The New 10 Commandments of Writing Screenplays.

Reprint: The New 10 Commandments of Writing Screenplays.

Most people know about writing screenplays, but if you break these commandments, your soul will be damned to eternal amateur-damnation…

…Or maybe it’ll just be a bit more difficult to become a pro. Either way, you’ll want to really consider these guidelines as you write or rewrite your screenplay.

Writing Screenplays By Commandment

1. Entertain us…or it’s over!

Entertainment is the number one reason that people go to movies. Every producer and agent knows that. So it should be the #1 focus of your screenwriting. Become a master at making any character or situation entertaining and you’ll be a writer in demand.

To be blunt, if there is anything in your script that doesn’t entertain, fix it.

2. Make EVERYTHING more interesting.

The industry is filled with readers who are fed a gourmet diet of professional screenplays. If you want yours to stand out, it has to captivate their attention and cause them to forget that they are doing a job.

This should be an ongoing campaign of yours. Make your scenes more interesting. Make your characters more interesting. Make your dialogue more interesting. Make everything more interesting.

3. Give us a lead character we can’t stop following.

Professional screenwriters intentionally create characters we want to follow. They are unique, yet familiar. We can relate to them and want to go on the journey with that character.

In general, your protagonist should be the perfect person to lead us deep into this story and the conflict that is about to occur. Don’t settle for a good lead. Go for great.

4. Promise us something special…and deliver on it.

Somehow, you have to keep people reading until the last page. Here’s a solution.

About 15 years ago, I read a book called “A Story Is A Promise” by Bill Johnson. Since then, I’ve always looked at a script from the perspective of “What is the promise you’re making to the reader/audience and how do you keep it in a unique way?”

Essentially, you are promising some major achievement by the protagonist or some big confrontation that will happen in the 3rd Act between protag and antag. If the promise is strong enough, we’ll read every page to see what happens.

5. Show us deeper meaning.

Deeper meaning can be built into the plot, character, situations, actions, and dialogue of a script. It doesn’t have to be profound, just beneath the surface…and perceived by the audience.

Audiences and readers just don’t appreciate on-the-nose writing. Subtext gives them a chance to interact with the film. They have an internal experience of the story because they are interpreting what the dialogue and actions really mean.

Because of that, it is just as important to take care of the subtext of a story as it is to create the surface story.

6. Put your characters through hell.

Great parents take care of their children and don’t let harm come to them. Great writers put their characters in the worst possible places to challenge their beliefs and physical limitations.

Don’t get the two jobs mixed up. Audiences don’t go to movies to see characters lead safe lives. They want to see your characters take risks, experience danger, and barely escape from challenging situations.

Writing screenplays will make you a tough task-master. By your final draft, your characters should hate you for all the terrible things you did to them.

7. Free up your dialogue so you can express more character.

Beginning writers often fill their dialogue with exposition and story details, thus reducing the amount of character and creativity that shows up in that dialogue. Don’t do it.

Instead, put the exposition, information, and story details into the action and situations.

For example, instead of a trainer telling a new boxer that a certain philosophy doesn’t work, have him put the character in the boxing ring and learn it by having his ass kicked. Now, the trainer doesn’t have to lecture. In fact, he is free to talk about anything – breakfast, politics, his favorite dog, etc. – because the real meaning is being delivered through the action.

It completely frees you up so you can be much more creative with your dialogue.

8. Turn cliches into fresh ideas.

In the film industry, a cliché is defined as “something we’ve seen before.” If you write a script with the same plot or the same lead characters or the same situations, people will balk at them.

Audiences want to see familiar stories told in different ways and familiar characters with something special about them. That means that your characters, situations, actions, and dialogue need to have something unique to them.

Your challenge: Hunt down every cliché in your script and brainstorm more unique ways to accomplish their purpose. Give them a twist or unique spin or different voice. It takes a bit of work, but it instantly improves your screenplay.

9. Give yourself permission to write shit in your first draft…

…and push yourself for perfection in your final draft. Not the other way around.

This is a better strategy for writing screenplays than trying to be perfect on the first draft and shoving yourself into writer’s block.

First drafts are the time for total freedom of expression, not criticizing your writing. You want to discover what you can about your story, characters, etc.

On the other side, writers often send drafts to producers that aren’t even close to ready. That’s the time to bring out your internal critic and make sure this is a perfect draft.

The more in sync you are with your creative process, the faster you’ll achieve perfection.

10. Rethink your script…until it is the most amazing it can be.

This is the ultimate challenge of a professional screenwriter – having to rethink the same script over and over until you discover the perfect way to tell this story.

Even if you think your story or character is perfect, you should have the skills to re-envision it in many different ways. Not only will this help you write a better story, it will also help you work with production companies and Studios when they request script changes.

Make those 10 Commandments part of your daily writing and someday, you’ll be soon be writing screenplays like the Hollywood writing Gods.

——

And if you want to dramatically improve your ability to write screenplays, check out ScreenwritingU’s screenwriting classes.

These 10 Commandments are built into our classes. That may be why Script Magazine rated our classes #1 in their “Top 9 Online Screenwriting Courses.”

===

Like this issue? Visit our website.

Copyright © 2012 ScreenwritingU, all rights reserved www.ScreenwritingU.com | site_team@ScreenwritingU.com |

Phyllis Diller to receive Lifetime Award from her hometown

Posted: May 15, 2012 7:07 PM EDT
Updated: May 15, 2012 7:07 PM EDT

(WOIO) -

After 57 years of making the world laugh, trailblazing comedienne, actress and artist Phyllis Diller finally gets her due. The Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival, based out of Diller's birthplace of Lima, Ohio will present its first ever Lifetime Achievement Award at the comedienne's Los Angeles home in June, two weeks before its Opening Night Gala.

The 2012 Festival will take place July 6-8, 2012 primarily at the Veteran's Memorial Civic and Convention Center.

Diller attended Lima's Central High School, before attending Sherwood Music Conservatory in Chicago and Bluffton College in Bluffton, Ohio, where she met fellow "Lima-ite" and classmate Hugh Downs.

The 94-year-old Diller, best known for her quick one-liners, cigarette holder, and unmistakable laugh started out during the Eisenhower years, when mainstream female comics were few and far between. After an infamous stint as a contestant on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life, the then 37-year-old housewife worked her first set at San Francisco's Purple Onion on March 7, 1955 - and remained there for 87 straight weeks.

[Northeast Ohio (Cleveland)] Superstar Bob Hope caught her act and became Hope's unofficial protégée, adopting his rapid-fire delivery for her own comedy. Coupled with Diller's common theme of the [humorously] angry and frustrated housewife in her act, her fame rose to unprecedented heights and broke down many barriers for female comedians.

She travelled with Bob Hope during the height of the Vietnam War to the region to perform with him in 1966 with his USO troupe. Her barrage of one-liners about the frustrations of being female in a domestically demanding culture was identified through her "husband," Fang - the catchall name for the men who had disappointed Diller, and for underachieving husbands everywhere.

Comic icons like Joan Rivers explained how radical Diller actually was: "She was the first one that there was such rage and such anger in her comedy. She had the anger that is now in all of us. And that's what made it so funny, because she spoke for all these women that were sitting home with five children and a husband that didn't work."

Diller appeared regularly in the 1960s as a special guest on many television programs including What's My Line? and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Diller has several film credits to her name, including a cameo appearance as Texas Guinan, the wisecracking nightclub hostess in the 1961 film Splendor in the Grass and provided the vocals for the Queen in Disney/Pixar's animated movie A Bug's Life. [Plus several pix with Bob Hope.]

Diller also starred in two short-lived TV series: the half-hour sitcom The Pruitts of Southampton (later retitled The Phyllis Diller Show) on ABC from 1966–1967, and the variety show The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show on NBC in 1968.

She also guest starred [more recently] alongside William Shatner in an episode of Boston Legal and provided the voice work as Peter Griffin's mother, Thelma on Fox's hit show, Family Guy. Her most recent television appearance was a January, 2011 episode of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 as part of a panel of comedians.

"Phyllis Diller is from Lima, and it would be a major oversight and insult to her efforts if we did not do our best to recognize her achievements," says Festival Executive Director, Len Archibald. "Not only as a comedian, but as an [extraordinary and legendary] artist who defied expectations regarding the perception of what women were capable of."

Archibald will make the trip to Diller's home to shoot a video presentation of Diller's acceptance of the Lifetime Achievement Award to be screened in its entirety during the Festival's Awards Gala at City Club on July 8.

He promises Diller's involvement in the Festival's second year will be the first of several celebrities who will help attract international attention to the event, which debuted in Van Wert during the summer of 2011.

"We are tremendously honored and excited that Ms. Diller has accepted our award. I hope this will open the eyes of the community so everyone understands just how many artists hail from Northwest Ohio. This will also serve as an example for future artists that you can be from anywhere in the world and still make your mark."

What: The Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival
Where: Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center / 7 Town Square/ Lima, Ohio / 45801
When: Friday, July 6 to Sunday, July 8, 2012.

Tickets and passes are on sale now through the Civic Center Box Office and the Festival's website, www.nwoff.org. Single-event tickets start at $5 with specified events free to high school students. For more information, please visit www.nwoff.org or contact Executive Director Len Archibald by calling 419-979-9692.

Copyright 2012 WOIO. All rights reserved.

[edit additions/clarifications_Neale Sourna]

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Writing Action: Six tips to survive driving emergencies from professional women racers

Six tips to survive driving emergencies from professional women racers

By TrueCar Staff | TrueCar – Fri, Apr 13, 2012 4:25 PM EDT

Regardless of whether you just got your driver's license within the last few years, or whether you've been driving since cassette players were standard equipment, automotive accidents and driving emergencies are difficult to prepare for. 

 

Being a good driver means knowing how to respond to the unexpected, so we asked the female athletes on TrueCar's "Women Empowered" racing team to share some tips to help drivers stay safe on the road when a driving emergency strikes -- after all, who knows better how to handle driving emergencies than professional racecar drivers who must be prepared to face them at high-speeds and under intense pressure?

 

 

#1 What To Do If Your Car Is Hydroplaning, Or Skidding Out Of Control
 

Verena Mei, Rally America, says:
 

Hydroplaning happens on wet surfaces when water accumulates in front of a car's tires, creating a layer of water between the rubber of the tires and the road's surface that reduces traction and makes it difficult to control the car. 

 

Your first priority is to carefully slow the vehicle down so you can regain control of the car. 

 

As with any driving emergency, keep a firm grip on the steering wheel and stay calm. Ease your foot off the gas and carefully steer your car in the direction of the road. Do this until the car slows and you can feel your tires on the ground again. Avoid sudden acceleration, braking, or steering inputs, which may only cause the car to slip (hydroplane) more.

If the back wheels hydroplane, the car's rear may fishtail or veer sideways into a skid, possibly causing you to spin. Steer in the direction of the skid until the rear tires stop hydroplaning and come in contact with the ground again, and then gently steer in the opposite direction to straighten out your vehicle.

To reduce the chance of hydroplaning, try to drive in the tire tracks left by the cars in front of you. These techniques can also help maintain traction when driving on snowy roads.

What does Verena drive?
On the race course: #335 TrueCar 2011 Ford Fiesta
On the road: Subaru Impreza


 

 

#2 What To Do If Your Car Stalls While You’re Driving
 

Shea Holbrook, Pirelli World Challenge, says:
 

It can be frightening if your car stalls while you're driving, as you may lose power steering and braking. Keep in mind these systems DO still function, but you will have to work harder to use them. Stay calm and focused, turn on your flashers, and try to restart the vehicle while the vehicle is still moving.

If it won't restart, use your car's forward momentum to help you roll to the side of the road and park off the shoulder or out of the way of traffic. If you can't make it to the side of the road, stay in your car (you definitely don't want to be out of your car in moving traffic!) and call 911 to get an emergency crew to help block traffic and move you off the road.
 What does Shea drive?
On the race course: #67 TrueCar 2012 Honda Civic Si
On the road: Audi A4


 

 

#3 What To Do If The Tread Separates From The Tire
 

Ashley Freiberg, Star Mazda, says:
 

Tire tread separation can be even scarier than a blowout, because the outer belt can become separated from the rubber of the tire and sometimes detach completely from the rest of the tire. You may notice loud thumping and feel the vehicle pulling to the side as the tread pulls off the tire; at high speeds, this flopping tread can damage your wheel well or even drive your car completely out of control. Get a grip -- literally! 

 

Do your best to steer the car straight and gently lift your foot off the gas. Cautiously guide yourself to the side of the road, braking carefully, and then call a tow truck to change the tire. Phew, you made it!

What does Ashley drive?
On the race course: #91 TrueCar Star Mazda
On the road: Toyota Tundra


 

 

#4 How To Stop In An Emergency Situation
 

Shannon McIntosh, USF2000, says:
 

The other day, a dog ran out in front of my car. I just gripped the wheel and stood on my brakes. I could feel the ABS pulse as the car came to a stop, and thankfully the dog escaped injury. If you have a chance to try this in an empty parking lot you'll discover that your ABS also allows you to safely steer around obstacles while in full-brake mode. Just keep your foot stomped down; don’t lift off the brake until your car comes to a complete stop. 

 

Most of today's modern vehicles are equipped with anti-lock braking systems that help drivers maintain control of the car by preventing the wheels from locking up, and as of 2012, NHTSA requires all passenger vehicles to be equipped with electronic stability control systems (which are operated by the ABS). This could prevent from 5,000 to 9,000 fatalities a year!

If you don't have ABS, panic braking takes a little more skill. You have to be able to push the brake pedal down hard, but not so hard that you lock up and skid the tires. It takes a lot of finesse to do this well, so this is another skill you could practice in an empty parking lot, to help you learn how to do it in an emergency.

If your brakes don't work at all, try to steer yourself away from traffic and people. Turn on your emergency blinkers. Use your gear selector to downshift into lower gears and, if you have room on either side of you, steer the car sharply from side-to-side to slow you down. If that doesn't work, sideswipe your car against the guardrail until you are going slow enough to use the hand or foot brake to bring you to a standstill.

What does Shannon drive?
On the race course: #18 TrueCar Van Diemen DP08 Mazda
On the road: Acura RSX


 

 

#5 What To Do If Your Gas Pedal Sticks Or If Your Car Won't Stop Accelerating
 

Emilee Tominovich, Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup SCAA Pro Series, says:
 

It’s going to sound counter-intuitive, but the first thing you should do if your car won't stop accelerating is to lift your foot off the brake -- you might have accidentally put your foot down on the accelerator by mistake! 

 

If the pedal sticks, reach down to see if something (like floor mats, or in my case, water bottles) might be wedged under there. Be sure to stay calm! The next step is to put the car into neutral (or press down the clutch). Don't worry about damaging the transmission; putting the car into neutral just takes the power from the engine away from the wheels, and lets you use the brakes to stop the car from rolling. In the worst-case scenario, you can even shut off the engine completely; just turn the key to OFF. 

 

Your steering and brakes will be harder to use, but they will still WORK! 

 

Coast to the side of the road, and use your emergency brake if you need extra help stopping. You can always practice doing this in parking lots, so you'll feel more confident if such an emergency ever arises.

What does Emilee drive?
On the race course: #19 TrueCar Mazda MX-5
On the road: Acura MDX


 

 

#6 What To Do If Your Tire Blows Out
 

Katherine Legge, IZOD IndyCar Series, says:
 

A tire blowout can pretty much happen to anyone anytime, but it's more likely to occur if your tires are low on tread, improperly inflated, or if you hit sharp debris on the roadway. It has happened to me on the track at speeds as fast as 200 mph, and trust me, the most important thing is not to panic! You might have heard a loud boom from under the car, but don't worry. Keep a firm hold on the steering wheel and avoid hard braking. Gently lift your foot off the gas, and coast until you have control; THEN you may brake carefully. 

 

Be sure to use your emergency flashers to warn the cars behind you, but stay focused on steering the car as straight as you can while you slow down the vehicle, and guide yourself to the side of the road. Your ability to steer may be harder if you blow a front tire, and depends on how much of the rubber is left on the wheel. 

 

Call a tow truck after you get to the side of the road; if you had to roll very far before you stopped, you will probably need to replace the metal wheel in addition to the tire.

What does Katherine drive?
On the race course: #6 TrueCar Lotus Dallara DW12
On the road: Lotus Evora from her engine provider, Lotus.

You can follow the TrueCar racing team at: www.truecar.com/racing

Writing Character: 5 unexpected female turn-ons

5 unexpected female turn-ons

By Bob Strauss

Perhaps you studied him in school, and perhaps you didn’t — but in either case, allow me to introduce you to (or refresh your memory about) the French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. In intellectual circles, Sartre is best known for suavely documenting the rootless disaffection of post-war bourgeois society, and in political circles, he’s famous (or infamous) for staunchly defending Communism against the cold-war jingoists of the 1950s. 

For the purposes of this article, though, the important thing about Jean-Paul Sartre is that he was spectacularly ugly — even his friends described him as looking like a squat, bug-eyed, bespectacled frog — as well as short (just a shade over five feet tall). And wouldn’t you know it? Women fell all over the guy; Sartre had more torrid love affairs than most university professors have had hot meals.

What’s going on with him that makes him so attractive, then? According to Eric Weisholtz, cofounder of GetOnTheCouch.com, it’s not unusual for women to date guys on the “low end of the hot scale,” saying: “It’s interesting, it gets people talking, it makes the woman feel extremely good-looking by comparison and sometimes having a sexual relationship with an ugly person can feel naughty, taboo or perverse. 

[Actor] Willem Dafoe is a good example. It’s not because he’s rich and famous; it’s because his variety of unattractiveness is, for some reason, quite attractive.” Sure, it’d be nice to think all those French mademoiselles were attracted to Sartre for his high IQ, but you have to admit that Weisholtz has a point.

The reason I’ve gone into this whole Jean-Paul Sartre thing in such depth is to show that attractiveness is, really, subjective — and it might cheer you up to know that what you consider to be a tragic, insurmountable physical or behavioral flaw can actually be catnip to the right woman. 

Here are five unexpected things women are turned on by in men:

1. Body odor. “Double pits to chesty” (the worst slogan in advertising history) aside, not all women appreciate guys who mask their natural scent. Jolene Hanson, the curator of Venice, CA’s G2 Gallery, is one such example, saying, “What turns me on? Natural body odor — I love a guy who smells like a guy should smell.” Perhaps not coincidentally, Hanson says she also likes men who pick up other peoples’ discarded trash on the street: “This is something I do myself, and I love it when a guy shares my passion for the environment.” 

If you decide to stop covering up your natural musk, though, bathe often, especially before a date. (Your smell shouldn’t overwhelm strangers at the next table or distract your date from getting to know you better.)

2. Scars and blemishes. You don’t need to procure a genuine, aristocratic Heidelberg dueling scar to win the hearts of ladies; rather, any “interesting” blemish will do the trick — an oddly shaped birthmark, a distinctive mole on your neck, or that gouge on your cheek from when you fell on your toy fire truck as a toddler. Says Lisa Steadman, author of If He’s Not the One, Who Is?, “Many women are attracted to a man who has scars — partly because scars give the illusion of a dark past, and partly because scars tell a story, and women love a good story about their guy.” 

That said, active, festering wounds still going through the healing process should be kept under wraps until you’re well on your way to a committed relationship.

3. Stereotypically “feminine” traits. For every woman who demands tough, manly, roughly callused hands (and equally firm handshakes), there’s another who prefers the long, slender, lovingly delicate hands of an artiste who’s never so much as twisted a Phillips-head screwdriver — and so on down the list of “feminine” traits, like shy smiles, long eyelashes and piercing giggles. 

Oh, yes, and a fondness for cats. Helen, 52, from Australia, says, “What really gets me is a guy who loves cats. If he’ll sit for an hour on the sofa in an awkward position so as not to disturb the cat, it’s the cutest thing — a tough guy with a soft heart.” 

You don’t have to be the Brawny man to win over a lady, it seems.

4. Vulnerability. Sometimes, being a man’s man can actually turn women off. An increasing number of women appreciate a guy who will cop to his limitations instead of blustering, bluffing and bullying his way through something he knows absolutely nothing about. Says Carrie, 39, from Ontario: “Personally, I find it attractive for a guy to not get all upset if I do something better than he does — for example, if I’m a better shot at pool, faster at rappelling up a cliff, more knowledgeable about trivia, etc. 

I’m not saying he should be an underachiever, just someone who can accept he isn’t ‘the best’ at everything.” So men, know when to say when and ask for help if you need it; it doesn’t make you look weak, it makes you look human.

5. Awkwardness. A woman posting to the About.com dating site shares this story: “I met a man years ago at a radio station where I worked. He was a small, nebbishy guy, kinda nerdy and very awkward. He had these big, soulful eyes and a sad, twisted face. The moment I met him, my heart leapt!” Vanessa, 28, from Iowa, also testifies to the “Woody Allen” effect: “My best guy friend (OK, I’m madly in love with him, too) is a paleontologist, and it makes me melt just to listen to him talk about dinosaurs and rocks. I don’t always understand exactly what he’s even talking about, of course, but I love the passion he has for it and I always get him to explain it to me.” 

So, men, if your guy friends tease you mercilessly about something they’d consider to be a weakness, don’t assume women feel the same way. You might be surprised at how charming your meek, unassuming nature is to ladies!

Women, get the men’s perspective on this issue by reading Five unusual turn-ons for men.

Bob Strauss is a freelance writer and children’s book author who lives in New York City. He’s also written the Dinosaur guide on About.com, the online information network owned by the New York Times.

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Article courtesy of Happen magazine, www.happenmag.com.

Writing Character: Five unusual turn-ons for men

Five unusual turn-ons for men

By Bob Strauss

Marcel Proust wrote, “Let us leave the beautiful women to men with no imagination” — and if you’re loath to take dating advice from a French author who wrote a 10,000-page novel about a guy eating a cookie, well, you’ve clearly been brainwashed by decades of movies, TV shows and magazine ads. Me? I empathize more with all those less-than-perfect single women out there. I’m talking about those ladies who may not know that most ordinary guys are attracted to the quirks and so-called “flaws” they’re terrified will doom them to a lifetime of singlehood.

Now that I’ve opened that door, there’s no way to avoid the one supposed “imperfection” that keeps women awake at night above all others — their weight. Allow yourselves to be reassured by Dr. Judy Kuriansky, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dating, who says that “many men like plus-sized women with soft bellies. This often happens when they had a mother or nanny who had that kind of body and they felt comforted and enveloped by the mother figure — protected from the world or the insults of other children. Also, men like women with large hips for anthropological reasons — it used to mean that the woman was fertile.” 

And in my own experience, the vast majority of guys (at least, the ones who aren’t on TV shows or in movies) don’t care much about a few — or even 20 or 30 — extra pounds.

1. Glasses. Says Jeff, posting on the Yelp.com message boards: “Every guy loves a girl in glasses, but women never seem to know that. It’s not like we’re keeping it a secret — why would we? It’d mean fewer girls in glasses! Some glasses-lover needs to infiltrate Cosmopolitan magazine and get the word out!” For some guys (mostly the lazy ones who grew up watching teen gross-out comedies), glasses connote a nerdy personality and a high IQ, which can have their own intrinsic appeal; others appreciate them as fashion accessories, while still others have a natural affinity for them because spectacle-wearing women remind them of their mothers or early childhood crushes.

2. Freckles. Just as the deodorant-producing industrial complex has created legions of denatured, pheromone-free men (it turns out that plenty of women like guys with an earthy, musky scent), the powers-that-be in the cosmetics industry have convinced women that their natural freckles need to be buried under thick slabs of spackle and bronzer. Tonja Weimer, writer of the syndicated “Savvy Dating” column, says this is all based on a huge misunderstanding: “Freckles represent being unaffected, natural and relaxed. To some men, they also make a woman appear somewhat ‘innocent’ and less jaded.” 

If you don’t have freckles, try wearing less makeup, which many men also appreciate.

3. An independent streak. In my own experience, the worst thing a woman can do — whether it’s on a first date or after 20 years of marriage — is subsume her naturally ebullient personality in an effort to be more “accommodating” to her partner and avoid making waves. Most guys like a brisk, good-natured argument, and if you nip this possibility in the bud by constantly replying “I agree” or “Yes, you’re right,” the relationship (not to mention the conversation) will go absolutely nowhere. 

On the other hand, though, playing devil’s advocate in every conversation just makes you seem combative. So if you find yourself disagreeing more than not with your date, maybe it’s time to look for someone that’s a better fit for you, personality-wise.

4. Plain Janes. Standards of beauty in today’s media-saturated world have become so artificially elevated that many otherwise attractive women are convinced they’re “homely” because of a slightly bigger nose or a crooked smile. The good news is that most guys don’t care about this stuff; the bad news is that a small minority of men have self-esteem issues of their own and will take advantage of yours when given the opportunity. Eric Weisholtz, cofounder of GetOnTheCouch.com, says that “a man may see a woman who is kind of attractive, a bit awkward, unrefined and — whether she knows it or not — in dire need of someone to coach her toward virtue. It’s like finding a ‘make your own girlfriend’ kit.” 

Don’t feel like being part of a science experiment? Find a guy who likes you for who you are, not what he can make you change about yourself.

5. Assorted quirks. Fran Drescher, star of The Nanny, had a piercing, snorting, abrasive laugh — and all it did was send the ratings of her show through the roof and make her a millionaire many times over. That laugh also unmasked a secret crush that most guys didn’t even know they had: the hot girl with an unexpected quirk. Says Lisa Steadman, author of If He’s Not the One, Who Is?: “You know you’ve met someone who’s a keeper when he or she compliments your quirks. Whether it’s the snort in your laugh or the way you twirl your hair when you’re thinking about something — or the fact that you have to double-check that you hit the alarm button on the car when you get home at night — the right person will think your quirks are adorable.” 

Remember this the next time you’re feeling self-conscious about slurping your straw three times as you finish your iced latte. You might just have the guy next to you entranced instead of annoyed!

Men, get the women’s perspective on this issue by reading 5 unexpected female turn-ons.

Bob Strauss is a freelance writer and children’s book author who lives in New York City. He’s also written the Dinosaur guide on About.com, the online information network owned by the New York Times.

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Article courtesy of Happen magazine, www.happenmag.com.

Keeping the 'Noraholics' Happy [Nora Roberts/ J D Robb]

Keeping the 'Noraholics' Happy [Nora Roberts / J D Robb]

By ALEXANDRA ALTER

Next Tuesday, the prolific romance novelist Nora Roberts will release her 200th novel--a landmark she celebrated by immediately starting the 201st, which is already finished. Eben Shapiro has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images

Romance writer Nora Roberts didn't bother to celebrate when she finished her 200th book, "The Witness."

"I don't really count," says Ms. Roberts, a 61-year-old grandmother with red hair and a gravelly smoker's voice.

She took a couple of days off to catch up on chores and gardening. Then she launched into her 201st, "Celebrity in Death," the next installment of a futuristic romantic suspense series that she writes under the pen name J.D. Robb. She's since finished her 202nd, a romance novel set near her home in Maryland, and her 203rd, "Delusion in Death," another J.D. Robb book. She's now writing her 204th, "Whiskey Beach," a romantic suspense novel set in coastal Massachusetts.

Bruce Wilder

'If I wasn't talking to you, I would be working,' Ms. Roberts says.

Ms. Roberts's legendary output has helped her become one of America's biggest commercial authors, with close to 450 million copies of her books in print. In 2011 alone, she sold nearly 20 million copies.

"If I wasn't talking to you, I would be working," she says. "What else would I do? Putter and do laundry? That's a scary thought."

Ms. Roberts typically publishes five new books a year—a romance trilogy, two J.D. Robb mysteries and what her publisher calls "the Big Nora," a hardcover stand-alone romance. "The Witness," which comes out next week, is this year's Big Nora. It centers on Elizabeth Fitch, a beautiful young computer genius who goes into hiding in a small town after witnessing a murder, and falls for the local police chief.

Ms. Roberts writes for six to eight hours every day, fueled by Diet Pepsi and Winston Filter 100s cigarettes. She doesn't use ghost writers, co-writers or a research assistant. "Then I'd have to talk to somebody, and I'd rather not," she says.

Leslie Gelbman, Ms. Robert's editor and publisher at Berkley Books, keeps a color-coded spreadsheet of Ms. Robert's releases tacked to her wall. Her 2012 publishing schedule lists 23 releases—a mix of hardcovers, mass-market paperbacks and trade paperbacks.

Ms. Roberts was raised in an Irish Catholic family in Maryland. She began writing one day in 1979 during a blizzard, when she was stuck home with her two young sons. Silhouette, a romance imprint, published her debut novel, "Irish Thoroughbred," in 1981. Over the next three years, she published more than 20 novels. 

Her books broke traditional romance conventions: They featured non-virginal, flawed heroines, ensemble casts and snappy dialogue tinged with sarcasm, and were occasionally written from the hero's point of view. Her unconventional stories helped transform the genre, which has exploded into a $1.4 billion industry.

She created her alter-ego, J.D. Robb, in 1995, so she could publish more books. At the time, Ms. Roberts's publisher, Putnam, worried she would cannibalize her sales by releasing so many books a year. Her agent, Amy Berkower, persuaded Putnam to release a new trilogy under a pseudonym. 

Many of her fans, it seems, have no problem keeping up. "People will still say, 'Can't she write faster?' " says Nina Friedman, a "Noraholic" who moderates discussions on Ms. Roberts's fan website. Ms. Friedman, 62, a retired travel agent and bookstore manager who lives in San Diego, has read all 199 of Ms. Roberts's books, some of them 10 times. She has copies of every one. "Even the elusive "Promise Me Tomorrow, " she says, referring to a 1984 romance that Ms. Roberts keeps out of print because she doesn't like it.

Ms. Friedman says she's drawn to the books for their memorable characters, humor, and invariably happy endings. She says she's never found the plots to be repetitive.

"I have never picked up a book and thought, 'Oh, I've read that before," she says. "Never."

Write to Alexandra Alter at alexandra.alter@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared April 13, 2012, on page D6 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Keeping the 'Noraholics' Happy.