Screenwriting - Trying To Be Sombody...

There are those screenwriters we admire. They have the "gift" that we want and desire. They have the same awards and recognition that we also want. They have impressive resumes, we see their names everywhere. They are somebody. But, what about us? In trying to be somebody we can often get lost because our focus is outside of ourselves. It's okay to admire talents, qualities and possessions of others but when we use those things to measure who we are, we can get in trouble. We already are somebody, we are ourselves. The majority of our time is best spent appreciating our individual talents, strengths as well as our weaknesses. Appreciating who we truly are holds power. The power of owning ourselves.

Am I the somebody that I admire?

MDJ

Screenwriting - Is Kindness a Weakness?

I had an agent years ago who was an extremely kind individual. He also possessed a great deal of integrity. He operated a very successful and busy agency. We were chatting one day about a difficult producer. (The stereotypical type... Rich, powerful, demanding, self-centered, egotistical, etc...). A producer who doesn't like to hear, "no." My kind agent said "no" to this producer and didn't get a positive response. We spoke about the interaction he had with said producer. My agent said, "Why do people think kindness equals weakness?" We had a lengthy conversation about being a kind individual in the entertainment industry... which is possible. We concluded that kindness does not equal weakness, kindness is a strength.

How do you practice kindness?

MDJ

The User Friendly Screenwriter

Screenwriting is generally something we do alone. Movie making is very much a team sport. Life, when we do it alone is about isolation. When we share our lives with others we become part of the whole. There is a potential for disaster when we operate in isolation. We may feel that we know everything and resent suggestions. This is our screenplay, our characters, our movie and we know it best... So, how could any suggestion from an outsider about what "I know best" be valid? Objectivity... We often lose this when we are so close to something and it is refreshing to hear from others. Maybe, something makes sense to us about our characters or story but totally confuses others that read our screenplay. Do I hear this when people tell me or do I cast it aside because I know best? Being user friendly in all areas of our lives takes practice. We will never know everything.

How user friendly am I?

MDJ

Screenwriting And Life - No Regrets!

Today I can commit to living a more full life through taking action. I can tell those individuals in my life how much they mean to me. I can do something that I have feared. I can help someone. I can be grateful. I can take a deep look at my screenwriting goals and dreams and commit to taking the next step towards making those goals and dreams reality. When I live this way, I acknowledge the many ways that I take complete and total responsibility for my life. Today, I can start living life so that I have no regrets.

How can I live life to the fullest today?

MDJ

Screenwriting - A Sense of Wonder

We create all types of characters in our screenplays. We want the individuals we create to be believable and posses admirable qualities. In order to do so we must be in touch with those qualities within ourselves. What about my sense of wonder? Do I look at the world new each day? Do I have the ability to look at things through the eyes of a child? Am I fascinated by life and all creations within it? Do I inquire about things I know nothing about? Do I feel free? These are all good questions to ask ourselves in order to acknowledge our own sense of wonder.

I can take the time to look at the world with new eyes today.

MDJ

Screenwriting - Operating With Internal Happiness

There is great value in examining some of our deepest beliefs. Today we can look to see where we derive our happiness. Am I the type of individual who measures happiness through external achievements? As screenwriters, we strive to have our talent acknowledged from external sources. When we derive our happiness this way, we set ourselves up for disappointment. We are not in control of the external world. When we take the time to step back and look at what truly makes us happy internally, then we are at peace with the external world no matter what happens.

What makes me happy, internally?

MDJ

Screenwriting - My Marketing Plan

How do I sell my screenplay? That is the big question. The text book answer... Write an amazing screenplay, get a great agent, sit back and wait for the bidding war to begin. Cash that six figure paycheck. Yes, this can happen. It has and it does... How often? Not very. Life presents us with many challenges and one for us writers is to figure out... How do I sell my screenplay? There is no specific answer. We get to figure out on our own. We need to take the time to develop our own marketing plan. The key is to take the time to 1.) Develop a plan, 2.) Implement the plan and 3) Be flexible enough to change the plan. We need to remember that there are many roads to success and to trust ourselves!

Do I have a screenplay marketing plan unique to me?

MDJ

Screenwriter - Are You A Good Loser?

We have all had experiences that don't go our way... We get 2nd place instead of 1st, Our newest screenplay doesn't connect with readers, A screenplay we wrote gets a PASS while a similar one appears on the big screen.  It is important to look at how we handle these situations. Certain aspects of our character are often revealed when we lose the battle.  We have the choice to react positively or negatively.  Maybe losing has gifts for us to identify.  Maybe we are not ready for success. Maybe we are to learn more about humility.  Whatever the lesson, there is one to learn.  Studying those individuals who are gracious losers can give us great insight.

Am I a good loser?  Do I know someone who is?

MDJ    

Screenwriting - Adjusting My Course

As we take the valuable time for introspection we discover more about ourselves... always. We need to slow down from time to time, look at our life goals, screenwriting goals, goals for a healthy body, spirit and mind. We then need to ask a key question... Am I off course? If we answer, "yes," then we need to adjust direction and get back on course. This may require rewriting our plan. Our dreams need our constant attention and when we drift off course, we can make the necessary adjustments to redirect our sails.

Am I headed towards my dreams today or am I off course?

MDJ

Screenwriting - My Biggest Mistake

We all have some major event in our lives that we could consider a big mistake. It caused us grief, embarrassment, exposure or loss. It may have had major consequences that impacted us greatly. We may have swept this event under the rug. We may never want to look at the event again. If we have the courage to look back at these types of events, we may learn great things about ourselves, life, the power of failure and more. A mistake is a gift if we learn from it. Our movie characters should encounter mistakes on a grand scale. If they learn from their mistakes, they arc and we are then drawn closer to them and root for them throughout the movie. Mistakes are necessary in life. What we do with them is up to us.

Have I examined the gifts that my past mistakes have given me?

MDJ

Screenwriting - A Clutter Inventory

It's amazing how popular garage sales, ebay, and other clutter reducing avenues are today. We all have clutter in our lives. We can become buried in "stuff." It is freeing to take an inventory in all areas of our lives and see where we need to reduce the clutter. We can examine our things, schedules, relationships, screenwriting projects and more. When we examine these areas, writing them down with pen on paper, in black and white, we see the truth. We are then able to develop a plan to reduce the clutter. This frees up our most valuable resource... Time. Time to do what we were put here to do... Maybe that was to write the next blockbuster screenplay.

Have I examined the clutter in my life?

MDJ

The Relaxed Screenwriter

We all want to do the best we are able in life and in our careers. When we approach a project, we look at the steps necessary to complete it. As screenwriters, these steps are often very different for each of us. We need to trust our own individual process. It is freeing to work from this place. We need to remember that we do not have to "get it right" the first time around. We trust our individual process. When we do this, we begin to free ourselves from undue pressures. The end results are often beyond all expectations. We have plenty of time to get things right.

Am I a relaxed screenwriter?

MDJ

Screenwriting - A Daily Legacy

We all have the opportunity to leave the world a much better place. When we have our life mission in the for front of our minds on a daily basis we then take actions that better ourselves and the world. We also have the opportunity to create each and every day so that during nights reflection we can look back on our day at what we have left to better the world. In doing so, we have created a daily legacy. We all have the power within to do amazing things through our daily actions. Today I can look at how I will create my day... How do I plan to treat those around me? How will I better myself? What actions can I take to move my screenwriting career ahead? Am I working towards a life legacy each and every day?

MDJ

Screenwriting - My Releationship With Me

We all have various types or relationships. One relationship above all others shapes every other area of our lives. How I treat myself is a reflection of how I treat those circumstances and individuals around me. I can take the time to review how I treat myself and note those areas in need of improvement. I can then take actions to improve those challenging areas. It is amazing that when I treat myself with love, patience and kindness all areas of my life improve. Does that mean my screenwriting? Try making the relationship you have with yourself the most important one and see.

Do I take the time to evaluate and improve my relationship with me?

MDJ

Screenwriting - What Is My True Character?

Knowing ourselves deeply allows us to create more dimensional characters. When we examine our own character, one good measure is to see how we handle stress. True character is often revealed under pressure. I can take the time to examine and contemplate how I have handled the most stressful times in my life. Do I handle them with grace? Am I a totally different individual when encountering a great deal of stress? Looking deeply regarding this allows us to see areas in need of improvement within our lives. Areas in which we need to arc. Admitting and overcoming our greatest flaws makes us more attractive individuals and gives us greater insight when creating movie characters.

Have I taken a look at my true character?

MDJ

Screenwriting And Life's Lessons

Our lives are filled with many opportunities to grow. Oftentimes, we encounter similar situations over and over until we learn some deep life lesson. When we live in the present and open our eyes to life we are able to see those areas where we have unhealthy patterns. When we are aware and awake we can take the steps necessary to change for the better. It takes courage... These are our life lessons. Our movie characters do also have a past and live patterns in need of change. Our experiences in these areas bring a new depth to our screenwriting.

What life lessons have I learned?

MDJ

Screenwriting - The Untold Story

We all have that one untold story inside. One for which we have passion beyond belief. We haven't told the story because... We are afraid to dig deeper... It will bring up too much emotion for us... We don't think it's commercial... Part of us thinks the idea is stupid... If we were to write this story the way we want to, it would break all screenwriting and storytelling rules... We all have excuses for not doing things. It is time to acknowledge the excuses and let them go. The very story that we are not telling is the one we need to birth. We can begin to write the one untold story today and do it with the ultimate passion.

What is your untold story?

MDJ

Screenwriting - It's Never Too Late

I drove past a billboard the other day which featured a ninety-year-old woman with a college diploma. What an inspiration that was. We all have self doubt from time to time... "My screenplay will never sell," "I have written a few and none of the others sold," "I have been writing for years without a sale," "The movie business is for the young," on and on and on...

When we make our doubts our focus they feed off of each other and multiply and this often distorts reality. The truth is... There is NO proven formula in the universe which provides the information about how to sell a screenplay! None! Nada! Zilcho! It doesn't exist. So, I can empower myself to keep plugging away at my dream and make my own formula for screenwriting success, my success.

It is never too late to sell a screenplay!

MDJ

Screenwriting - Defining Moments

We have all had one.  A defining moment in our life.  A moment when we took an action that changed our life forever.  It is in those moments that our true character is revealed.  We feel strong and in control of our lives.  We feel convicted to our personal growth.  We feel alive.  It is these moments the characters we create develop dimension.  It is in these moments that our characters become "larger than life."  And in these moments, the audience falls in love with our characters.  We can examine and reflect upon our defining life moments today.  We may gain greater insight into our own life and our sceenwriting life after doing so.

MDJ     

Screenwriters - Start Your Engines...

It's always nice to have our engines in tip top shape when undertaking any task in life. What happens when our engines become depleted? We are not at our best, we make mistakes, become irritable, fearful, frustrated and unmotivated. So how do we keep those life engines running strong? We need to take the time to recharge. If we are unable to show up for ourselves in this life we are of little use to others, our crafts and talents. How do we recharge? Vacations, exercise, taking breaks, helping others, changing our diet, writing in a new environment... Whatever it is, we need to remember to keep our personal engines in the best condition possible.

How do you recharge your screenwriting engine?

MDJ

Screenwriting - Living In Your Element

Have you ever experienced the kind of day where everything seems to flow? Everything gets accomplished, everything seems to click, you're on top of your game, you feel amazing, life is grand... you're living your dream. This is the type of day you are "living in your element." It's like time disappears. And how amazing these days can be. These very days hold the keys for our future. When we take the time to reflect on these days, meditate and journal about them, we open up ourselves to receive many more days when we get the opportunity to live the life we have always dreamed.

Do I reflect on the days that I "live in my element?"

MDJ

Screenwriting - Showing Up Today

Showing up for our craft is one way we can honor ourselves and our screenwriting careers. We show up by doing necessary story research, outlining our script, creating memorable characters, brainstorming, contacting producers, agents, actors and directors. There are so many ways that we can "show up" for ourselves as screenwriters. It is amazing how power is generated within the universe when we take these seemingly small steps. Life is a collective experience and when we show up day after day, amazing things can and do happen.

What are some ways that I show up for my screenwriting career?

MDJ

Screenwriting - A Gift In The Storm

Have you ever had an extremely overwhelming experience in your lifetime? One that you never thought you would make it through? A life challenge that you never expected? We have all had these types of experiences. They are overpowering when we are in them and yet we come out on the other end stronger because of the experience. Something helped us through the experience... friends, family, our faith. When we examine these types of experiences in our lives, we are then able to go deeper with our writing. We all have gifts that we receive after the storm. Today I can examine those life insights and gifts gained due to life challenging events.

MDJ

Screenwriting - Examining Our Limitations

Examining and knowing our limitations in life and screenwriting can save us much time down the road. We were not meant to be and do everything in this lifetime. When we take the time to examine our limitations from time to time, we are more able to focus on our strengths. I may be a strong comedy writer and yet wouldn't try to write a science fiction movie. Why? Because I know myself deep enough to accept the fact that, science fiction isn't my thing. I am limited and have no passion for that type of material and know that would be reflected in the final product. I then am free to focus more on comedy writing. We all have limitations, knowing them makes us human.

Have I examined my limitations lately?

MDJ

Screenwriting - My Dream Support Team

Screenwriting is an individual sport but we can take the team approach. Research has shown that the "team approach" to many things are the cause for greater successes. Support is something that we all need in life. We can get support from family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. When it comes to creative endeavors, it helps to have a strong support network. There can be and often are many discouraging influences and events that happen to us during our writing careers. This makes a strong support network invaluable. Our screenwriting support team can keep us honest, humble, grounded, challenged, supported during disappointments and so much more.

Have you created your own screenwriting support team?

MDJ

Screenwriting - Am I Teachable?

Screenwriting is an interesting craft. We need to know the basics regarding structure, format, character development and the like. And we need to discover what our unique style is through practicing our craft, so that we are able to stand out above the rest. Being open to learning is an attractive quality and we can practice this in life and in our screenwriting. There are many ways we can continue to learn; through reading books, listening to screenwriting lectures, attending seminars, evaluating feedback from professionals, friends and loved ones regarding our material. With all of these options and more, hopefully we are able to learn something new that will help us to become better writers. It all boils down to the ability to be teachable even when we think we know it all.

How teachable am I in life?

MDJ

Screenwriting - The One Thing I Value Most

We are the primary character in the story of our lives. As we journey through life, deeper examination and introspection of ourselves not only makes us better people but makes us better in everything that we do... including our screenwriting. We all value many things; family, love, health, humor, and the like. I can take some time today and look at the one thing I value most in my life. As I make this search, I can be assured that I will know myself deeper and this will make an impact in all areas of my life.

How does what I value most improve my screenwriting?

MDJ

Screenwriting - Story Sense And My Favorite Foods

Growing up, my mother used to make a special cake for my birthday. Since those days, I have had many people make the cake for me. Regretfully, most people get it wrong despite following the very same recipe. It just doesn't taste like mom makes it. When someone prepares our favorite foods, just as we like them, we know it. We have an innate sense about it.

Screenwriting and story sense is something we develop through practice. We get to a point in our writing where we just know certain elements are right. We feel it. We trust it. We know it to our core. We need to keep working at our craft to continue to trust this sense once we have discovered it.

Are you in touch with your story sense? Maybe you need to think about your favorite foods...

MDJ