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Showing posts with label Hollywood screenwriter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hollywood screenwriter. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Writing is The Best Practice to Get Better: Overcome Writer's Block

Struggling to work on your screenplay(s)? Lack of motivation to write? There are many screenwriters who experience writer's block. Procrastination is a common problem in the writing world. Don't panic just yet. Don't fear the next word. Everything will work out nicely. Stay true to yourself to trust the writing process.

Why do we experience uncomfortable challenges to do screenwriting? Simple answer: Too many distractions. If we want to delve deeper into writer's block, we can point to confidence, fear and psychological setbacks. We are human beings. We must work to survive this life. We have a past. 

Never allow your mind to control your actions. If you do this, you will reflect back to the past to block yourself. You will self-doubt. You will not believe in yourself. You will find reasons to be unhappy. You will forget about the people who matter most. You will repeat bad habits. Our mind can be our worst enemy--it can stop us from achieving what we believe is possible. 

Writing is the best practice to get better. I didn't learn to write in college. During these educational moments, I did write a lot. However, daily responsibilities would distract me. I continued to push through these barriers, writing more and more to share my passion. I didn't learn to write better without choosing to write daily. Good or bad material, I wrote all of this to remain active. Truth is, we can become our worst critic. Don't judge your screenwriting during the writing process, just flush out all your creative ideas like a fast moving stream.    

My professional writing jobs prepared me to live my future screenwriting career. As a clinical content writer, I took some important lessons my program manager shared with me. He taught me an important lesson about deadlines. I never learned my lesson until I lost this great writing job over procrastination. The program manager made an example out of me. His solution after my big failure: I should be honest to review the project by spending a day on this process to determine how much time is required to complete it. Our word has a lot of weight. If we lack integrity, we will not gain and/or maintain trust. 

While writing academic content, I noticed the value of deadlines. To be truthfully honest, I made my fair share of deadline mistakes. As a result of these challenging moments, I experienced many financial setbacks. I lived a difficult life. For the most part, I needed these failures to help me become self-aware. I now take personal responsibility for my past actions. Nobody is to blame for me postponing my screenwriting goals. I am responsible. I know what I need to do to succeed.   

Admitting that we have problems can save us time. Blaming everyone for our dreams not coming true will delay us. Living with our problems will not advance our dreams. Being brave to confront our problems to resolve them show we want more in this life. Writer's block is like a friend zone. We have to be honest with what we want at the beginning. Our mind can block our passion. Our mind can reject the love we want to experience over unresolved issues. We must realize that we deserve success. 

Writing daily is the key to unlock your screenwriting dream. It is that simple. Breathe screenwriting daily: It is your oxygen to remain alive in a competitive space. Fear blocks most dreams. 

Don't fear the competition. Don't fear success. Don't fear criticism. Don't fear losing your privacy. Don't fear failure. Don't fear writing a bad script. Don't fear that you can actually become someone influential. All of this fear is unwanted pressure and stress; it does not belong in our daily life. We can only control our own actions. Everything above us is out of our hands. 

Lose the need for perfection. Nothing is perfect; everything is flawed. Understand that we can get better at screenwriting by giving extra effort. People who fight back after criticism lack confidence in their dream. Take serious actions to set a schedule. Set goals. Accomplish them. Stephen King writes 6 pages a day. He is consistent to deliver. He does not make his fans wait for his next great story. 

Writing is best done every day. Writer's block happens over distractions that block our mind. There are kinks, tangles and total blocks that restrict creative impulses from flowing in our brain. Unblock everything that is bothering you to realize your greatest potential as a screenwriter. 

Don't think about the next word. Keep writing no matter what, even if it feels totally uncomfortable. If we follow this writing system, we will find the words that we need to write a compelling screenplay. Let writer's block go. 

Happy screenwriting! 




Wednesday, December 10, 2014

What job will make writers money while pursuing a screenwriting career?

A recent article on PsychCentral.com discussed what jobs writers could perform while chasing after their screenwriting dream. This is an important question to ask oneself, because becoming a Hollywood screenwriter is no guarantee. It is tough out there, trying to get noticed, but what really can put the writing flame out is trying to weather the financial storm. What jobs are reliable to survive until the writing dream is realized?

Quite a few aspiring screenwriters are performing primary day jobs. In the night, they may work as restaurant servers, bartenders, drivers, and even take on irrelevant writing projects. It's not impossible to become a great screenwriter, all it takes is one good spec script to reach the right person.

Our personal struggles make great stories. In these daily challenges, we figure out how to shape characters and learn how life really works. Though many movies are unrealistic, there is some truth to them. While performing these day and night jobs, pay close attention your surroundings. These moments, these events provide good material to inject into screenplays.

Every screenwriter has a personal journey. Their hope and dreams rely on survival instincts. With that said, writers must depend on their day jobs and typically a second job to keep the cash flowing in until their screenwriting dream hatches and give birth.

The following are examples of jobs that screenwriters can perform to keep afloat, while in their pursuit of chasing that screenwriting dream:

  • Ridesharing jobs
  • Bartending
  • Restaurant serving
  • Academic writing
  • SEO writing
  • Web developing
  • Valet parking
  • Hotel night auditor 
  • Car salesperson 
  • Computer sales

Check out this PsychCentral article and report back here. Share a current job that is keeping your screenwriting dream alive.