Category Archives: Quotes

A Little Screenwriting Help

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TypewriterFontWriterSometimes I have to question my sanity.  As writers, it’s something we probably do more often than we should.  I recently watched the documentary, “Tales from the Script”, which is available on Netflix, and I highly recommend it to any aspiring screenwriter.  Which is why I was again forced to reevaluate my sanity.  There was one comment that has stuck with me, it was something to the effect that “if you can do anything else, do it”.  That’s when it was reiterated to me that I can’t.  I love screenwriting.  It’s my calling.  And I hope all of you have found yours.

If you can quit, then quit. If you can’t quit, you’re a writer. – R.A. Salvatore

I’ve tried my hand at poetry, and just for kicks and giggles, maybe I’ll post some one day.  They’re terrible.  Which is probably why I’ve never tried to write any more beyond my angsty teenage years.  I wrote a few short stories, and I’d be willing to try again, I’m just not sure when.  I wrote a one-act play that I really liked, but I feel that was a one-hit wonder moment.  I’ve never written song lyrics, but I’m actually going to give that a try this year.  I have this interesting opening line that I’d like to explore.  I actually finished a novel (based on one of my screenplays) and have another, that one that I started in my youth that was too advanced for my adolescent mind, that still needs to be finished, but now am thinking could be a screenplay…I’m satisfied knowing I’ve at least tried other avenues, and have found the medium that works best for me.

I’m pretty sure it all started with my love of film.  I see my stories like a movie in my head.  I used to get buried in the details of description when I was trying to be a novelist, the only form of writing I thought there was, and screenwriting allows me to get my story out quickly.  So for those of you who are following a similar path, I’ve attached this article on how to improve your screenwriting descriptions, and if you can ignore the off-putting color of the page, there’s some wonderful advice.  I made lots of notes.

I’m keeping this one short and sweet.  I’m not going to rant or ramble, as I have to get back to the many things I have lingering…

WritersEcard

Have a great week!

Moving Forward on The Journey

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LiebsterAwardImage2

I recently read a quote that said, “How can you expect the universe to give you what you want when you’re not clear on what it is that you want?”.  Or something to that effect.  When I made the conscious decision to change things this year, they started to change.  When I made my goals clear and started acting upon them, the universe began to respond.

On Saturday, I met with a group of women with different pursuits in the entertainment industry and am meeting with two of them further to discuss collaborations.  Then I received a lovely message that another blogger, aspecialkindofunique, had given me The Liebster Award (which I will work on tonight).  This award recognizes new bloggers with under 200 followers for their content.  Thank You!  Thank You!

See, all it took was a little mental kick in the butt to start making things happen!  I have my writer’s group tonight and then I’m attending a meeting with a career coach later this week to learn how to further my career goals.  All of this has been a huge confidence boost and a great motivator to keep moving forward.

So thank you to all of you who have been supportive and encouraging as I start this new phase of the journey, progress!

Here’s to making good things happen!  Good luck!

Sticking With It

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Okay.  Scratch two items off my new to do list — I am officially a dot.com (yay!) and I joined a handful of writer’s groups (Meetup.com).  I’ll be attending my first one next week.  I’m also working on an application to volunteer (VolunteerMatch.org — if you’re interested in finding an opportunity to volunteer as well) to teenage girls in an effort to help them find their writer’s voice.  I feel like I’m going from 0 to 60 in no time flat, but I’ve always worked much better when I have more to do.  And as the last year has shown, I’ve had way too much time on my hands with little result, so it feels good to start making plans.  What I’m hoping to gain from all this is some accountability — some pressure to produce and succeed.

I’ve set a few deadlines for finishing some writing projects in the hopes that with the spring (that time of year when agents get bombarded) I’ll have a handful of pieces ready.  In addition, I’m working on some personal goals, looking to update my blog, among the many other items on that Professional To Do List I’ve grown so fond of.  *Whew.

So here’s to sticking with it!  I hope you all are achieving some of your goals as well.  Let’s keep at it!

“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” -Michelangelo

Best of luck!

Disappointment

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I didn’t get the fellowship.  I’m a mixture of disappointment and mild relief at the knowledge that now I can move on.  The waiting game was growing tiresome.  I had other things to keep me occupied, but the continuous wondering and worrying whether or not I was moving forward was becoming a burden (if you can believe).  So after a few tears, I’ve decided not to wallow (too much) by shrugging off the rejection and pouring myself into my work.  This is one of the unfortunate sides of the business I’ve decided to take part in — rejection — a lot of rejection.  I have to keep telling myself that this is only the beginning.  I’ve only just begun to send out my work, but it was not for me alone I wanted this opportunity.  *I need to make note of this, for my future self.  Since moving to LA, I’ve struggled to find steady work, a “day job”.  My younger sister has been supporting us and that in itself is an enormous burden.  Her job is unsatisfying, and she is left to shoulder great responsibility while I try to achieve my goals.  Since the fellowship offered so many benefits for a new writer, including financial support, I thought (perhaps foolishly) that I could relieve some of the pressure.  So here I am again…square one.

And then the thought dawned on me, “I am not alone in my struggles today”.  So in an effort to be optimistic in order to move forward, I’m going to post a few uplifting quotes from LiveLifeHappy.com.

Just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing.  Every great success requires some type of struggle.

Don’t rush anything.  When the time is right, it’ll happen.

If you never go after what you want, you’ll never have it.  Live without regrets.  If you want it, fight for it.

Wait for what you deserve.  Don’t settle, just be patient.

Don’t let something tear you down.  Allow it to help you move on to something better.

There’s always something good coming.  Remember that.

Sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right.

I wish each of you success in whatever you are hoping to achieve!  And know you are not alone in your daily struggles.  There is an entire creative network, hopefully, cheering you on and supporting you.  If you don’t have a support system, like a writer’s group, make that one of your “to do’s” for the new year.  As I’ve stated, and you’re well aware, writing is a lonely business.  Finding others like us is instrumental in making our solitary lives more bearable.

If anyone would like to offer some words of advice and encouragement, not just to me, please feel free to share.

Best of luck to you all!

 

Taking a Little Respite

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Some days are rough.  Not just for writers, but for people in general.  There are just so many days when you feel like all you’re doing is swimming against the current.  Being an adult is hard.  So much for high school, even college, preparing us for that wake-up call (no, this is not new to me, I’ve just been reminded again recently).  As for being a creative, those days seem doubled, maybe even tripled.  We have our regular lives, then our creative ones, then the professional ones where we try to get people to notice the creative one.  It’s a constant uphill battle with some little demon at the top throwing down boulders, pebbles, entire buildings…all while laughing at us and our torment as we try to achieve success.

I took my weekend, then as the new week dawned, I started to feel this dread.  As I wait to hear about a writing fellowship I applied for, the whiff of a negative thought has started to worm its way in and make me question my skills.  I had wanted my first screenplay entered as my “sample”, but it wasn’t ready.  I love the script I did submit, but the story is not as unique as the other, although it has spurred me to write two sequels (there’s just so much to write about), and now I’m wondering if that has inhibited my progress in some way.  See, there’s that little demon, working his evil magic.  I realize I haven’t really started to put myself “out there” as a writer until this past year, and the knocks have taken a little getting used to, but as the days compound, doubt creeps in, and I think stepping away from it all to get my head back on straight is the best remedy.  Besides, most people get sick days, so should we.  And then I found out about another approaching deadline, and right now my mind is a blank.  Six weeks…and I’ve got nothing.  And then there’s this potential writing job on the horizon…this is when I decide to have a creative/mental meltdown?!  I don’t have time for this nonsense.  Number one on my professional to do list is to treat my career as if it were already my profession.  So it’s time to get back to work.

Needless to say, I decided to take one “mental health” day.  I completely vegged; no cleaning, no worrying, not even a glance at my computer.  As this blog is meant to serve, in part, as a journal, I’m putting this out into the world and as a reminder to my future self of the times endured and overcome.  Here are a few quotes to help those of you struggling as well.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”  — Thomas A. Edison — So don’t give up!

“The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” — Joel Brown — Believe in yourself!

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. “ — Milton Berle — Create your own success story!

GoldenCKey

You may have noticed I have a thing for keys.  I like the metaphor they represent.  Let it be a reminder that we hold the keys to our success.  Throw rocks back at those demons, whether in reality or in your subconscious, and persevere!

Best of luck to you all!

The Zombie Condition

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DesertAbout seven years ago, my sister and I moved to a new state and my creative pool dried up and looked as barren as the Arizona landscape that lay outside my front door.  I told people I was a writer, because I hated the inevitable question that all servers/bartenders get, “So what else do you do?” or the yet worse, “This isn’t all you do, is it?” (because to outsiders, waiting tables is like purgatory, but the question is an insult.  It’s a slap in the face that what you’re doing right now, isn’t good enough, and they’re concerned for you).  Oh goodness, that’s a rant for another day.  So, about eight months pass, and I haven’t written a word, and yet I keep telling people that’s what I really do.  I’m a writer.  The thought that plagued me all those months was how could I call myself a writer if I wasn’t writing.  A few drafts in on one screenplay does not a writer make.  I had written more, all through my youth, but it’s not worth mentioning.  And there was a little fear lingering as well.  What other stories did I have to tell?  Then I remembered a quote from Maya Angelou.  “You can’t use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have.”  Creativity is a fountain.  And as writers we observe.  We are never short of ideas, stored in that so-called “vault”.  So after a little self-loathing and a metaphorical kick in the ass, I got back to work.SwarovskiFaceFountain, Austria

Writing is hard, it’s an art form, and not everyone can do it.  But, if it’s who you really are, then don’t let anything derail you!  That’s my tip of the day.

I was reminded of this condition when I read this funny article today on Script about Writer Zombies.  Don’t let this happen to you.

Best of luck in your writing adventures!

*Swarovski Face Fountain, Austria

Romantically Challenged

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Pride&PrejudiceI know it’s a phase, but I’m in a rut.  I’m in the middle of a major rewrite and I find myself lacking emotionally as I’ve had a lot of negative things weighing on me recently, my romantic sensibilities have been sapped.  As I write love stories (in part), the lack of emotion is a bit of an impediment, so I’ve been looking pretty much everywhere in order to be inspired; music, movies, video games, pictures/artwork, and yes, quotes.  I thought I’d share a few things and hopefully, in a few days, I’ll get the love back.Theberge-Romance

I’ve read so many times that as a writer you should write every day, and I agree, to an extent.  Depending on what you’re working on, your emotional state could have either a positive or negative influence.  In my current frame of mind I should be writing something angry, sarcastic, and dark.  And I don’t write that kind of stuff.  So, until this mood passes, I will continue the rewrite from a technical stand point, and continue to stare at these in an effort to lighten the mood — maybe I just need a hug…as writers we spend a lot of time alone, so maybe I just need to be around some people.  I will test this theory and get back to you.

“I love it when I catch you looking at me, then you smile and look away.”

“Kiss me as if it were the last time.”

Mermaidw:Man

And a few of my favorite book quotes —

“Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan.”  — Persuasion by Jane Austen

“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.” — Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad!  Only do not leave me in this abyss where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!”  —  Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

“I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you – especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous channel, and two hundred miles or so of land some broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I’ve a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly.”  — Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 

BlueCouplew:Diamonds*First image is Romance by Claude Theberge.  Second image is of Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen of Pride & Prejudice.  The others I came across while searching the internet.  I do not own these works.

Reminders

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I have a cork board above my desk with pictures and quotes that I stare at whenever my mind starts to wander, or when I’m on the phone, or thinking about what I might type next.  I stare at it a lot.  I think quotes are useful (obviously, as I post them frequently) as a reminder of my purpose and a tool of encouragement.  Maybe one day I’ll have my own quote that others will quote.  That would be nice.  I came upon a quotes site and within a few short minutes found a handful I wanted to repost everywhere and figured I should just share the page.  The reason I went to the page was because of this one —  http://www.livelifehappy.com/

Dream Big, Work Hard, Stay Focused, and Surround Yourself with Good People.

I encourage you to find a few (but don’t waste too much time surfing) that you can put on the fridge or near your computer to remind you of why you are doing what you are doing, or encourage you in your endeavors, or escape your restrictions, whatever it is that you need to do what you want.  I even have a couple from a Dove chocolate square and a fortune cookie, but they spoke to me.  I have two that I love that contain great messages and helpful tips for something I was once guilty of —

Never Apologize For Your Art!

Your Work Is Not You!

Have a great, productive weekend and best of luck!!