Do The Work And Stop Listening to Others

Successful screenwriters write daily, read scripts and watch movies. There is always room to learn something new. Most of the time we don't know the entire story ahead of new script projects. Therefore, we must perform research to fill in the pieces that turn our story into a completed puzzle.

Embrace the screenwriting process. Be proud that you are a storyteller. It is a gift to make worlds come to life with words. Imagining your creative ideas going from script to screen is an amazing dream.

Never complain about living a dream. Writing movies is a gift we should celebrate daily. Do the work: Don't allow others to discourage you from living your dream.

Happy Screenwriting!

The End. Closure in Your Script

The end of anything good is never fun. Reaching the end of something bad can give us great relief. Sometimes we are not ready to leave our past just yet. We need extra time to heal our hearts and minds: Closure. If you are a screenwriter, “The End” represents a powerful moment to celebrate.

“The End” of many ends... Draft after draft... Sleepless nights.... Many creative thoughts... Lack of support... Criticism... Eventually, there is an end to your screenplay. Screenwriters ponder on that last moment to finish their screenplays. The ending is so important because it can leave an everlasting impression on viewers.

How will you end your masterpiece? What is a good movie ending? Cliffhanger? Happy ending? Sad ending? Bittersweet ending? Redemption ending? The ending is the resolution that ties your story together.

The Third Act should be impactful. Reward the audience. Make “The End” count. The Green Mile has a tearjerking ending. We remember emotional movies that touch our souls.

Spend extra time on the ending. Think of clever ways to close your script. However you choose to end your screenplay, just know “The End” can make or break your story.

The End.

Happy Screenwriting! 

Time and Effort = Screenwriting Success

"Life got in the way of my screenwriting dream"

Are you a screenwriter working toward that Hollywood dream? Still haven't cracked into the movie biz yet? If you answered yes, then you must re-evaluate this screenwriting dream.

Ask yourself these questions. What are you doing that is delaying this professional writing goal? Procrastinating? Fear of success? Focusing on long-term goals? Perfectionist? Financial instability blocking this long-awaited goal? No game plan to dedicate time to writing? No completed script to show the right people? 

We can't keep telling others we want to become a screenwriter. There comes a moment where we must invest time and effort to be taken seriously. This "taken seriously" label has been directed toward me several times. I know I missed opportunities because of my lack of time management, my lack of preparation. I am highly educated. I know how to write and package screenplays. What is my delay? 

We can view my screenwriting dream as a talented builder who has studied and worked hard professionally to complete a masterpiece. Once the right moment arrives to deliver the completed goods, these projects remain unfinished, incompleted, and unconstructed. No display is available to promote this brilliant work of art. Writers may allow a flourishing dream filled with promise to dry up and go empty.  

Screenplays don't write themselves, screenwriters must invest time and energy into completing these movie projects. During my film school days, I wrote screenplays often and usually created excited concepts. Unfortunately, life got in the way and delayed the inevitable. This is the same life that also gave me valuable content to construct stories. 

Many aspiring writers focus on writing unrelated content to survive. Unfortunately, this repeated action blocks their screenwriting dream. On, I kept several completed scripts in my possession. I never sent out these screenplays to movie studios. I took part in a few screenwriting competitions - a collaborated screenwriting contest on an untilted Bourne Identity movie, a short film that got scored a 90 and missed the cut, and the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. I passed up on the Disney Writing Fellowship. 

Back in 2012, while moving to Florida, several great concepts got lost in the shuffle. A Houston robbery resulted in many stolen possessions, including my Apple computer with several lost scripts, many ideas, outlines and entire movie plans. Valuable time got wasted. This dream had major potential to materialize because my passion and talent for screenwriting and movies are still riding high. 

If there is no completed script, there is nothing to sell. We'll see where the road takes me. I realized time and effort influenced my screenwriting dream. After graduating film school, I wrote all the wrong content and this stalled out movie projects. It is never too late to reach success. 

Keep screenwriting. Set a schedule. Take your dream seriously. Don't listen to criticism, unless this is honest and constructive. Stay confident. Be consistent. Happy writing!

And remember, write the raw pages to flush out your creativity.