Month: August 2024

The reins have been reclaimed

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The past few days have been the standard rollercoaster. Some good stuff, some not-so-good stuff, with a small percentage of the latter being very not-so-good.

But there were a few glimmers of hope within the darkness. More on those as/if they develop. Any positive vibes and crossed fingers are always appreciated.

During this time I was reminded of the phrase “Don’t worry about things over which you have no control.” I took that to heart, and it’s really helped.

There are SO MANY things about screenwriting that are out of our hands. Stressing out about them doesn’t do us any good, and I’d much rather work on the things over which I DO have control.

Things like figuring out the story of my new spec, coordinating with guests for my podcast, getting the crowdfunding ready for my short film, reading friends’ scripts and giving notes.

(Two little things that have really paid off – a few minutes here and there to interact with other writers on social media or email, and maintaining a “What needs to get done today” checklist.)

Taking care of any of these helps me feel productive and less stressed because I AM GETTING STUFF DONE. Some of it may take longer than hoped or expected, but each one constitutes a step in the right direction. Even just writing about it helps.

If you feel this way, just remember that you’re not alone and there are always things that you can do to help make your screenwriting journey a little easier.

Keep calm, stay focused, and maybe have some pie.

The gears they are a-turnin’

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Another shorty today, but it’s a good ‘un

Still trying to figure out the story for my new spec, but it’s slowly coming together. Will probably take longer than I’d like, but making a point to not rush through this.

Got the concept, a few scenes and plot points in place, and I know the ending.

Bonus – placeholder title replaced with something better/stronger. For the time being, anyway.

Now I just need to focus on everything else and I’m all set.

Easy peasy.

Taking a few days off from the daily grind, so next week’s post will most likely be out of the archives, but the creativeness never stops.

Later, gators.

-Also wanted to express a huge thanks to all my writing chums who helped me navigate my way through a rough week. Consider me thoroughly grateful for all the ongoing support & encouragement.

Waving the red flag

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Someday my belief that most people are inherently good and really want to help others will win out over my cynicism. But not today.

A new connection on social media was interested in some of my scripts and asked to take a look.

Did my homework. They were listed as a producer, with credits.

I’ve worked with credited producers before. Some have proven to be fantastic connections, whereas others…

After some back-and-forth emails, I found out that after reading my scripts, if they deemed any of them worthy of receiving a “CONSIDER” rating, I could then pay a “collaboration fee” as a confirmed commitment from me to get the ball rolling towards production. The “fee” would also give me an Executive Producer credit in addition to a writing credit.

And if that weren’t enticing enough, they ended with “Be rest assured. Production is guaranteed.”

Of course it is.

I really, really hate when this happens, and it seems to be happening more and more – especially with things getting tougher in the industry. Somebody offers to help out a writer, but IT’S GONNA COST YA.

A new or less-experienced writer is easy prey. They’re desperate to break in, no matter how, and figure “This is it!” Maybe they figure a 3- or 4-digit price tag is worth paying now in exchange for “guaranteed” results later.

Time goes by, with constant reassurances that “it’s coming along”, and then “we’ve hit some snags, but it’s nothing to worry about.”

Communication becomes less frequent, and then they can’t understand why their emails remain unanswered and their “partner” has seemingly vanished from the face of the earth, along with the money they shelled out to make their dream come true.

A tough way to learn a lesson, but it happens more often than we think.

As soon as a more experienced writer sees this, they quickly realize the whole thing is a scam and remove themselves from the situation as fast as possible.

A PROFESSIONAL PAYS YOU. YOU DO NOT PAY THEM.

If you find yourself in this kind of situation, just say “thanks, but no thanks” and walk away.

You won’t regret it.

Enjoying the ride

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The past few weeks have had their share of ups and downs.

Made a little progress on developing the new spec, but still a long ways to go. Have to keep reminding myself it’s an ongoing work in progress, and these things never come together immediately, so feeling frustrated about less-than-productive times is perfectly okay. Each day yields a small result, which is great.

The animated script didn’t make the top 10 in an animation contest, which was disappointing, but I did get some eye-opening notes about it, with more on the way, so looks like there’s at least one more rewrite in my future.

Still having a ball doing The Creative Writing Life podcast (on Spotify and YouTube), with more great guests lined up for August. Also mulling a couple of ideas for topic-based shows.

Been a bit lax on getting things moving for the short film, so hoping to correct course on that one.

It would be easy to let the negatives overpower the positives, but I’m in this for the long haul. It might take longer to reach that finish line, but I know I can get there.

The most important takeaway from all of this is that I like doing it. Even on the not-great days. Brainstorming, writing, interacting with other creatives. It’s all good stuff.

Otherwise, it would seem too much like work. And that’s no fun.