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264 | Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, I Am Legend, Star Trek): Turning Writing Into a Job (and a Life)

By The Screenwriting Life

10:57 PM EDT on September 24, 2025

JOIN TSL WORKSHOPS: https://tslworkshops.circle.soWe’re thrilled to welcome Oscar-winner Akiva Goldsman for a masterclass on making writing sustainable. For Akiva, the real “tragedy” is living in the anxious space between drafts. His cure? Treat writing like a job: set hours, clock out, and commit to the work.Akiva unpacks his process – why a first draft should feel like seduction, why knowing the ending matters, and the simple litmus test he applies to every scene: What do you want the audience to feel? We also explore his approach to dialogue that truly listens, “smuggling” personal truth into adaptations, and his no-nonsense stance on writer’s block: just lay more bricks.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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