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!

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!!!   

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!

Original Scripts are going to make a return

Original Scripts

Original scripts reached their height in the 80's. However, originality has taken a backseat to comic book movies. Batman, The Avengers, Spiderman, Hulk, Iron Man, Superman, X-Men, and other superhero movies are generating billions of dollars in the worldwide box office. Artistic expression, as we see in Interstellar, is impossible without the credentials to back up such a large budget.

In Hollywood, writers must pay their dues to get a movie made. Writing a movie that appeals to a mass audience will win future projects. Would a great writer sacrifice creativity for longevity? Breaking into Hollywood requires a screenwriter to sell a spec script, write uncredited scenes, and/or hold writing experience in the television space.

There are several other strategies to get into Hollywood, such as winning screenwriting contests, film festivals, writing fellowships, writing programs, industry connections, and old-fashioned luck.

Why are comic book movies dominating the movie box office? One screenwriter, who is on the verge of selling his show, shared that comic book movies already have a built-in audience. It doesn't take much endless marketing to convince fans to watch these types of movies. Young children and adolescents, even adults, enjoy watching comic book movies.

Nonetheless, Hollywood is not ready to accept original movies quite yet. Soon enough, there will be a renaissance, a new movement, a resurgence where demand for original movies will outweigh remakes, reboots, comic books, books, sequels, and other movie types. For the most part, original movies take more effort to build a new market.

It seems movie studios are reluctant to gamble on new screenwriters and original screenplays. Past original movies nearly bankrupted studios, also resulting in executives getting pink slips for these lackluster duds.

Get ready for renewed demand in original scripts. In a few short years, Hollywood may be calling out for your original screenplays. Your hard work and dedication will pay off soon enough. Stay patient and never lose sight of the screenwriting dream. Originality is on the verge of making a comeback.

Keep writing original movies.