Notes

Description

Writing is often a solitary business, but that doesn't mean you have to go it alone. Have a script, book or article that's not working or that could work better? I can help.

What You Get
I work with playwrights and screenwriters, as well as authors of books and magazine articles. My consultation consists of two elements. First, when I read your work, I will make handwritten notes in the body of your script--my reactions as I'm reading it. Second, we will conference on the telephone (roughly 50 minutes for a full-length play, screenplay or other work) to discuss the major issues for you to consider as you develop your material. Turnaround time is roughly two weeks, with rush service available for an additional fee.

My Philosophy
Many writing consultants advertise that they "know what sells." No one knows that. So why hire me then? Because in the absence of some magic key that unlocks the market, your goal should be to create great writing. My goal as a consultant is to help you do just that. But for me, the important thing is that you write the play, screenplay, book or article you want to write, not the one I would have written or the one I wish you wrote. To that end, rather than give you narrow prescriptions about "the way I would do it," I try to ask questions and make comments that empower you to come up with the answers that are right for your work.

Why I Can Help
*Resident Playwriting Expert for The Writers Store and author of Playwriting101.com, one of the most popular playwriting sites on the Internet
*Resident Playwriting Expert for Final Draft and creator of "Ask the Expert" Playwriting in FD7
*Co-Chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights and former Managing Director of the Philadelphia Dramatists Center
*Teacher of dramatic writing at every level from elementary school to college and beyond, including currently teaching playwriting online at Writers University
*Author of Young Playwrights 101, a book for young playwrights and those who teach them
*B.A. in Dramatic Writing and Literature from Harvard University, including study with William Alfred, Adrienne Kennedy and Robert Brustein
*M.F.A. in Playwriting from UCLA, including study with Velina Hasu Houston and Leon Katz (former co-chair of Yale's dramaturgy department and called the "father of American dramaturgy")
*Author of 20 published plays, with productions in more than 35 states and 7 foreign countries, as well as several produced short films

Selected Testimonials
"What I love about having Jon as a resource is that he can help me technically or dramaturgically with equal proficiency. When I’m writing, I run into moments where I need help with a software or keystroke question as often as I need some advice with structural issues. In both cases, Jon has given me new strategies, approaches and techniques that have helped me push my writing to a whole new level. I highly recommend his services!"--Chris Wink, Co-founder, Blue Man Group

"Even though I've been a professional playwright for 25 years there are times when a script needs a good outside eye, and Jon's notes and suggestions on my new play were the most insightful and practical of any notes I received. I'd recommend Jon highly as a consultant."--Peter Colley, author of I'll Be Back Before Midnight, acclaimed as the most produced Canadian play in history, and creator of Great Dialogue software

"Some years ago, Jon was my valued, highly regarded student in Playwriting at UCLA, but in the years since, I've come to recognize him as a genuine colleague. His ability to analyze scripts in detail and to work with playwrights with excruciating attention to every detail of a script is extraordinary; and the advice he can offer writers on their work is invaluable not only for the script at hand but for the further development of the writer as a professional. Jon has the genuine quality of a mentor, someone whom a novice as well as an experienced writer can trust to be supportive, exacting, and genuinely nurturing of talent. That, and his knowledge of the practical business of going about getting scripts read and accepted makes him about as terrific a resource as a writer is likely to find. I have enormous admiration for the care with which he does his mentoring, for his solid knowledge of playwriting technique, and for his thorough professionalism.-- Leon Katz, David G. Frey Distinguished Professor of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, as well as former Co-Chair of Dramaturgy at the Yale School of Drama