19 ratings | 15 reviews | avg rating:5.00

Emmanuel Oberg’s Followers (8)

Emmanuel’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (19)
fight-procrastination (1)
su-recommended-reading (11)
various (1)
written-by-friends (3)

Emmanuel’s Friends (5)

BookDragon DeSanjorgs

262 books | 3,618 friends

Rae'S Reviews

287 books | 2,993 friends

James Bryan

13 books | 25 friends

Adam Fike

73 books | 543 friends

elle

97 books | 23 friends

Emmanuel Oberg

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.screenplayunlimited.com

Twitter

EmmanuelOberg

Genre

Nonfiction, Young Adult, Thriller

Member Since

September 2016

edit data

Emmanuel Oberg is a screenwriter, bestselling author and creative consultant with more than twenty-five years of experience in the Film and TV industry.

After selling a first screenplay to Warner Bros, he has been commissioned as a writer by StudioCanal, Working Title / Universal, Gold Circle and Film4.

He has also designed internationally acclaimed advanced development workshops and modules on thriller, comedy, animation and TV series writing – all based on the Story-Type Method®.

He delivers them with passion to filmmakers all over the world, in-person or online, through a series of popular interactive courses and hybrid events.

"Screenwriting Unchained", "The Screenwriter's Troubleshooter" and "Writing a Successful TV Series", all bestselli ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Emmanuel Oberg questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Emmanuel Oberg I don't really experience writer's block anymore but when I used to, a short procrastinating session reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield would…moreI don't really experience writer's block anymore but when I used to, a short procrastinating session reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield would cure it, so most of the advice below comes from applying Pressfield's excellent advice.

When I write, I force myself to do so in the morning (because it works for me, others will prefer working at night or in the afternoon) and I don't leave the office until I've done the job, which usually happens by mid-afternoon. Most days, I can be creative for 3-5 hours, rarely more.

I have no landline and no internet at the office (a secluded workshop I bought a few years ago, which is only a short walk from home), so I have to tether my laptop to my iPhone when I need to do some research online. Because I have a limited allowance for data, I know that I can't spend any non-productive time online at the office, or I'll run out of data before the end of the month. Very effective! I also set my mobile phone and my laptop to "do not disturb" when I'm at the office, so no skype calls or facebook updates. Only my agent and my wife can get through, in case of an emergency.

Killing all distractions really helps with writer's block, because if there is nothing else to do, even writing is better than boredom! So you just write.

One trick I learnt from my directing experience: I try to prepare the next day so that I can hit the ground running. For example, I'll try to leave something easy to start with. I'll prepare a list of what I'm suppose to do (for example, write a sequence of scenes if I'm writing a draft), and I won't go home until it's done. Of course there are days where it doesn't work and I get home depressed, in a bad mood and bark at everyone, but most days, it does work.

I also reward myself with watching a film or playing with one of my daughters if I had a good day.

Depending on the writing stage and the kind of work I'm supposed to do, I often use music to get me started. I find the appropriate track (I usually chose pieces without lyrics or with lyrics in a language I don't understand)to be a great way to get you "in the zone".

After a while, you feel better writing than not writing, so you just write.

The key is in regularity. I stick to a strict schedule when I write, I never take a dentist appointment or arrange a phone meeting in the morning for example. Morning, until mid-afternoon, is allocated to writing and writing only, at least five days a week. Phone calls, appointments, accounting, IT tasks, all that is done at the end of the afternoon or on Saturdays. I try to keep Sundays as a family day, and unless I have a looming deadline that usually works.

My friends know that when I'm writing, I don't see anyone. I retire into my social "writing cave", which usually lasts for a few weeks or a few months at a time, and when I get out I feel like a bear coming out of hibernation, from a social life point of view. It's weird I guess but I do enjoy these writing windows when I fully concentrate on the work at hand.

So my advice is to make room to write every day, even if it's only a few hours, and stick to it, whatever happens (except if a really bad thing happens of course, but that doesn't include small family crisis or the sudden urge to sort your CD collection).(less)

flag

like
Comment

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Emmanuel Oberg As Lawrence Kasdan said in a recent interview with John August and Craig Mazin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9-0O...), no one likes writing (becau…moreAs Lawrence Kasdan said in a recent interview with John August and Craig Mazin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9-0O...), no one likes writing (because it's so hard). We like having written.

This being said, I do appreciate being my own boss most of the time and I feel privileged to be able to make a living from my passion, so I never complain. I also really enjoy collaborating with other people, and constantly learning from these collaborations.(less)

flag

like
Comment

See all 5 answers from Emmanuel Oberg…

Combine Editions
Emmanuel Oberg’s books

Average rating: 4.54 · 39 ratings · 5 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	Screenwriting Unchained: Reclaim Your Creative Freedom and Master Story Structure (With The Story-Type Method Book 1) 4.50 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2016 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing a Successful TV Series: How to Pitch and Develop Projects for Television and Online Streaming (With The Story-Type Method Book 3) 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Screenwriter's Troubleshooter: The Most Common Screenwriting Problems and How to Solve Them (With the Story-Type Method Book 2) 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing a Successful TV Series: How to Pitch and Develop Projects for Television and Online Streaming 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Screenwriter's Troubleshooter: The Most Common Screenwriting Problems and How to Solve Them by Emmanuel Oberg (Goodreads Author), Virtual Voice (Narrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing a Successful TV Series: How to Pitch and Develop Projects for Television and Online Streaming by Emmanuel Oberg (Goodreads Author), Virtual Voice (Narrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Emmanuel Oberg…

85 posts
Emmanuel Oberg's Blog: Screenplay Unlimited

2025-2026 Screen Ireland Series Rewrite – Stage 1 Completion and Stage 2 Applications

Stage 1 of the 2025-2026 Screen Ireland Series Rewrite Programme was an absolute blast and is now completed!

View more on Emmanuel Oberg's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on November 25, 2025 07:52

View all 85 posts »

rss
Emmanuel’s Recent Updates

Emmanuel Oberg wrote a new blog post 2025-2026 Screen Ireland Series Rewrite – Stage 1 Completion and Stage 2 Applications Stage 1 of the 2025-2026 Screen Ireland Series Rewrite Programme was an absolute blast and is now completed!
Nov 26, 2025 04:22AM · like
Emmanuel Oberg rated a book it was amazing The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle by Max Telford	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Fantastic time-travel journey to the origin of life! Entertaining and enlightening, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well-written book. Clearly the result of an impressive amount of research, yet skillfully delivered in an accessible way to the non- ...more
May 23, 2025 12:13AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Tree of Life by Max Telford. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Tree of Life by Max Telford <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Emmanuel Oberg is now following Max Telford Author of The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Pu...
May 23, 2025 12:13AM · like
Emmanuel Oberg rated a book it was amazing Writing a Successful TV Series: How to Pitch and Develop Projects for Television and Online Streaming (With The Story-Type Method Book 3) by Emmanuel Oberg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As the author, I can't really review this book, but until Goodreads readers provide their own reviews, I can try to explain why I wrote it. Screenwriting Unchained, my first volume in the Story-Type Method series on script development, was primarily a ...more
Dec 19, 2023 02:10AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Writing a Successful TV Series by Emmanuel Oberg. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Writing a Successful TV Series by Emmanuel Oberg <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">