Screenwriting - Writing In The Present

We write our screenplays in the here and now so that the reader can feel as if they are a part of the story.  When our scripts are cluttered with items that take us out of the now, we lose the reader.  Much like the distractions in our lives regarding the past and the future.  Reflecting on the past is great... living there isn't. Projecting into the future may be how we set goals... living in the fantasy world takes us away from what is happening today and the opportunities this moment brings are often missed.  The value of being an active part of our day is a gift we have the opportunity to experience with each new sunrise.

MDJ



Only when your consciousness is totally focused on the moment you are in can you receive whatever gift, lesson, or delight that moment has to offer.

-- Barbara De Angelis

Screenwriting - Everyone is a writer...

An extremely high percentage of the population has an idea for or is writing a screenplay.  The seven figure screenplays have something 99.99% of all other scripts don't possess.  They contain all the basics of a well structured script, twisted in such a way that appears to be unique beyond belief.  The ultimate page turner is our goal and we strive to get closer to that destination each and every day.  The only way to make this a reality is to consistently write.

MDJ


Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.

-- Booker T. Washington

Screenwriting - Turns and Twists

What if life were completely predictable?  How boring would that be.  The mystery life presents us with each and every day is what makes our existence exciting.  We experience twists and turns in our lives all the time.  We need to remember to amplify these in our writing.

MDJ

What we anticipate seldom occurs, what we least expected generally happens.

-- Benjamin Disraeli

Screenwriting - True Power

When we take the time to get to know ourselves on the deepest of levels we gain a power that is unmatched by any other.  The problem is that most of us are too afraid to look.  Today we can honor our truest selves by being willing to open the door to self if only slightly.

MDJ



Some say knowledge is power, but that is not true.  Character is power

--Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Screenwriting - Writing Brick Walls

Everyone has an opinion on what it takes to be a successful screenwriter and many will tell you that it is impossible to sell a screenplay. Screenwriters are like snowflakes... all different. And the road to success is different for each. Why not let today be the day that we choose our own road to success?

MDJ

One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your imagination.

-- Sam Levenson

Screenwriting - Writing The Impossible

Our writing goal is to create something new and innovative. The "experts" say its all been written before... We as individuals who have been given the gifts of creativity and imagination must challenge ourselves to write stories that others experience as new.

MDJ

Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.

-- Henri Frederic Amiel

Screenwriting - A Plan For Life

We have a personal plan for the stories and scripts we create. And we accent the plan with our own style. Our screenplays conform to our interpretation of a blueprint, maybe similar in format yet unique in other ways. The plan helps make our creation better. Learning from our craft and then applying those lessons to our lives is an added bonus we writers are given.

Maps encourage boldness. They're like cryptic love letters. They make everything seem possible.

-- Mark Jenkins

Screenwriting - Character Development

We writers are very concerned with the players in our stories. How concerned are we with our own character development? We have the opportunity to experience in this lifetime all of the goals, dreams and desires that we write about. We must be open and willing to the change we create on screen. The "larger than life" people that we fall in love with on paper can teach us to dig deeper ourselves.

MDJ

Character is destiny.

--Heraclitus

Screenwriting - How Many Goals Do I Need?

It's great to have goals in all areas of our lives. Problems arise when we try to have too many at the same time. Simplifying our lives is a natural stress reducer as well as a formula for goal achieving.

MDJ

Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets

--Nido Qubein

Screenwriting - Imagine It!

We writers create. What a gift and yet do we squander it? Our imagination is one of the most powerful forces in our lives and yet like our brain there are areas within that remain untapped. Today I will exercise my imagination in a new way.

MDJ

To imagine the unimaginable is the highest use of the imagination.

-- Cynthia Ozick

Screenwriting - How Do My Characters Give?

When looking at our lives, who can we identify that has given to us freely of their time, expertise or other valuable resources without any expectations? These are the types of people who leave a lasting imprint upon our soul. And generally, they are far and few between. When looking at our screenplays and stories it is often good to work this type of character into the mix. It's not a bad idea to practice this in our own lives as well.

MDJ

To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own.

-- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Screenwriting - White Space In Your Life

Readers love to see "white space" in our screenplays. It makes them an easy read. Maybe we can all take a lesson from the scripts we create and apply it to our lives. When we are doing too much everything gets less than the attention it deserves. Our relationships and health can suffer as a result. Let's focus on how we can make more white space in our lives for 2011... It will probably improve our writing.

MDJ

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say let your affairs be as one, two, three and to a hundred or a thousand. We are happy in proportion to the things we can do without.

--Henry David Thoreau

Screenwriting - The Bold Screenwriter

We journey to create "larger than life" stories and screenplays. Why stop there? Our lives provide us ample opportunity to grow and become the people we have always wanted to be. Maybe our bold decisions in our writing can assist us in living.

MDJ

Fortune befriends the bold.

-- John Dryden

Screenwriting - The Perfect Screenwriter

We all know this person doesn't exist... or do we? Do we put so much pressure on ourselves to create the perfect script that we fear our own failure? It's something to think about.

MDJ

Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Screenwriting - Write Different, Everytime

If you ever want your screenplay to rise to the top of the pile, You need write different... starting on page one.

MDJ

An actor entering through the door, you've got nothing. But if he enters through the window, you've got a situation.

-- Billy Wilder

Screenwriting - Writing A Lifetime

In choosing writing as a lifetime career, we need to ask ourselves about our end goal... is it really to just sell screenplays?

MDJ

If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; in terms of 100 years, teach the people.

--Confucius

Screenwriting - Regular or Premium?

Do I accept the challenge in 2011 to be extraordinary?...

MDJ

We must overcome the notion that we must be regular... it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.

--Uta Hagen