What Is Holding Your Screenwriting Back Is Possibly Fear Of Failure

While growing up, I ran cross-country, track and road races. My Dad and I ran many of these road races together. Early on, he instilled in me a competitive pedigree to become a winner. I always feared losing because my Dad placed high standards on winning. 

In junior high school, there was this one kid who always defeated me in every race we competed in. He would beat me in school competitions, road races, and cross-country events. Somehow, I allowed my nerves to get the best of me. In training, I could run the times required to win my age group. On race day, my nerves would get the best of me--exhausting my energy to influence my breathing and race pace. 

My Dad relied on me to win my age group at a local Turkey Trot race. I entered into the 800 meter and the 5K races to increase the probability of winning a turkey. In both of these races, this junior high classmate defeated me. I lost both chances to win a turkey for our Thanksgiving family dinner. 

On our last chance, they held a raffle to give away a turkey. My Dad pulled my name in the raffle; however, the race promoters rejected this over conflict of interest. 

On the way home, my Dad scolded me for losing the two races. He said with all the training I still couldn't become a winner. He said he wouldn't buy me the running shoes I needed to continue on with training. On that night, he took me out to Macy's to buy me new running shoes. 

You can imagine a 12-year-old wanting to make his Dad proud. In the face of others, I was viewed as a failure. My Dad's opinion of me mattered the most, so losing these races shook my confidence. It would eventually carry on until my adult years, where if i didn't make something of myself that I would hear his criticism in the form of passive aggressiveness. Sometimes, my Mom and brothers would share his negative text messages or what he said to put me down. 

I admit that I allowed my Dad's opinion of me not being a winner in life to affect me. He would still buy me random gifts, subtly showing that he appreciated my support. I never held back from telling him I was proud of the life he has lived. 

Last year, my parents were given a move-out notice to leave a home they rented for the past 28 years. My Dad could not let go of leaving this home. I tried my best to convince him that maybe this is a blessing in disguise to purchase a place they can own. Along the way, I went with him on an apartment search. He struggled to overcome the attachment of living in the rental home. 

My Dad linked up with a real estate agent who specialized in manufactured homes. We viewed a few condos and manufactured homes. I even went with my Mom to see another condo. My Dad lost his patience; he wanted to fire the real estate agent. She called me to share what was going on behind the scenes with my Dad. I stepped up and put pressure on my Dad to move past the rental home and focus on purchasing the manufactured home. Usually, I just stayed quiet and didn't confront my Dad. His constant complaining wore me thin and I had to take an unconventional approach to knock down the barriers.  

After being assertive with my Dad to do what the real estate agent requested, she helped him to purchase a manufactured home in a nice 55+ community. A month later, my middle brother and I helped move all of their possessions into the home. However, my Dad started complaining once again about all the junk and refusing to accept these items. He agreed to keep the previous furniture in the place after the former owner had passed away a few weeks before viewing this property. 

When we tried to carry their household items into this place, he wouldn't stop complaining. Yet again, I stepped up to tell him we worked hard in the heat to pack the truck and prepare for this move. I made sure to be assertive like he did in my childhood. This direct approach worked out, allowing us to move everything into the place without anymore resistance. 

A few months after, my Dad underwent a serious health emergency. A medical mistake a few months prior to the move resulted in his toes later developing gangrene. His surgeon made a critical decision to amputate all of his toes and repair an artery supplying blood to his foot. My Dad was feeling so down and out that he was ready to give up on life. I supported him every step of the way, throughout his hospital stay during the holidays. All my personal growth skills went to work, molding him into being appreciative and feeling blessed under the intense circumstances. 

There were a few moments I had to put pressure on him to change his perspective that he had no one to support him. He got into this cynical mindset where he would overlook what people did for him.

Because of my Dad's medical crisis, my best friend started to connect with me again. We have gone on scenic hikes, visited the Disney museum, he helped me to apply for various city jobs and we communicated at a higher frequency. Recently, I got to watch his niece place a college soccer game. At this game, I reconnected with his brother and brother's wife, as well as his Mom who I hadn't seen or talked to in 5 years following the passing of her husband and his Dad. 

Back in June, both of my vehicles broke down and this impacted my earnings. As a result of this, I revised my resume and applied for a variety of jobs. My best friend contributed to making revisions on my resume for city job openings. I focused on pursuing a tech savvy/driving position for a month, completing the extensive interview process and getting hired. Furthermore, I got invited to take an exam for a city planner and passed this test to move forward in the hiring process with the supplemental questionnaire. In about 5 days, I will start my new job with a tech company. 

This story of fearing failure involves breaking out of bad habits that likely originated from my past connections. My Dad's perception weighed me down like an anchor. I always wanted to make him proud. All he would see is me struggling with continuous challenges that impacted all areas of my life. 

I never gave up trying to meet success. Sometimes, we face extremely difficult moments where we must take serious actions. We have to do what is new, what is uncomfortable to gain confidence.

What has held me back in pursuing my dream is my fear of failure, my fear of change, my fear of losing more time. No matter how much I have tried to convince myself, I still have yet to engage in screenwriting with the identical effort that resembles my college years and 2016-2020. It took detaching from several people to start making serious decisions. 

When we lose fear, we can start living a better life. Truth is, I have failed so many times to stay afloat on the dream path. Once you have the resources to apply yourself, you start struggling with commitment. Then, your financial life keeps reminding you of all the mistakes you think you made to keep your dream alive. Balance never arrives in time, so you believe you lost many years. 

I do not feel I have given everything in my heart to become a successful screenwriter. What I do know is that I don't fear failing anymore. When you lose at winning the life you believe will make you happy, you look at different ways to do things. You develop a new perspective to view the little wins as positive steps moving you forward. 

I found great happiness in going on many unique adventures with my dog. Landing the new tech job will enable me to take him to new places. Taking photography will reserve a digital memory of our nostalgic moments.  

Even though my circle encourages me to let go out my dream and let it die, I still plan to work on screenplays on silent convert missions. We don't have to share everything we are working on. If we lack support, we can create new circles that match our interests. Most importantly, we can get ahead if we can take care of ourselves without being dependent on outside help. 

If you lost your motivation and inspiration to do screenwriting, retrace the steps to unblock these kinks. You may have to travel way back into your childhood years to pinpoint the source. Once you do this, you will be able to commit yourself and reconnect with screenwriting. 

Someone once wrote me, "Things happen for a reason, there are no accidents".  I totally agree with her. 

Good screenwriters understand real life. They are masters of showing conflict, and then resolving it. Use everything you got to get to where you want to be. Never allow any fears to set you back. 

We don't need to win at everything. We don't need to make people proud. We do need to believe in this life to have a purpose. Waking up every morning aspiring to make a difference can be enough to turn our life around. Don't be afraid that you may be extremely good at what you love. 

Remind yourself that you deserve your dream. Reward yourself for all the little wins. Appreciate the simple moments. Your dream is much bigger than what you can ever imagine. 

Happy Screenwriting! 

Fear can help or hurt your Screenwriting

Feeling that screenwriting is an impossible discipline? Know there is something wrong, and it is not writer's block? Fear is the answer to you possibly delaying your next and/or first project? 

When we were little kids, we lived life without any fears. We may gotten scolded, grounded, spanked and put down for making mistakes, but we continued being kids. As we grow older, we have it ingrained in our brain that we shouldn't do certain things. This pertains to dreams, as most people believe they are unattainable. 

Fear is a powerful force within us. If we believe we can't accomplish something, we will make excuses, have self-doubts and overthink every step before even trying to start something, We may need guarantees to commit our time and energy to beginning a project. Without this project, we lack the credits, experience and skills to achieve our professional goals. Despite our fears, we can turn them into fuel to do amazing things. Just think about the power of focus. The moment we commit to one action, we can go above and beyond the call of duty, and still have time to live our life. 

We only fear because we believe what we want may not happen. We assume there is a negative outcome at the end of the tunnel. Furthermore, we may fear taking our car to the auto repair shop over potential financial setbacks. If our engine fails and/or the transmission is worn out, we already know this will cost us money. Fear sets in: Our freedom to operate independently is at risk. 

What do we do with fear? What if we can only be brave while under the influence of drugs and alcohol? The truth is that we must face our fears--substance free--to know the answer. The longer we wait to take serious actions, the more stress and pressure we will experience. 

Fear of rejection is common among many people, especially in the dating scene. People who lack confidence are afraid their romantic interest will say no. They've already imagined having this person in their future, so if they say no their fantasy may evaporate into thin air. What makes this worse is that vulnerable people can attach their happiness to someone else. If they never get into a relationship with this individual, they will be miserable forever. 

No person is responsible for our happiness, only we control this outcome. 

We hear it all too often: Our significant other will tell us that I am not happy. They want to see what they can get. They wanna know if the grass is greener on the other side. They didn't get to have fun. They may fear leaving a relationship out of comfort and unforeseen events. When they loose the fear to take a risk, they can make a big mistake to lose their relationship. 

If people do not entertain their imagination, they will regret not knowing what could have been. 

Fear of success is another barrier that can block your screenwriting. What if you live in an environment with people you do not want to leave behind? Maybe you believe you want to leave them, but you care too much to make a bold move. Emotional attachments create fear, delay decisions and stall out production. 

Nice people enjoy giving to others. They will devote more time and energy to people, whereas their projects, goals and dreams remain on the back-burner. There are really cruel people who use others to pave their future path. When these people do not have a need for someone who poured their heart into them, they toss them away and move on to the next best opportunity. These negative experiences can impact what nice people do in the future. The best way to deal with bad encounters is to identify the users as losers. Keep in mind and remember that not every person is preying on you. 

Don't lose trust in humanity. 

Focus on losing your fears. Gaining confidence relies on us to do something uncomfortable daily. If we fear writing a screenplay, then we will fear pitching our project to executives. What are your fears? Make it a habit to confront your weaknesses. Screenwriting is process that takes many steps. Once you reach the finish line, you will be thankful you had confidence to take action. 

Happy Screenwriting! 

Patience and Perseverance

Thousands of aspiring screenwriters dream of writing the next hot script that is made into a popular movie. There are film industry players and prolific screenwriters who have already taken this journey numerous times. Nevertheless, thousands of writers spend countless hours in screenwriting forums chatting about their current/past stories, popular films they like, creative ideas that excite them, and famous screenwriters they admire. They are motivated to make industry connections, form new friendships and build meaningful relationships. Hundreds of Instagram page owners post content sharing personal script projects, screenwriting contests, potential story ideas and script pages to their personal screenplays. True screenwriters hold passion for creating compelling stories. Patience and perseverance hold the key to making your screenwriting dream a lucrative career.

If we wish our screenplay will eventually be optioned, we are putting our dream on a pedestal. Making Hollywood appear unattainable is giving the film industry way too much credit for our future happiness. It is possible to write a good screenplay capable of winning screenwriting competitions.

Your script can move past gatekeepers to get optioned. Your script can be made into a Netflix movie. Your script can become a blockbuster movie. Visualize what you want and apply yourself to go get it. 

We must believe in our creative adventures. Don't worry about what people think. You are not selfish for desiring to live your dream. If you put forth the effort, you deserve to live a better life.  

Writers have many goals in sight. Looking in the rearview mirror can/will block progress. Discipline, time management and passion will keep your screenwriting dream moving forward. We must keep writing pages, research what studios want/need, listen to podcasts featuring successful screenwriters, study great screenwriters, learn about the business of movies and build our stories into profound movies. When I mention scripts, I mean we must complete several scripts to increase our chances in getting noticed. 

One script can connect us with the right people who want to view our writing portfolio. It's possible this individual, that studio or those group of people may not have interest in optioning our only script. However, our writing talents may attract the attention of industry-connected people. They may ask us what other projects we have stored in our script arsenal. Don't sell yourself short by investing your entire farm into only one script idea, unless you are confident in this story to sacrifice everything.  

This is where your patience and perseverance come into play. No matter what obstacles and challenges stand in your way, you must be confident in your creation(s). Pet projects usually create intense excitement because these stories hit close to home. These projects hold a deeper meaning-- they fulfill our inner desires. They can go back to our childhood, where we enjoyed watching science fiction movies such as E.T. and Star Wars. Emotional connections can take us down memory lane. 

The most powerful filmmakers in Hollywood had to wait their turn. Christopher Nolan directed Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight to earn his chance at making Inception. The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, Dunkirk and Tenet followed Inception. Given Nolan's track record, he is one of most successful directors working in Hollywood.  

Good things happen to those who are patient is a flawed saying. It should be good things happen to those who work hard while being patient for opportunities. Staying confident to continue working on your script project(s) hold(s) immense power over your dreams and goals.    

Most of the time, we must prove our value before we take a stab at prized projects. For the most part, we will likely have to pay our dues working on projects with no creative value. Reality television is a perfect example of aspiring filmmakers going to film school and accepting high paying jobs working on uncreative ventures to climb up that industry ladder. Never judge professional work that rewards you with valuable experience. If you get paid to perform your talents, you are moving in the right direction.

Many writers get stuck listening to what writing books tell them to write. They follow Save The Cat, Kate Wright's sequences, A Hero With A Thousand Faces, Story and other books that instruct writers what must happen at what time with careful attention to the author's thoughts and theories. Following this approach turns a screenplay into a cliched piece of unoriginal work. Even though our scripts are fictional pieces of work, we have no obligation to mimic past screenplays. 

The human condition and emotions connect the audience with characters who may have similar traits that resemble theirs. How do people behave in a pre-apocalyptic world? What will people do to protect a secret? What fears block them? What regrets do they have? What is stopping them from talking to their true love? End of the world movies convey real actions of real life people. 

Truth is, we waste too much time living in the past instead of planning for our future. We don't do enough to live our dream. We need constant attention to feel self-worth. We focus on what other people are doing. We stay on the sidelines, being afraid of looking bad in front of people who we don't know. We postpone making decisions to avoid rejection. We obsess over small things that have no impact on the bigger picture.

We let years pass us by without responding to what we want. We allow true love to slip away. We don't take personal responsibility. We blame other peole for our mistakes. We don't show we care about our dream to be taken seriously. We need people to validate us. We envy others for living the dream we think we are better at doing but do nothing to make it happen. We are to blame for our own life. Nobody is responsible for our failures. The moment we can accept personal responsibility, there will be hope for us to achieve greatness. 

If you don’t give your dream any attention, you are guaranteed to fail what you want most in this life. 

Happy Screenwriting! 

        

Remind Yourself With Reminders: Dreams And Goals

We need constant reminders of what we want to accomplish in the future. If we want to become a Hollywood screenwriter, wearing shirts, hats, using notebooks, screensavers and other mementos that convey this message can keep us on track. Of course, we must do the work to achieve our dream.

Reminding yourself using visual reminders can empower you to chase harder. Our dream is within reach. Start doing what you love to do and repeat this action daily. Stay proactive and be a go-getter. Sooner than later your dream will come true. See you on the silver screen! 

Happy Screenwriting! 

Be specialized in a genre to get Hollywood work

Being that specialized screenwriter is better than being a screenwriter who has written a script for every genre. Jumping around genre-to-genre is unimpressive. Instead of being known as that horror, thriller, comedy and/or science fiction, which your manager can market you as that screenwriter to land you paid jobs, you will fall into the "spread yourself way too thin" category to lose good opportunities.

Becoming specialized in a particular genre or sub-genre can give you a creative edge. Whenever movie studios need a screenwriter for comedy movies, and you are great at writing these type of movies, your manager can pitch your specialized skill to attract these paid assignments.

Keep in mind: Movie studios do need writers to revise other writer's screenplays to make these stories work better. If you are that writer, you may be considered to revise a completed comedy, thriller, horror and/or science fiction screenplay.

Losing focus doing your main passion can happen, especially if you concentrate on being good at everything. Labeling yourself a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none can delay your screenwriting goals. Truth is, we should view screenwriting as a goal. Never allow the fear of living your dream to hold you back.

Discipline yourself to be specialized as a genre writer. Visit FilmSite.org to view a list of genres and sub-genres. Watch my Vlog on spreading yourself too thin to find out more information about spreading yourself too thin. Please like and subscribe to Positive Life.

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

Less is More: Screenwriting Tips

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Writing less to express more is always the better option. Screenwriting is a visual art that relies on pictures to tell a story. Some aspiring screenwriters lose focus on the importance of writing strong action. Instead, they would rather flex their screenwriting muscle creating witty dialogue. Rule of thumb: Less is more--focus on a good balance of action and dialogue.  

Writing too much dialogue steals the visual thunder...

Unless we plan to become Quentin Tarantino in the flesh, over-writing dialogue is a trap. Don't get caught up in writing more dialogue to explain what you can do in less words. Nothing is more bothersome in screenwriting than writing scripts driven by just pure dialogue. Be known for your own writing voice. Don't follow James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino because they do something. Be clever creating strong dialogue that stays on track with the main character and plot.

What producers and script readers do not want to see is camera direction. If you write a shooting script, you will not get the praise you expect. It's a big "no-no" to include camera directions. Just tell the story.

Writing strong visuals in the shortest amount of lines is impressive. It is a skill that takes a lot of practice and discipline. If you're already an established screenwriter, you already realize the value of this craft. On the flip side, there are many Hollywood scripts that feature very detailed and descriptive action.

The entire first page can be filled with action, without even a single word of dialogue to introduce characters and the plot. If you can write a strong first page with detailed actions, take this approach to see where your story goes. Master visual writing to build the foundation for your First Act.

A good exercise is to write a short 5-page film with only visuals. No dialogue. Tell this story as you see it, as you imagine it shaping in your mind. Structure this 5-page short film. Hit all the plot points. As a third party, what do you see. If you wanna get creative, build a story with mind-flash, flashbacks and flash forwards.

Go further into the world you want to create.

Things to consider: 

• Be creative. 
• Have discipline. 
• Do the work. 
• Don't expect anything.
• Attract attention with your screenwriting. 
• Develop a writing voice that sets you apart from the rest.
• Everyone has an idea for a good script.
• There are far less people willing to carve out a passionate script.

As my mentor reminds me: Talk is cheap.

Please share your experience with the visual writing exercise.

And remember, writing the raw pages matter to flush out your creativity. Let's live this screenwriting dream together! Happy writing!