As I write this I’m a bunch of feet up in the air, en route to possibly a new place, a new life, squinting from window seat sun.  By the time you read it all I’ll be safely back on the ground, but it seems important to write it now.  For some reason – actually, a very obvious reason – flying always makes me think Big Life Thoughts.  My mind wants to make sure, on the off chance something goes wrong, I’ll have gotten some large thinking done before…well…in case there’s suddenly something more pressing than getting that tiny pac

Whenever I’m in a horrible mood, my dad always tells me, “Use it!”  He likes the idea that because I’m a writer, every situation has the possibility of being fodder for a story.  In the heat of anger, I usually discard this advice, but when I take the time to think about it – artists really do have the gift/curse of always being aware, even when we’re smack dab in the middle of the suckiest situation ever.

So yes, every situation, every emotion, is “Usable” - if we teach ourselves how to be cognoscente.

For a beginning screenwriter, the sentence “we do not take unsolicited material” can be so annoying.  Not everyone was born with connections, and some really great budding artists are still without proper representation.  You’d think agents would want to hear from us – since we’re the new generation that’s going to make them lots of money – but sadly, most of the Big Guys just don’t want our unsolicited stuff.  For those of you who think you can buck the system, read that last sentence again – or risk spending way

During my time as a lowly-paid (and in most cases, not paid at all) Script Reader, I often came across a common pattern of the novice writer; the lack of white space on a page.

Most writers I know are like me; we’ll get hit with an idea, throw ourselves at the computer, type away until the early morning, drink some coffee, and go to our day jobs, surviving on the knowledge that we’ve just started something great.  When we’re in the throes of a great idea, food isn’t really necessary, sleep isn’t really needed, and friends could knock all night – we’re not coming out until we get everything in our heads onto the page.

So yeah, it can be magical.  Otherworldly.

A lot of times, when I come up with an idea that I like, I stick with it like a dependent girlfriend.  I won’t let it go; no matter how much trouble it causes me.  No matter how convoluted the plot gets, no matter how wrong the characters go, no matter how unsatisfying the process becomes, if I initially thought it was a good idea, I’ll try to push through.  I can't be that screenwriter who has 100 great ideas but never finishes any of them.

Throughout my time as a student, lowly unpaid intern, lowly paid intern, and possible spec writer, I have tried to discuss my creative viewpoint with many people. Producers, agents, professors, fellow coffee-fetchers, and other hopeful writers.  Sometimes people totally get where I’m coming from, and sometimes their eyes glaze over.  Not everyone is going to be in sync with my creative impulse…but I now understand why it’s essential to work with those who are.

I started out writing plays.  I majored in playwriting in college.  I got an expensive MFA in it.   I’ve spent countless dollars watching how the masters do it, and countless hours discussing the ins and outs of it.

So why am I so afraid of it?

When the 81st Annual Academy Awards air on February 22nd, a bunch of people are going to be given tokens of appreciation for work well done.  Regardless of what some of us think, the Academy Awards are a big deal and will probably never go away, so in the spirit of being in Rome – let’s look at the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Oscars are here – well, the selections, anyway.  Best actor, Best Cinematography, Best Unpaid Intern (it should exist)…in a few weeks a few will be plucked from the many, announced on national television, and given 30 seconds to gush and forget everyone who helped them win that little gold statue.