more valuable: great books that will stay with me forever.

Amy Suto 7/13/13 Amy Suto 7/13/13

Webseries School: Creator Up! [Review]

Webseries are the great Wild West of the film industry, and for new content creators, it can be a daunting plain to navigate. Creator Up is the online Webseries School created by USC alumni who want to bring the joy of collaboration and creation from film school into this new realm of content creation.

Amy Suto 7/7/13 Amy Suto 7/7/13

A Writer’s Recipe For Great Characters

I'm a sassy writer who gets no sleep and cooks more often than your grandmother. So here's a recipe for creating great characters in six steps!

Amy Suto 6/6/13 Amy Suto 6/6/13

Tips and Tricks for Novel Writing

Here are the tips and tricks I've learned about novel writing during my stay in Maui!

Amy Suto 5/22/13 Amy Suto 5/22/13

Good Books: Strong Female Protagonists

Looking for good books with strong female protagonists? Look no further! I review two excellent books with compelling female main characters.

Amy Suto 4/11/13 Amy Suto 4/11/13

4 Creative Brainstorming Exercises for Screenwriters

Welcome to the latest and greatest installment in my Creative Screenwriting article series!As always, this post is about optimizing your creativity through improving your writing process, and you'll find practical tips intermixed with creativity studies when relevant.

Amy Suto 4/2/13 Amy Suto 4/2/13

4 Ways to Find the Emotional Core of Your Story

When it comes to selling your scripts, the most powerful weapon you have is being able to make your audience feel something. Emotion will get you where structuring and formatting and perfect grammar alone cannot. That's why today's post is all about finding ways to connect with the emotional core of your story!

Amy Suto 2/11/13 Amy Suto 2/11/13

For Men: How to Write Female Characters

This post was originally intended to be a satirical comment on the state of female characters in screenplays written by men.But, ironically enough, after talking to a handful of male screenwriters, I realized that there is a legitimate, long-standing issue amongst male writers when it comes to writing female characters.I say this without judgment: some male writers just don’t know how to write female characters. Which is why I’m here to help!How Are Female and Male Characters Different?

Amy Suto 1/28/13 Amy Suto 1/28/13

5 Ways to Write What You Don't Know

The phrase write what you know can be damaging to a writer when taken too literally.If I wrote only what I knew, I would be limited to the quirky adventures of a screenwriter and her friends in Los Angeles. My main character would spend most of her time writing, running, and blogging, with occasional trips up to abandoned ski resorts to film horror movies or battles done with crocodiles in the harbors of Mexico.In short, the movie that I want to write does not resemble my life.But that's not how "writing what you know" is supposed to be interpreted. It means that you're supposed to use what you do know as a jumping off point to write what you don't know anything about, thus lending authenticity to your writing.Here are 5 ways to write what you don't know, in a way that will ring true with the reader:

Amy Suto 1/3/13 Amy Suto 1/3/13

13 Ways to Be a Better Screenwriter in 2013

Hey guys! It's 2013, and now that the holidays are over, it's time to get to work on that screenplay you've been wanting to write. Today is a fresh start, where we can put procrastination and overcaffeination behind us, and become more productive, creative people who make up fictional relationships and events alone in front of a laptop (or typewriter, if you're classy like that.)

Amy Suto 12/31/12 Amy Suto 12/31/12

Good Books: Sociopaths and Suicide Pacts

Three cheers for a new blog series!I spent four hours hanging out in LAX the other day because my flight was delayed (blizzards, you sly dogs, you). Considering they only give you an hour of complimentary internet there (blasphemy!) I had to stop blogging and tweeting and instead read some of the books I'd recently bought on my Kindle. I'm glad I did, because I read two great books that I want to share with you today.

Amy Suto 12/27/12 Amy Suto 12/27/12

The Last Piece of Writing Advice You'll Need

Some gurus tell you that the three act structure will kill you, while others tell you that if you don't hit every story beat, your screenplay will be doomed. Still, others tell you that outlining is a hoax and you should just write a screenplay with no structure at all because that kills your creativity. Then there are the champions of the outline who say that without it, your script will die in the rough draft phase, and if you do manage to get a final draft out of it, it will take you twice as long as if you'd done an outline.

Amy Suto 12/21/12 Amy Suto 12/21/12

How to Write a Novel in a Month Free Full-Color Manual

I wrote this manual that details how you can write a novel in a month. It includes all the tips, motivational pep talks, and elaborate espresso drinks you could ever need for a month-long writing adventure!

Amy Suto 12/19/12 Amy Suto 12/19/12

5 Things You Forgot About Rough Drafts

Working screenwriters tend to have several screenplays in the pipeline at once, all at different levels of completion. This way, they can bounce around between all the stages of the writing process without getting fatigued, and always have an answer for the dreaded question, 'what else do you got?' But balancing a pipeline of different projects -- and actually completing them -- takes time. When you start off, chances are you'll just focus on one screenplay at a time. And sometimes, it's easy to forget about the messiness that is the rough draft.

Amy Suto 12/15/12 Amy Suto 12/15/12

The Doomed Love Trope (And Why It's Awesome)

You've seen it before.Two starstruck lovers fall into such a perfect, idealized form of true love that their passion for each other could burn out the sun if it was one kilowatt brighter. These two youngsters resemble all of our romantic hopes and dreams, and we want them to overcome every obstacle in their path in order to be together.But, of course, their love is doomed due to timing.

Amy Suto 11/26/12 Amy Suto 11/26/12

3 Reasons Why Screenplays are Like Lattes

Welcome to AmySuto.com! You may also know this website by its alternate name, "Gratuitous Photos of Delicious Caffeinated Beverages."Now, you may be asking "Amy, how on earth are you able to craft an extended metaphor around lattes and screenplays?" And to that I laugh and exclaim, "silly readers! I'm a writer! I make extended metaphors for a living!"Anyways.Here are four reasons why screenplays are like lattes:

Amy Suto 10/26/12 Amy Suto 10/26/12

10 Ways to Prepare for National Novel Writing Month

Greetings, traveler! Chances are, you're reading this because you've decided to embark on the highly dangerous, highly caffeinated thirty-day whirlwind known as National Novel Writing Month. The goal? To write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. You may not even have an idea for a novel in this point in time. But never fear! This guide exists to divulge the secrets behind a successful month of noveling. Let the adventure begin!