Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

David Mamet Dramatic Writing Masterclass Review (Week 3)

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This was the reason I took David Mamet’s MasterClass. I was looking forward to week 3 of the MasterClass since I first signed up and saw the syllabus. If you’re a Mamet fan, you can already guess why I’m so excited and what this week involved. Week 3 of the David Mamet Dramatic Writing MasterClass […]

David Mamet Masterclass Review (Week 2)

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I’m on the second week of the David Mamet MasterClass and I’m getting so much value out of my money. I thought week one was great but week two of the MasterClass really steps it up. Before I get into the second week review of David Mamet’s Masterclass, let me be clear about what I consider […]

David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing Masterclass Review (Week 1)

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I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the announcement: David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing Masterclass. I’ve already taken several writing masterclasses from world class writers at the top of their game (namely Aaron Sorkin, James Patterson, and Shonda Rhimes).  But when I saw that MasterClass managed to snag David Mamet too, my jaw was […]

James Patterson Teaches Writing MasterClass Review

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It took me a long time to sign up to the James Patterson Teaches Writing MasterClass. I signed up to the Aaron Sorkin MasterClass (loved it) and then the Werner Herzog MasterClass (loved it), and then recently the Shonda Rhimes Masterclass (loving it)… But I’m primarily a novelist. So why did I take two screenwriters’ and a […]

6 Exciting Goals For Energetic Writers

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There are tons of articles and guides out there detailing how to overcome writers’ block, how to boost your motivation to write, and how to increase your writing productivity when you’re in a slump. Feeling demotivated, despondent, deflated? No worries, the internet’s got you covered. But what about those times when you AREN’T suffering from […]

7 Questions Fiction Writers Can Answer To Improve Their Writing

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Now that I’ve got a few books under my belt, I have a pre-set checklist of questions that helps me take my shitty first draft to a somewhat respectable second draft. Then, after patting myself on the back one moment and crying in despair the next, I use the same set of questions to take […]

Shonda Rhimes MasterClass Review (Week 2)

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I’m now on the second week of the Shonda Rhimes MasterClass for television screenwriting and things are really heating up. After a very pleasant primer in week one, we’re getting into the good stuff (in my opinion). What does the “good stuff” look like for me? Well, as someone who is primarily writing novels, the […]

How To See The World In A Different Way (What Makes A Writer Great)

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Great writers see the world in a different way. Most writers barely give a thought to how they are experiencing the world. They give even less thought to how they might render their experience in prose or poetry.  But great writers estrange the reader. They make the familiar unfamiliar. They are connected to reality the […]