A part of my continuing film education is to catch as many different kinds of movies as I can. Netflix makes this even easier these days (one of my favorite evening past times is to “Netflix and chill”. But I still venture out to the theater at least three times a month, especially for those big summer movies that aren’t the same months later on TV. And in these “dog days” where serious thought feels as sluggish and muggy…
I love school and I almost always have. I say “almost” because I really struggled in law school, largely because I knew I didn’t want to be a lawyer and I couldn’t make myself care about the material….but that’s another blog. For most of my life, I’ve been happiest in a classroom or with a new area to study, challenging myself to learn something new. For example, when I wanted to learn screenwriting, I happily signed up for all kinds…
Everyone needs pockets of downtime to recharge, whether it’s an hour or a week-long vacation (3-4 if you are a joyful European! Lol). But for us creative types, I challenge the idea of binging on mindless relaxation. For me, a break from the norm can be restorative and productive in equal measure. My family and I just got back from the beach. It was amazing. We swam, drank margaritas, watched movies, and I actually read not one but TWO novels…
This blog is a little different. Because I aspire to write film and TV, I try to keep up with new offerings in both those media. (Okay, so it’s also an excuse to watch more television and justifies my MoviePass subscription!) This week, I want to tell you about three new shows I’ve started watching that indicate the #MeToo movement has hit the TV landscape hard—and we can expect to see more female-driven content in the months and years to…
Many screenwriters identify as introverts and enjoy the initial phase of solitude while they flesh out this new idea, this new world, on paper. But bringing a script to the screen, whether it’s film or television, flips to the other extreme where playing well with others is essential. As a ghostwriter, I have had many experiences with taking input from clients as I tried to craft their story in ways that served their goals and desires. I’ve had experiences where…
I absolutely hate writing first drafts. No matter how much practice I seem to get, I grind my teeth and slug through the mud of my own inability to convey the wonderful images in my head. Those blank pages are where I meet my weakness. They are the place where I know that I suck. It’s all wrong, but I need to get something down on paper. Fortunately for me, however, I love rewriting. There’s real joy in editing– in…
A year and a half ago, a female screenwriter friend and I met for lunch. As we checked in on each others’ progress on creative projects, we found ourselves wishing for additional support. Both of us were well passed the “beginner” stage of learning the craft and industry ropes. We wanted to learn from other writers, and put DC talent more firmly on the entertainment radar. But how? We walked away from the meeting with the idea for a small…
About a year ago, I got woke. Not woke in the sense of the prevailing social consciousness—though, as an African American woman, my awakening plays its own role in the larger social political narrative. But in this case, I’m talking about film and the realization that I was wasting my time submitting my screenplay The Revisionist to pitchfests and contests. I was hoping that somebody would transform it into a movie. Instead, in a flash of insight, I realized that…
Lost was my first serious tutor in writing for TV. Understand, I never watched the show when it was super popular in the early 2000s. I tend to avoid shows that everyone is talking about. I’ve never seen The Sopranos. I don’t watch House of Cards. Game of Thrones was six seasons in before I started following it. The Walking Dead was in its seventh season when I binged it on Netflix. Call it a contrarian tendency but it’s the…
Two weeks ago several of my screenwriting friends and I participated in the 48 hour film project. #48HFP! Here’s how it works: on designated weekends in cities all around the world, filmmakers gather together a team of writers, actors, gaffers, camera and sound operators to make a short film, between four and seven minutes in length. The project begins on a Friday evening when each team sends a representative to pull from a random drawing: A choice of two genres—or…