I know it’s not for the money, or the fame, or to make our families proud. THAT’s not the life of a screenwriter. If it is, I'm doing it wrong.
After my first and last divorce, I wrote my first script - from my first bestselling book that created more emails than I could answer in a day. It made people laugh and find hope. It made readers rethink their attitudes and feel good – and that made me feel good.
So I’ve taken it a step further and now it’s going to be a movie that uplifts and causes pee-in-your-pants laughter – right? Dang I hope so, or I’ve wasted three years in my little secluded office.
I just read Evan Anglin’s blog post on the Stage 32 Blog and it inspired me to think about the WHY.
Why did you write your script? Or why do you want to writer one? Where did this (scriptwriting thing we all love so much) start with you?
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Your "why" is beautiful. Writing that makes people laugh, find hope, and rethink attitudes is exactly the kind of storytelling the world needs more of, especially when after all you've been through, you could've gone dark instead.
For me, screenwriting is all about creative expression. I've got a lot of things I need to say and get off my chest. In everyday life, people don't always listen to me or care about my input when I share it. However, when I write I get to process the feelings I have towards all those people who constantly let me down or don't let me express myself fully. On some level I get to be in control and explore the nuance of the things that bother or excite me on my terms, while not having to deal with those who play games or refuse to collaborate on even terms. In that process, I can explore feelings deeply and craft discussions about the things that matter to me.
On a more macro level, I aspire to create communal moments where strangers laugh or feel something like I did in expressing it. There's magic in giving audiences a specific shared experience-- whether that's excitement or melancholy.
The years of writing are never wasted if your movie never gets made because you created something that matters to you and you were able to express yourself on your terms which is valuable.
Most writers I know write because NOT writing feels worse than the struggle of writing. It's compulsion disguised as choice. We'd do it even if no one ever read a word, but knowing our stories could potentially reach people? That's the fuel that sustains us through the rejections.
Congratulations on the bestselling book, Debbie Seagle! I wrote my feature script to sell it and because of the theme (sticking your neck out for others). It's the script I'm rewriting for November Write Club. The script started as a short script.
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I'm with you Debbie! As a songwriter turned into a scriptwriter the key to me is make someone feel. It could be laughter, joy sorrow etc...but make them feel. I'm often asked what makes a good song, same thing goes. Songs can make you feel the same things films can. They can also make yo ufeel like dancing.