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! 

        

Is it Writer's Block Or Lost Passion?

Writer's block is a killer on creativity. When writers lose focus on the writing process, they defer to daily distractions as an escape mechanism. Washing dishes, searching the web, posting on social media, watching Tv, doing laundry and sleeping are a few activities that replace writing. As a result of these actions, writers question whether they lost their passion to keep writing. Writer's block and lost passion hold the power to starve creativity. There is hope to get back on track...

Writers automatically assume writer's block is to blame for stalled production, lack of effort, poor performance and low efficiency. It is not always writer's block that is holding writers back from moving forward to the next page. It is not always writer's block that is responsible for keeping a cursor flashing on a blank white screen. It is not always writer's block that delays projects from coming to fruition. What is causing writers to get frustrated?

The problem: Inhibited environments represent the source of low interest. If we are surrounded with supportive people who want us to thrive, we will maintain excitement to get work done. We can rely on these people to give us feedback. They will ask about our projects. They will understand that we need our quiet space. They will genuinely care about what we are working on. Unfortunately, most writers are not always so lucky to meet these ideal people. We can take control of our surroundings, emotions and feelings to make positive progress.

Our environment is never going to reflect the way we imagine it. There is constant noise that can distract us. People rarely stop gossiping about irrelevant matters. They have conversations out loud. They don't give us space. They need us to help them with their errands and projects. They want us to listen to their concerns. Writers deal with people sabotaging their dreams because they lack the confidence to speak up; they are pushovers with no backbone to stand tall.

Unfinished projects make us believe we lost our passion to dream. We can't get excited about what we once loved with our entire heart. We start envying people who are actually living the life we believe we deserve. We become jealous to hear that our competition achieved their dream. Meanwhile, we focus on doing too much of everything. We desire quick results instead of investing time, energy and effort into our pet projects. Our patience and perseverance are out of alignment. We keep talking about our projects to get attention. We act fake to make believe we are someone living our dream. We may act condescending to put others below us. Behind the scenes, we drag our feet and hang our heads down low to pity ourselves. Self-destructive attitudes are what block positive results.

Writer's block and lost passion are common excuses that writers use to feel better. Nobody wants to be viewed as uninspired and lazy. Lost passion is essentially allowing little things to get in the way our of big dream. Self-doubts, overthinking, excuses and distractions are defensive mechanisms that protect us from facing failure. We may fear people rejecting our talents and skills because we attach our identity to our dream. We may think that if we fail our dream, we will fail our purpose in this life.

Rewiring our brain to accept criticism is the first step to empowering positive/negative feedback to grow our writing into something beautiful, something inspiring. Hearing the truth saves us a lot of time. We may need to know what people really think. Does our story have potential? Will the audience enjoy watching this movie? What does our film resemble? Do we have a good theme? Sadly, some creative people capable of greatness expect people to always give their amateur and professional work kind compliments. In order to continue on with their passion, they need people to praise their every move. These people only share a snippet of their progress to win temporary acceptance. They treat attention and acceptance as oxygen. However, these writers remain stuck on page 5 of a 100 page script. We should not expect our work to be viewed as great: Life does not work this way.

People struggling with low confidence and low self-esteem require validation and acceptance to stay inspired and motivated. These people need other people to agree with their beliefs. They wait for others to give them 100 percent positive approval to move forward. They want people to praise their effort after sharing their pity parties. They need people to feel sorry for them. They want others to tell them what they want is guaranteed to happen. They need others to know they didn't waste their life away on impossible dreams. They depend on people to always pick them off the ground. They need people to see them, to notice them every day. The truth gets lost in the hay; it is the needle that will take forever to locate.

Athletes playing to win their coach's attention and approval will suffer after striking out, missing shots and dropping balls. Always remember that we are human beings choosing to use our gifts and talents. Win or lose, we are the same human beings. Just imagine all the possibilities, especially if we activate our laser focus to stay committed and not conflicted with what people think.

We either love our passion, or we are doing it for the wrong reasons. Seeking attention to nurse our unresolved issues is the quickest route to depression. Living for the opinions of others will lead to lifelong unhappiness. If we lose our passion, what is the reason for this happening? Did we have passion from the beginning? Are we following our dream just to be recognized as someone who is valuable? Do we lack self-worth? Do we have low self-esteem? Trying our best to pinpoint our lost passion, if this is important to us, will improve our future outlook. Time will never stop for us, so waiting for a better time is an excuse.

Our commitment as screenwriters should focus on building powerful stories into compelling movies. Take personal responsibility for your dream. If you need constant validation to live your dream, you will only focus on what other people think about your actions. Dreams don't work unless you do something to make them come true. It is as simple as starting a script and writing 100 pages. Keep revising your script until you believe the story fits your vision.

There is no right or wrong way to tell a story. Pay special attention to creativity, technique and theme to keep readers invested in your script. Write with conviction to stay on track: Follow your message and share your beliefs. An example of this approach is Jordan Peele's Get Out, a film that aims to convey racism as envying minorities for their physical strength and agility.    

Writer's block is a mental block that involves numerous components. When we sit at our computer constantly looking into space, we are dealing with a challenge much bigger than writer's block and lost passion. We may dislike our story. We may downplay our talents to get compliments. Our passion is what inspires us to take action on something that either happens now, happens later, or never happens at all. Trusting in our gifts and talents can reduce writer's block. Believing in ourselves will give us hope to continue on through the trenches.

If we complain about writer's block and losing our passion, we are accepting that we have problems that are blocking our production. Taking the easy way out to complain and whine about recurring setbacks will never get us anywhere. Sharing all the things that we do to live our dream is a bargaining chip to say people owe us. It is our job to wake up and be inspired. We must maintain our passion to keep moving forward. If we are struggling to start and/or finish projects, we must dig deeper to understand the source of this problem.

There are ways to improve our concentration. We can listen to good music during the writing process. We can enjoy our favorite drink. We can take vitamins. We can go on a walk. We can go hiking. We can purchase a nice pen. We can buy a cool notepad. We can use "focus-based" apps to switch between focus time and breaks. We can embrace distractions to make them a part of our characters. We can change our scenery. We can go to a beach and write. We can go to a motel off of the coast and write without distractions. We can schedule time to write daily. We can discipline our writing life.

Writer's block and lost passion are excuses to justify our lack of effort and low production. After years of making excuses to write scripts, I finally figured out that you must rescue yourself to overcome negative traits. We can get caught up in bad habits that restrict our personal growth. In contrast, we can transfer our bad habits, blocks and problems into our stories. Compelling characters can turn movies into emotional experiences because the audience may see a piece of their life experiences in the movie. They can embrace these personal connections, realizing the writer actually understands their life.

Writer's block and lost passion can mirror what is going on in our real lives. If we work with a co-writer who wants to control our entire story, we must re-evaluate whether to stay for the long haul or leave them behind to grow our dream elsewhere. We can outgrow mentors, teachers and coaches. These people can block us, making us think we are struggling with writer's block, low drive and lost passion.

Being on the same page requires two sides to compromise on one vision. Don't allow other people to walk all over you. They may tell you that they care about your dream and assure you that they will never do anything to harm you. However, their actions may show a darker side to their real motivation. What really matters to them is their dream What they really want is to succeed. What they need is your story. What they are doing is discarding your scenes, ideas and creativity to feed their egos. They may want to be viewed as smart, a genius and exceptionally talented. Somehow, we are letting someone push us back into the crowd.

Negative people find empowerment seeing other people experiencing pain and suffering. Step away from every person you believe is holding you back. If you miss them later on, they are important to your future. If you feel better without them, maybe they are a bad fit in your life. Sooner or later, you need to recognize that you can do what you want yourself. Never think you are not good enough. Hiding from your unresolved issues will delay your dreams. If you are not ready to embrace the spotlight, you have the freedom to step in the crowd and watch the show as an audience member.

Know the difference between writer's block, lost passion, or living a stressful life full of obstacles. Your dream will stop waiting for you to react. Nobody is to blame for your life. You control your dream. You can make or break your future. You can learn from your past to create profound movies with deeper meanings. You can stop listening to people who block your growth. You can change your scenery to restore your interest. If you care about your dream, you will make adjustments instead of resorting to excuses. May your dream come true.

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! 

Take Ownership Of Your Dream

Visualizing your future success is the most important step to believe in your capabilities. Taking ownership of your fate will create unlimited opportunities...

Do the work and your work will speak on your behalf.


Happy Screenwriting! 

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!

Pandemic Influences Passion

The pandemic is putting pressure on us to respond. Conforming to performing can unlock our future success. With the quarantine rolling back soon, our dreams can fall further into a dark hole. If we place high emphasis on our dream, we will figure out a way to move around the barriers blocking us. Life is what we make out of our real experiences.

Obsession is regression. Unless we are injecting our projects with intricate details, we cannot win the fixation game. Focusing all of our attention on what other people think will sink our confidence. Concentrating our energy on the little things will drive us crazy. We must learn to let go...

The COVID19 pandemic has changed everything. What started out as an unknown respiratory illness in December, 2019 is now an infection that reached 17 million and killed nearly 700,000 people worldwide. In the United States alone, there are over 4 million infections and almost 150,000 dead.

Our passion is an escape from the dark reality that is currently plaguing our planet. We are vulnerable to this coronavirus. Despite these uncomfortable setbacks, COVID19 is no reason to stop producing quality content. Redirecting our focus to write profound movies with powerful themes can move us forward. Don't wait to create; do it now...


Happy Screenwriting!

Lack of Effort To Build Dreams: Faking It And Never Making It

Some people are quick to share their dreams with perfect strangers. They are not afraid to reveal that they want to become a Hollywood actor, a director, a producer, a screenwriter, a singer, a YouTube star and an Instagram influencer. They can trick their audience into believing they are living the dream life. For some unknown reason, they enjoy getting high off of attention. They feed off of daily compliments to feel happy. They rely on daily engagement to boost their moods. Truth is, some creative artists rarely invest the right amount of effort to live their dreams.

Making excuses, constant complaining, excessive whining, self-doubting, overthinking, self-pitying, obsessing on insecurities, exposing vulnerabilities, lacking confidence, suffering with self-esteem, being self-destructive, self-sabotaging, fixating on problems and failing to confront unresolved issues get far more play time than investing time and energy into living dreams. Getting attention to feel valuable replaces hard work and discipline.

Accomplishing a realistic dream is highly possible... Unfortunately, some people are more excited about receiving attention than making a real difference in this world. They want to be told they are pretty and or handsome. They need people to validate their self worth. They desire success to love who they are in this life. So many dreams are lost to wasting time on social media, day-in, day-out.

Recurring failures somehow disrupt the small steps that grow dreams. Some people rarely take personal responsibility to admit fault after making mistakes: People automatically think their value, identity and worth are put into question. They need reassurance to know they matter.

Confidence is everything. If we focus on the competition, we will get jealous and envy others. Negative emotions can prevent people from living a positive life.

What if we just focus on what resources we need to pursue our dream? We may actually live our dream...

Actors and actresses should consider exercising their acting muscles. Taking acting classes, rehearsing scenes, making acting reels, acting in short films and volunteering for script table readings are positive actions to increase exposure. Having supreme confidence as a movie performer is pulling from the past to collaborate with the future. Do the work behind the scenes to build your acting career.

Directors can watch famous Hollywood directors reveal their tricks of the trade on Master Class. They can practice making storyboards, interpret screenplays and study past films. They can perform assembly actions to rearrange scenes and retell stories. Furthermore, they can work with actors to prepare for future directing jobs.  

Writers can read screenplays, write action-based stories, master dialogue, inject their stories with real life experiences, listen to podcasts, read blogs, write short scripts, work as an uncredited paid writer and collaborate with other writers to receive real feedback and perform script coverage. Writing every day is not enough to become a great writer. There are many steps to evolve as a writer. Conflict and resolution are critical components to write profound screenplays.

Learning the truth is extremely important. However, people are too weak minded to accept the truth. They get offended, feel judged, claim their boundaries are being crossed and even accuse others of controlling them. These people attack the people who care about them. They embrace people who give them fake attention.

As we see on social media, there are toxic people lurking around to shame others. They criticize people who do not fall align with their thoughts and beliefs. The same people return to leave fake compliments and praises. Meanwhile, the page owners are dealing with internal pain that is left untreated. Wasting time on social media is the single biggest factor that will stall dreams. If we want to impress people, we will become obsessed with posting content, making stories, producing likes and receiving comments.

Honing your draft relies on giving effort. Staying disciplined can keep us on the right track to grow our dreams. Doing things that we love to do will make us happy. Infusing our projects with what we know best will retain our focus. We can control our effort to build our dreams...

Happy Screenwriting!

Screenwriting Music

Do you listen to music while screenwriting? I listen to EDM/Trance music? 

Social Media Quote...

Stop wasting your life away on social media... Find peace living real life because this is the happiest thought we can enjoy every day. Be self-aware that self-care is the best answer to improve your overall life...

Finishing Second Taught Me Valuable Lessons...

My Dad's 70th Birthday!

The Turkey Trot race held on the military base every November always made me anxious. Around the fall season in the late 1980's, I remember training harder to stay in better shape. My Dad put excessive pressure on me to win my age group in the Turkey Trot. There was this one classmate I could never defeat-- Brian Davilla. Somehow, Brian always surged ahead of me to win our age group. He claimed the first place prize: A turkey and recognition. Furthermore, he also defeated me in cross-country and track races held at the junior high school. Finishing in second place taught me valuable lessons in my life.

We all have wants, needs and desires. Sometimes we may disguise our help as caring for people so they don't make the same mistakes as we made in our unresolved past. However, we may hide our ulterior motives, our secret agendas away from the world. We may want to win. Winning makes us feel good. It gets us attention...

In those Turkey Trot races, I wanted to make my Dad proud of me. I really enjoyed running across the base with only the road ahead standing in front of me. If not for anxiety, I would have won so many competitive races. The high expectations to win dragged my confidence into the mud. Overthinking doomed me. Self-doubting convinced me that I would strike out before stepping on home plate. We all want to hit that homerun. Clapping, cheering and standing ovations can give us a dopamine high.

That adrenaline rush creates an instant surge of natural energy inside of us. Text message dinging... A DM from someone you like... A phone call... Going up to talk to someone you desire... What goes on in our mind travels way back to the past where we programmed these moments to matter. Social media likes...  Comments... Reposts... Follows... Subscribers...

Dopamine highs can cause us to experience a false sense of security. We may miss living real life trying to impress family, friends and strangers. We may need that instant gratification. We may want to feel appreciated. The large crowds jumping up and cheering for us may feel like an addictive drug. EDM beats can mimic the heartbeat of people on a dopamine high.

Once we stop winning, the crowds slowly disappear. People stop talking about our past victories. Most of our friends leave us behind. They move on to start new friendships. Attention is short lived. We should not live to win every moment. It's impossible to be on top of the world; we must also embrace losing races. Failure is important...

At one point or another, we have imagined giving an Oscar acceptance speech. What I end with is, Dad, I hope I made you proud. I only heard my Dad tell me he was proud of me once: Joining the Air Force and receiving his letters of encouragement in Military Basic Training. My Dad helped to get me through this challenging experience.

I know my Dad cares about my life. I realize my Dad is proud of me. He doesn't have to remind me. Actions matter... I always wanted him to see me as a winner. I wanted to share my victories with him. I heard my Dad make passive aggressive comments such as Tiger Woods or Michael Phelps' Dad must be proud of them or my best friend's Dad raised really successful sons. Why do we focus so much attention on what other people think? We start putting our meaningful relationships second. Chasing attention represents a temporary solution to feeling self-worth, appreciation and accepted.

We can waste our entire life on trying to please other people. We can get nervous asking someone we like on a date. We can fear outcomes that set our failures in stone. Or we may celebrate getting into the perfect relationship. Nothing in life is perfect. If we set impossible standards on our happiness, we will eventually meet unhappiness. Filling voids to be fulfilled will create artificial moments. Winning is mirage...

Finishing second taught me what really matters: The simple moments when I went camping, fishing and sporting events (football, baseball and basketball) with my Dad is what I celebrate. Winning the big race eventually becomes a distant memory. Meanwhile, the high emphasis we place on becoming successful at every turn puts our self-care second...


Happy Screenwriting! 

Lack of Support and Understanding: Why Writers Do What They Do?

Have you ever tried to include family and friends in your writing process? Share ideas with them? Tell them how you will write your scripts? However, you are met with eye rolls, sighs, unsupportive comments and criticism. Why do you have to justify the reasons you are a writer?

Some writers may feel they need other people to support their ideas. They attempt to open up with family, friends and even random strangers to prove their stories hold value. Once people realize you what you haven't done, they will stop listening to you talking...

Truth is, these people get tired of hearing about your dreams. Writers who have have yet to discover lucrative opportunities are judged with heavy criticism. They hear rude comments... They deal with passive aggressive behavior. Unsupportive people may have ulterior motives to hold you down. If you dream, you may accomplish success. If you accomplish success, it is possible you may leave...

Another way to look at it... If writers spend as much time living real life instead of remaining stuck inside a fantasy, just maybe their dream will come true. Some writers must understand that attention is overrated. Chasing after people to validate your dream will make you unhappy.

Just try to understand this: Screenwriting is viewed as a dream. What people think: Unsuccessful screenwriters are basically living in the clouds.

Do you take jobs that give you flexibility to live your dream? Work as a restaurant server? A ridesharing driver? Delivery driver? Barista? Content creation? Data science? Falling further behind? Struggling with a financial storm? There is a reason we may follow this pattern. You may hope that extending your dream can give you another chance to make everything right.

It goes much deeper than just wanting to achieve dreams, become famous, gain social status and/or get rich to experience unlimited freedom. You have a true reason you want your dream...

Whether you want to draw attention to yourself.... Whether you want to prove people wrong... Whether you want to appear successful... Whether you need value to feel self-worth... Whether you have a purpose to change the world... Whether you aspire to make people think that helping others is why you spend so much doing it... Whether you want to be popular because you did not have this feeling growing up... Whether you want compliments to boost your self-esteem... Whether you aspire to carry out the will of God to serve this world... Only you know why you want to do it.

Rewiring the mind to reflect on your dream is important. It is what can/will remove all focus off of why you need support and people to understand your journey as a writer.

Why do people want to feel good? Why do people want to feel happy? Why do people desire love? Why do people need acceptance? Why do people live for others?

Follow your dream because you find happiness taking the steps. Be excited about doing the work because you love your creativity. Be proud of yourself. The moment you make your dream all about what you are missing inside, you will find many unhappy moments. If you transfer what you are missing into your stories, you will reach an audience who can understand why you do what you do...

Ultimately, writers create what people watch... In return, they may feel proud of their work. They can make a living creating stories. It is possible: There is this small piece of them that may need this attention. If you surround yourself with supportive people who understand your journey, you will have a strong foundation to develop your ideas. If you tell stories about your challenges, struggles and hardships, people will listen to you.

The love, the time, the effort, the energy, the passion you give your dream will give you what you need inside. When people watch what you created, they will support you because they will know you understand real life. Create stories that mirror real life and solve these inner problems: Conflict/Resolution. Writers plant themes in every story. They want to send a message out into the world. Look further into why you do what you do...

Through the course of this life, you will change your motivation many times. Instead of questioning why you lack support and why people do not understand you, look deeper into your motivation. Why do you need your dream? You will eventually realize that you are your best support system. You are enough.

Don't wait to do what you love to do later on. The people you may want to prove wrong will be long gone. If you want people to hear your voice, tell stories that matter right now. Happy screenwriting!

Screenwriting Techniques

Movie scripts are documents. They function as a blueprint to turn an idea into a film. Directors rely on scripts to shoot scenes that are eventually edited together and packaged into films. There are so many useful screenwriting techniques that writers can use to narrate their stories.

Some stories can benefit being told from beginning to end without any disruptions. Writers enter a conflict, show the fire starting and resolve the conflict with a simple message. But if you want to get creative, you can enhance your script to create page turners. 

Flashbacks give us backstory. The proper method of using a flashback is to build enough value into characters so that we understand the significance of their past. Writers can open with a partial scene of a narrative they want to tell. Throughout the story, they can revisit this scene to move this key moment further along. The character may reflect back to this moment in their dream, in the middle of a conversation, in a coma and/or while they are driving.

We see a glimpse of the protagonist hanging on a moment that motivates their choices. We enter their mind through these flashbacks. We watch moments that already happened to explain backstory.

Series of shots and montages can turn dull moments into spectacular events. Have fun being creative in your storytelling!!!   

Suggestions Not Judging: Creating compelling characters

Screenwriting is a creative art that requires criticism to make progress. In order to become a professional screenwriter, we should accept constructive criticism as helpful feedback that can give us solid ideas.

Getting stuck in our comfortable ways to protect our ego can/will hold us back. There are vulnerable writers who view suggestions as judging their character.

Judging is unfairly criticizing someone without having all the facts present. A woman with tattoo sleeves is viewed as a stripper. "You are weak for allowing everyone to take advantage of you," is a negative statement. "You are terrible with your finances," is making a poor judgement of someone who does not earn as much at their current job. "Your finances will be the reason we will not get funding," is another inconsiderate judgemental statement if someone is not the sole reason for this potentially happening. 

What is not considered judging is telling someone that if they did not allow a certain person they complain about often to interfere in their life, they would not have to go back to a bad situation. We can tell them that if they gave more effort, they would have already accomplished their dream. The trigger word that sparked this person: Effort. They believe they have given a lot of effort. Truth is, they lost their passion to create. They allowed stress and pressure to rule their life. For this reason, they would constantly reach out for help. Unfortunately, they never applied valuable advice to better their life.  

Some people just need attention. They thrive off of sympathy. They need to be heard. They rely on another ear that will listen to their problems. They want us to blame other people. We're not supposed to solve other people's problems. Unresolved issues can block these people from taking actions. 

Whatever unresolved issues these people are dealing with come to the surface. They immediately get offended, switching the spotlight back to you—deflecting. They will attack your lack of effort. They will tell you to give up on your dream. Instead of appreciating your advice, they will consider your advice as judging. 

Unresolved issues can spark low confidence, insecurities, shame, lack of success, low self-worth, depression, unhappiness, vulnerabilities, self-consciousness and inferiority. It is a multi-headed monster that can unleash fury on us without notice. 

We must think of positive words to not offend them. We must compliment them to stroke their fragile ego. We must give them false praise to boost their moods. 

Just think about the value of life experiences. Our interactions with people who struggle with a wide range of challenges are useful to expand our screenwriting. No moment in life can ever go wasted. We can use everything in our past to create compelling characters. 

People fear getting judged because they secretly know they are doing these negative things. If they already shared their indiscretions before, it is not judging to bring these topics up again during their "complaining and whining' storms. Being honest to help pinpoint the source of problems can empower people. Overly sensitive people who feel guilty inside feel judged.    

Confident people don't worry about judgmental people. They don't focus on what people think and say. They concentrate on urgent priorities that can/will improve their current situation. Schedules and deadlines replace overthinking to maximize time. 

Good screenwriting is recycling real life events to build characters. We meet certain people for a reason;  there are no accidents. Taking notes to save the past can work magic in our future scripts. 

Many people feel judged. Many people never seek counseling. Many people get triggered over internal pain. We can't control what happens outside of our lives. People have a right to act any way they want. It is not up to us how they live their lives. If they waste our time and energy returning back with the same problems they refuse to confront, re-evaluate your relationship with them. 

When people accuse you of judging them, they hold your opinion on a pedestal. If you mention being disappointed, they will take this to heart. Be careful what you say to vulnerable people. Recycle all past experiences to infuse your script with valuable content to teach people. 

What are we about? What is our message? How can we save people from making costly mistakes? Make your screenwriting a learning experience to spread true wisdom. 

Happy Screenwriting! 

    

Applying Talent To Get Work Done

Screenwriting is a craft we can develop. If you remember the saying, practice makes perfect, you will recognize that becoming better at what we love to do can improve our lifestyle. Good habits deliver consistent results. Rewarding effort motivates us to spend time on projects, jobs and tasks.

Applying our writing talent to make a difference is the first step to push our screenwriting forward. We need to be writing, writing, writing! Withholding our talents/gifts for financial gain can/will influence our passion. Spending countless hours on social media to discuss screenwriting delays production.

The fear to finish a script is connected to uncomfortable change. People who lack confidence worry about criticism. They feel unworthy without attention. They stress out watching other people get ahead. Sometimes, these people just need someone to complain to so they don't feel alone--even worthless. Insecurities can block us from climbing up that tall mountain. Overthinking is full of self-doubts that delay our production and stall progress.

What talented artists forget is that they possess what many people lack: A gift. People who are not as talented must work harder to make an impact. For some ungodly reason, talented artists are uninspired to apply their gifts. There is a big reason people never accomplish their dreams. They have unresolved issues originating from childhood that manifest into mental disorders. If left untreated, these internal problems put these people in inferior roles. They accept poor treatment because they believe it is deserved. Their sense of worth is extremely low. Nevertheless, they believe people look down on them.

No matter how much time we spend to help someone succeed, they can keep coming back with the same exact problems. They never apply what we teach them. They self-sabotage daily. They follow a self-destructive path. They put themselves down. Working hard to confront internal challenges will help us overcome setbacks.

How to gain a competitive advantage:

• Apply yourself to increase luck. 
• Work hard to get your work out there. 
• Stay humble to avoid overvaluing your worth. 
• Be patient. 
• Balance is everything.

Happy screenwriting!

Be Committed To Your Screenwriting/Film/Life Dream

"Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than to your comfort zone" -Filmtrepreneur Podcast with Alex Ferrari.

Dreams will not manifest out of thin air. Wanting to accomplish a dream without taking serious actions to move forward is basically living in a fantasy. We should never get rewarded for complaining about successful people. Positive people walking the walk deserve credit for investing their energy, effort and time into advancing their dreams. Instead of envying, we should practice respecting.

Envy is dangerous. If we resent what other people earn, we will believe we are entitled to get what we believe we deserve. Judging people for getting ahead can make us cynical. This is a major problem that resides deep down in our core. Jealously is such a negative emotion that creates so much hatred. Blaming other people for what we're not doing will turn us into negative people. Don't live your life having regrets. It is no one's fault that your dream sits on ice.

We must change the way we think to make progress. Allowing comfort to become a mainstay in our daily lives can sink everything. Placing comfort on a pedestal is a dream buster. Complacency is a confidence killer. The moment we fail, we will fall apart. Given this widespread problem, we have to shift our focus away from comfortability to boost our confidence.

Knowing our true identity can unlock everything. Why do we do what we do? Do we have passion? What makes us wake up in the morning? What do we want to accomplish in this life? What will we do to get there? Are we making progress? Is this dream a good fit for us?

Truth is, time is definitely not on our side. Time does not care to wait for us. The world will move ahead without us. If we empower our time, we can transform this life into something truly amazing.

Waking up every day with a purpose to make a true difference in this world can give us a competitive edge. Our heart must be into our dream. Passion and drive must remain constant. Maintaining discipline, determination, resilience, consistency, integrity, persistence and patience will move us closer to our dream life. Committing our time and energy to fuel our dream will put comfort to rest.

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! 

I went to these top Film Schools, so I matter more?

Some film school graduates enjoy reliving their glory days. They believe their film degrees earned at prestigious universities give them the right to put people down. Meanwhile, these so-called filmmakers keep reminding people of their brilliance. They never stop short of insulting people just for the fact that they can. Superiority is a cancer. This condescending behavior is unacceptable.

If you experience negative encounters with film school graduates who have yet to accomplish success, just move past these miserable human beings. Truth is, miserable people are energy vampires. They need your attention, your focus, your life-force to exist. Without your good energy, they lose their power to create conflict. 

As aspiring filmmakers, do not accept negativity in your daily life. You have a choice to live life the way you see fit. Other people can hold you back. They can block your dream. Beware of people who want to ride your wave to success.

I rarely mention that I attended film school. I listen to all people. I never make myself out to be bigger. 

Some people will make you believe that they are the only support you have in your life. They assume. They control. They can acknowledge you one minute, but will break you down the next minute.   

Protect your dream. Remove people who give you daily pressure and stress. Once these people are gone, you will restore your freedom. Believe in yourself. 

Happy screenwriting! 

Humility is A Dying Breed: Social Media Is Ruining Screenwriting

Only a Film Degree--We must work to be screenwriters

We all know humble. We all know braggers. We all know action. We all know inaction...

Social media has casted a negative light on the writing world. On social media platforms, more people talk about the act of writing instead of waking every day to be proactive go-getters. In hindsight, writers once got work done; they completed scripts to option. Unfortunately, social media has turned screenwriting into a dream that is viewed as unreachable.

Screenwriting is an art form. It is also a discipline that requires time, energy and effort. Truth is, finished scripts are appealing to producers. There is little demand for unfinished scripts because they can't be produced. What separates professional screenwriters from aspiring screenwriters: Discipline.

Think about these comparisons: I am working on my degree versus I earned my degree. Any person can be working on a degree; however, only a select few will actually satisfy all the requirements to complete their degree programs.

Screenwriting is made out to be difficult. The real truth is that anything in life can be difficult if we fear the next step. We can make waking up on time to reach work a major challenge. We can make exercising daily an insurmountable task. We can postpone talking to someone we like over the lack of confidence. Placing constraints on our screenwriting will create fear. A large number of people worry about criticism. They automatically assume that receiving criticism is a precursor to failure. Their dream is better shared in forums, on discussion boards, on social media and in real life conversations.

Braggers need to draw attention to themselves. They need this attention to feel worth. The problem with sharing our dreams without doing the work is that we can block access to production. We spend way too much time trying to impress people with our creative ideas. We may post images about what we are supposedly doing, even if we are not actually working hard perfecting our craft. We will ask other writers/people what they think about our ideas so they can praise us. Condescending, bitter and petty attitudes can rule our emotions. We need to prove people wrong all the time. We fake being successful to create that adrenaline rush, that pure excitement of what it's like to accomplish a dream. Nevertheless, we can get carried away with all the attention that our dreams bring us.

Humble writers make movie magic happen. They wake up motivated and inspired to write. They write at their most vulnerable moments. They revise their previous projects. They don't crave attention. They already know their value as human beings choosing to be writers. There is no internal motivation to trick people, unless these themes are injected into characters.

Know the difference between being humble and bragging. If you are working hard, you earned the right to talk about your success. On the flip side, talking about the dream and not taking action to make it happen will delay the inevitable. Don't waste time. Your screenwriting dream will only come true if you do.

Happy screenwriting!


   

Write Descriptive Visuals

What do you see? What will the viewer see? Write descriptive visuals that covey actions without dialogue.

Practice writing less to show more. Cinema is meant to explore visual storytelling. Get into the habit to set the mood in every new setting.

If you follow this approach, your screenwriting will lift off the pages.

Happy screenwriting! 

Write What You Already Know

It is no secret that writing about what you know will increase your excitement to create. Many people assume they have a story to tell, so they try to become that person who will convince writers their lives can make a fortune. When writers ask them to help with the writing process, they say they don't have time. What these people really want is to ride the wave of success without doing any work. Write what you know, not what others want you to do.

We don't have any time to waste. 

Reflect back to all the moments you could have completed screenplays. I'm sure there are many lost opportunities. The past is a common psychological tool that prevents us from living life with peace and happiness. Talking about screenwriting as if we are already working writers in Hollywood will make us appear as faking it until we make it. Don't be one of these people in real life. Writing about someone who is fake in public to protect their true identity in their private life is a good story. Sharing your personal experiences with these fake people, which I have had many in my past, will bring life to your screenwriting to create a compelling screenplay.

Just imagine every situation your dream has created in your life.

Write about the life you lived over the dream you want. Without your dream, you would be living a different life. Maybe this normal life will give you a less stressful lifestyle. However, you would never know what it's like to accomplish a dream. The trap of viewing success as easy instead of understanding the hardship it takes is something to consider in your future scripts.

What events happened along the way? Did you laugh? Get sad? Get angry? Did you lose love? There are so many events in your life that can make good storytelling. We don't have to write these events as is. We all know that true life stories are modified for creative impact.

Get creative with your life stories.

We don't have to write our screenplays as real life experiences. We should use our life as inspiration to create fictional character who maneuver through our life. Teach people important lessons that you learned about your life.

Instead of looking at negative outcomes, focus on what you learned to grow into a better human being.

Tell people about your life. What are you about? Who are you as a screenwriter? What type of stories do you like to tell? What is your message to the world? Write these stories. Share your creative energy. If you learn something new about yourself after writing a script, you did your job perfectly right. Make screenwriting a transformation process. Writing what you already know will light a flame that can help your creativity burn brighter.

Please share your screenwriting experiences in the comment section below. 

Happy screenwriting!