I'm interviewing at Warner Bros for a development internship position tomorrow afternoon. Yes I have screenwriting ambitions but eventually I want to do more. Maybe start my own production company, or my own studio like Tyler Perry, or my own network like Oprah, maybe even direct.
I've always loved film and always had a talent for writing, and since I knew nothing at all about the business of film and television, screenwriting was my way in, but now my ambition is to be more than just a screenwriter.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with screenwriting, just understand that making a living as a screenwriter probably appears to be more glamorous than it actually is. First off, bear in mind that writing is a solitary endeavor. You spend a lot of time alone, with only your thoughts and an empty page. It can be intimidating, if not infuriating.
If you become one of the lucky ones who actually sells your script you can be cautiously optimistic. Perhaps your agent, or manager will get you another paid writing job soon after your first sell. Perhaps your script will actually be produced and not shelved-indefinitely. Perhaps the studio or company that buys your script won't rewrite to the point that it is unrecognizeable to you. Perhaps your name will still be attached to it after all the rewrites. Perhaps your script makes it to production AND theatrical release. If all these things happen, then congratulations, you are a screenwriter. Pat yourself on the back and keep writing.
The truth is that making a living writing feature films is an ideal that not a lot of people will ever realize. Practically speaking, there just aren't that many films made. There are many more opportunities for television writers and the pay is much greater, especially if you get staffed on a successful show.
I don't say any of this to be a wet blanket. I'm simply here to educated you so you can make informed decisions. Aspring to be a screenwriter is great but in the mean time why not work in the film and television business and make those crucial hollywood contacts? Why not learn the different jobs available? Someone once told me that being a hyphenate, i.e, writer-producer, writer-director, writer-editor (preditor) is not a bad thing when trying to make it in this business.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Applying to the Nickelodeon Screenwriting Fellowship again
Even though I'm taking steps to find a "real" job I've also got some screenwriting goals for 2011. First I'm going to apply to the Nickelodeon Screenwriting Fellowship again. The last time I applied was in 2008. I was six months pregnant at the time and the week the application was due I came down with a horrible case of the flu. The application needed to be post-marked that Saturday. I started writing my sample spec of Entourage that Friday. I wrote 35 pages in about 24 hours. I printed out and didn't even have time to spell check it before I rushed it to the post of office. I did not win that year but I was very proud of the fact that I submitted despite all that I was going through.
This year I'm giving myself more time. Because of my baby I've been watching a lot of Nick Jr. lately. The spec I'm going to submit this year is based on a show on that channel. All I can say is we'll see what happens.
Aside from that I've still got my support system in place with my screenwriting cabal. We're five aspiring screenwriters at varying levels of success all committed to making it as professional working screenwriters. We meet once a month and e-mail once a week to make sure we are on track with our goals. I would suggest a support group to anyone who is pursuing a dream. It is invaluable.
I'm also still working on my high-concept script with one of my cabal members. He's in UCLA's prestigious screenwriting program. If we ever finish the script my former mentor from the Disney Screenwriting Fellowship, who's still has her job as a development exec, says she will read it. That's a big deal. Not a lot of people can get their scripts read by an exec at a major studio. I'm very lucky that's why I'm taking my time to make sure it's perfect before I turn it over to her.
Aside from that everyday I still apply for real jobs. Been applying for a lot of government jobs lately. I'm also back to school tomorrow. I'm in a graduate program studying the humanities. My next class is Self: Body and Mind: WHo are you? How do you know?
This year I'm giving myself more time. Because of my baby I've been watching a lot of Nick Jr. lately. The spec I'm going to submit this year is based on a show on that channel. All I can say is we'll see what happens.
Aside from that I've still got my support system in place with my screenwriting cabal. We're five aspiring screenwriters at varying levels of success all committed to making it as professional working screenwriters. We meet once a month and e-mail once a week to make sure we are on track with our goals. I would suggest a support group to anyone who is pursuing a dream. It is invaluable.
I'm also still working on my high-concept script with one of my cabal members. He's in UCLA's prestigious screenwriting program. If we ever finish the script my former mentor from the Disney Screenwriting Fellowship, who's still has her job as a development exec, says she will read it. That's a big deal. Not a lot of people can get their scripts read by an exec at a major studio. I'm very lucky that's why I'm taking my time to make sure it's perfect before I turn it over to her.
Aside from that everyday I still apply for real jobs. Been applying for a lot of government jobs lately. I'm also back to school tomorrow. I'm in a graduate program studying the humanities. My next class is Self: Body and Mind: WHo are you? How do you know?
Monday, January 3, 2011
Trying to realize a "dream" and earn a living
It's hard trying to realize a "dream" and earn a living. I consider myself to be very ambitious. Michael Beckwith, leader of the Agape Spiritual Center, says of ambitious/ambition: "moving in two directions at the same time. Moving in the direction of your dream but afraid you're not going to get there." I find this statement to be extremely enlightening. Doesn't that describe to a certain extent the tug of war that every person who's pursued their dream has gone through? Isn't this exactly what you're doing when you're working a "real job" while pursuing your "dream"?
( I put dream in quotations because for most people dreams are things that they wish would come true, or something that would be lovely if it came true, but they don't really believe they will and so they don't really make an effort to give their dreams a real chance to be. For me, my dream is not only possible but it is what I am meant to do. For me my dream is not an improbability or impossibility. It is just a matter of time and perseverence, though some days my resolve and belief in this is not so strong.)
In the beginning it wasn't that I was afraid that I wouldn't get to my dream. I was worked a real job because it was necessary for survival. I believed in my dream so wholeheartedly that I worked jobs that I was overqualified to do and didn't pay much because they gave me the freedom to pursue my dream. I believed I was making a temporary sacrifice for a longterm gain.
Since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a writer. Elementary school teachers encouraged my talent. By middle school I had completed a novel. But when it came time to pick a career path I chose the practical academic route over the unpredictable creative path. I decided against going to the high school for creative and performing arts for writing and instead went to a high school revered for its academic excellence. I didn't give up on writing all together. As a reporter I wrote for my high school newspaper. In college I took a class, but the fact was I had long given up on making a living as a writer. I had a child to support. I thought it selfish and irresponsible to pursue a career that wasn't guaranteed to provide stability for myself and my son.
But after graduation from college, when doing the right thing by going the right route hadn't brought me stability, I thought more and more about my original dream of becoming a writer. But the original dream had evolved. Now I entertained thoughts of being a screenwriter. But I still unwilling to do anything more than entertain the thoughts. It was at the urging of my therapist, who pointed out how often I spoke of wanting to write a screenplay, and who pointed me in the direction of a feasible and responisble way to go about it, that I finally gave in to my screenwriting desires. I bought some screenwriting books and software, and enrolled in a class that in the end didn't teach me anything that I didn't already know.
To make a long story short, one-year after setting the intention to become a screenwriter I was living in Los Angeles and writing for Disney Pictures. I was one of four chosen out of almost two thousand applicants to receive their prestigious Disney Screenwriting Fellowship. It proof and validation that I was meant for bigger and better things than my upbringing suggested. I was going to be a writer, a screenwriter!
Back in Philly, prior to moving to California, I fantasized about the next Disney classic that I would write. I fantasized about being on-set and watching actors bring my words to life. I fantasized about walking the red carpet, and watching my creation on the big screen. I fantasized about my successful career and how I would help my struggling family. It was the first time in my life that I allowed myself to let my guard down and be happy. I was worry free. All was going to be well.
And the fellowship turned out to be a fantastic experience, but it was never intended to exist on the scale that I had imagined in my head. I was not brought in to write the next Disney classic. It was not even guaranteed that I would have a job with the company once the fellowship ended.
And I didn't, but I wasn't discouraged. But as the years have gone on, and my dream still has not come to fruition, I find that I am moving in two directions at the same time. I am moving in the direction of my dream but because I am afraid that I won't get there I am also trying to cover my bases and find a career to fall back on. It is exhausting and I find that I am unable to give the proper attention to my dream, nor the goal of securing another suitable career. Everytime I sit down to write I end up searching for a job or working on something for school. I try to combine my need for income with my career ambitions. I apply for entry level positions in film and television but because of my lack of "real entertainment experience," i.e., working a desk at a major studio or agency, because the majority of the contacts I made while in the fellowship are either unemployed themselves or in no position to hire me, that route hasn't worked out. As a grad student I apply for internships but most employers are looking for graduate level interns, or they can't see the relevance of my humanities major.
So this blog is dedicated to the pursuit of my screenwriting/film and television ambitions. It is dedicated to my tug of war at moving in two directions at the same time with the hope that one day my dream and my source of financial support will become one.
( I put dream in quotations because for most people dreams are things that they wish would come true, or something that would be lovely if it came true, but they don't really believe they will and so they don't really make an effort to give their dreams a real chance to be. For me, my dream is not only possible but it is what I am meant to do. For me my dream is not an improbability or impossibility. It is just a matter of time and perseverence, though some days my resolve and belief in this is not so strong.)
In the beginning it wasn't that I was afraid that I wouldn't get to my dream. I was worked a real job because it was necessary for survival. I believed in my dream so wholeheartedly that I worked jobs that I was overqualified to do and didn't pay much because they gave me the freedom to pursue my dream. I believed I was making a temporary sacrifice for a longterm gain.
Since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a writer. Elementary school teachers encouraged my talent. By middle school I had completed a novel. But when it came time to pick a career path I chose the practical academic route over the unpredictable creative path. I decided against going to the high school for creative and performing arts for writing and instead went to a high school revered for its academic excellence. I didn't give up on writing all together. As a reporter I wrote for my high school newspaper. In college I took a class, but the fact was I had long given up on making a living as a writer. I had a child to support. I thought it selfish and irresponsible to pursue a career that wasn't guaranteed to provide stability for myself and my son.
But after graduation from college, when doing the right thing by going the right route hadn't brought me stability, I thought more and more about my original dream of becoming a writer. But the original dream had evolved. Now I entertained thoughts of being a screenwriter. But I still unwilling to do anything more than entertain the thoughts. It was at the urging of my therapist, who pointed out how often I spoke of wanting to write a screenplay, and who pointed me in the direction of a feasible and responisble way to go about it, that I finally gave in to my screenwriting desires. I bought some screenwriting books and software, and enrolled in a class that in the end didn't teach me anything that I didn't already know.
To make a long story short, one-year after setting the intention to become a screenwriter I was living in Los Angeles and writing for Disney Pictures. I was one of four chosen out of almost two thousand applicants to receive their prestigious Disney Screenwriting Fellowship. It proof and validation that I was meant for bigger and better things than my upbringing suggested. I was going to be a writer, a screenwriter!
Back in Philly, prior to moving to California, I fantasized about the next Disney classic that I would write. I fantasized about being on-set and watching actors bring my words to life. I fantasized about walking the red carpet, and watching my creation on the big screen. I fantasized about my successful career and how I would help my struggling family. It was the first time in my life that I allowed myself to let my guard down and be happy. I was worry free. All was going to be well.
And the fellowship turned out to be a fantastic experience, but it was never intended to exist on the scale that I had imagined in my head. I was not brought in to write the next Disney classic. It was not even guaranteed that I would have a job with the company once the fellowship ended.
And I didn't, but I wasn't discouraged. But as the years have gone on, and my dream still has not come to fruition, I find that I am moving in two directions at the same time. I am moving in the direction of my dream but because I am afraid that I won't get there I am also trying to cover my bases and find a career to fall back on. It is exhausting and I find that I am unable to give the proper attention to my dream, nor the goal of securing another suitable career. Everytime I sit down to write I end up searching for a job or working on something for school. I try to combine my need for income with my career ambitions. I apply for entry level positions in film and television but because of my lack of "real entertainment experience," i.e., working a desk at a major studio or agency, because the majority of the contacts I made while in the fellowship are either unemployed themselves or in no position to hire me, that route hasn't worked out. As a grad student I apply for internships but most employers are looking for graduate level interns, or they can't see the relevance of my humanities major.
So this blog is dedicated to the pursuit of my screenwriting/film and television ambitions. It is dedicated to my tug of war at moving in two directions at the same time with the hope that one day my dream and my source of financial support will become one.
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