Monthly Archives: October 2009

“Dreams are Real” – Top 10 on Trigger Street

Woke up this morning to an email from Trigger Street.  My screenplay “Dreams are Real” is now on their ”top 10″ list.  Not sure what this means but it sounds good!  “Dreams are Real” (AKA “Lucid Dreams”) was the first screenplay I ever wrote. 

I added a bunch of “fun links” for writers to this site yesterday.  It’s just amazing what you can find when you surf the web!  I’m a fan of random generators!  Check them out if your creativity needs a kick start or if you just want to be entertained!

Right now I’m rewriting my screenplay “Revenge”.  As soon as I’ve finished this rewrite I’ll upload some excerpts.   The SP is a good venue for 50-something actresses and there are three main leads in this story.  I’d love to see Goldie Hawn, Whoopie Goldburg, and Bette Midler in this project!  (Hey, screenwriters dream, too!)

Writing is Rewriting …

Several months ago I was revising an SP and I got stuck.  I got frustrated with it and put it away, began to work on a different project.  Now I’m back on that problem SP and, yes, it’s a mess.  But I can see the problems now (too many flashbacks) and I’m in the middle of  fixing it. 

I bring this up to remind everyone that sometimes we need to put some space between us and our work.  Getting too close to our work is a real problem, at least for me!

WRITING IS REWRITING.  I’ve read those three words so many times, and I’m starting to understand what they mean. 

When I first began this journey, I was inflexible and instead of admitting I had a problem I defended the first draft.   At first rewriting was torture, like getting my fingernails pulled out. 

But, over the years, rewriting has  gotten easier (I think) because I can see improvement with each draft. 

Rewriting!  A necessary evil.  Accept it and get to work.

The More I Learn

I remember when I was writing my first screenplay!  I just knew it would sell right off the bat and, besides that, not only was it going to sell but several major studios were going to be pounding down my door for my next one. 

Now, five SP’s later, I realize just how wrong I was and how much more I have to learn.  It’s a process.  I finally understand that.  Realizing that seems to take a lot of the pressure off…  At least for me.

If you are just starting off, give yourself time to hone your craft.   Realize you are going to make mistakes.  And when you make them, learn from them.  Realize success won’t happen overnight.

Then, one day, maybe a studio or two will be pounding on your door!  (And mine, too!)