Opening Hook & Central Question

The next three years will be very important for this unemployed writer. I will either “make it” or admit that I have failed as a screenwriter in the film business. That gives me until age thirty. If I have not “made it” by age thirty, then I will pack it in and devote the following three years to a new business venture. By age thirty-three I should have enough success in that new business venture to buy a home and start a family. But this blog isn’t about that new business. This blog is about my writing career and how I can find a way to have one.

My definition of “making it” is a bit loose. Six years ago I defined “making it” in the film business as writing and directing a hit film that was either praised by critics or garnered an adoring cult following. Today I define “making it” as getting paid enough to write and/or direct so that I don’t need to take a second job to pay the bills. In three years I may decide that “making it” means something completely different, but for now I’m working with the getting paid definition.

The current state of my “writing career” is as follows: I have a literary manager working to sell my original scripts and find me writing jobs. I have a young producer attached to a couple of my projects, working to get them into the right hands. I am writing as often as I can. I work odd jobs whenever the opportunity arises in order to pay the rent. I am on unemployment.

I have completed the following:

1 Feature Length Animated Family Comedy
1 Spec script of a popular TV sitcom
1 Original sitcom pilot (co-written)
1 Original comedy feature (rewrite/co-written)
1 Original sitcom pilot (rewrite)

While we work to sell my screenplays and/or find me a writing job, I plan to continue to write scripts in order to increase my odds of “making it.”

I’ve started this blog for a couple of reasons. I am going to write those reason in the form of a list because I like lists and they make me feel productive:

Reason 1. I love writing, but writing also sucks. I’m hoping that this blog can help as a source of motivation. If I put my deadlines out there for the world (or at least a couple of friends) to see, then I might be driven to follow through on those deadlines.

Reason 2. If I’m having writers block on a certain screenplay, instead of surfing the web, I hope to write a blog entry to help jumpstart my brain and get me back in the flow of writing.

Reason 3. I hope that other writers might read the blog and either commiserate or offer helpful suggestions.

Reason 4. If I do fail, I want to have an account of my trials so that I can look back and remember that I did everything in my power to succeed. And hopefully, others can learn from my mistakes.

Check back now and again because I will post my writing schedule, writing frustrations, and also career advancement (or setback) updates.

Wish me luck.