Writing doesn't have to strictly be a serious, intellectual exercise. You can reap rewards by approaching your work in an experimental frame of mind. Our way of developing an intimacy with your character is through the awkward and titillating lens of dating…

Having sold several first-time writers’ books, we believe that screenwriting and prose writing seek to satisfy the same visceral and emotional needs. While we inevitably look at manuscripts with an eye to adaptation, this class is an informal way to bridge both worlds.

Using examples from film and TV, we look at character development as the key to binding all the composite parts -- the theme, dilemmas and scenarios leading to all-important transformations. By riffing on the choices that the screenwriter could have been confronted with, we focus on possibility, not inevitability. To reinforce that, we offer exercises to reveal the choices open to you in your work.

Marilyn R. Atlas is a talent and literary manager and award-winning producer. Her clients have appeared in shows such as Star Trek, Fringe, Pretty Little Liars, How to Get Away with Murder, 90210, Revenge, Hart of Dixie, NCIS:LA, True Blood, Dexter, Chuck, Castle, and Criminal Minds. She was film producer on Real Women Have Curves for HBO, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival; A Certain Desire, starring Sam Waterston; and Echoes, which won the Gold Award at the Texas International Film Festival.

In addition to producing a variety of programming for the cable/ pay TV market. In live theater, Marilyn co-produced the West Coast premiere of the musical God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Ashman and Menken (the writers of Enchanted and Tangled).  She also co-produced the award-winning play “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.”

Marilyn herself has been in development on pilots for Showtime and ABC Family. In addition to Marilyn’s film/TV credits, she has sold (first time) novels Chasing the Jaguar to HarperCollins to Hachette Book Ave Maria Bed & Breakfast  to Grand Central Publishing, and the Hungry Woman in Paris, Group, and the Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole to Sourcebooks  Her Lifetime movie The Choking Game based on the YA book by Diana Lopez aired in summer 2014.  She is also featured in the book Write Now! from Penguin/Tarcher. She is the co-author of a relationship-based, screenwriting guide called Dating Your Character, about an organic approach to character creation for Stairway Press’s Summer 2016 catalog.

Elizabeth Lopez attended Vassar College, majoring in English Literature. She was a screenwriting fellow of the L.A. Latino Film Festival and has had several articles published online and in print for entertainment-oriented magazines such as “Storylink,” “The Script Lab,” and “Gideon’s Screenwriting Tips.” She has taught screenwriting classes at the Ojai Writers Festival, The Writers Store, and for the WGA TV Writers’ Fund. She and her partner Marilyn R. Atlas, along with producer Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein, co-wrote the character-based guide/workbook “Dating Your Character,” which embraces a more playful approach that focuses on tying plot to inherent and evolved character behavior. Dating Your Character: A Sexy Guide to Screenwriting (mymustreads.com)

Elizabeth started her Hollywood career as a story analyst for talent managers and production companies, including Vincent Cirrincione & Associates and The Little Company. As VP of Literary Development at Marilyn Atlas Management, she has been managing writing talent, helping set up projects like “Bitterroot” at Starz. She was instrumental in setting up book deals for first-time writers at HarperCollins, Sourcebooks, and Career Press. She edited and sold Jonisha Rios’ comic novella “The Curse” to Café con Leche press. She is currently developing an Asian historical epic with The Wolper Group. She is ghostwriting a psychological thriller novelization of an upcoming Lionsgate film for 2023.

Live Class: Dating Your Character with Marilyn R. Atlas and Elizabeth Lopez