Growing up, whenever bombarded with the obnoxious yet very real question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, I would always draw a blank. Then, on my eleventh birthday, I was given an acoustic guitar and my young little world flipped upside down…or maybe right side up for the first time. All I wanted to do was play that guitar and I foresaw a desired rock star status as my one and only calling in life. I pursued lessons, I played for hours at a time, I eventually formed a band. Then I had kids and subsequently the rock star dream, as well as keeping up with playing and writing regularly came to a screech of a halt. Adult life took over…making a living, paying bills…all that jazz.
But one thing remained and that is my desire and passion to write; to create. Music and lyrics were one thing but soon I found myself writing short stories, poetry and a non-published self memoir in 2008…more of a first draft if anything, though I commonly refer to it as, “A book I wrote”.
Now my newest passion in the field of writing is developing and writing Spec Scripts (also known as speculative screenplays: a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay) for existing television programs as well as a Pilot (a scripted first episode of an intended series). I am still undergoing a period of research and learning, all the while developing my own characters and story lines.
One of course cannot simply whip up their Pilot episode and hope to get it read by the powers that be in Hollywood. According to the book, “Inside The Room” featuring a variety of contributing authors and edited by Linda Venis states that 99.9% of all successful television writers get their foot in the door by writing spec scripts for other well-known television series currently airing. By emulating the same feel, while of course bringing a fresh story, one could find their script purchased and quite possibly a paid job (!) writing full time for that series. After some time of writing and collaborating with other writers then I could generate a name for myself that the executives would actually want to see what I have created (my Pilot) as well as any other writing accomplishments or ideas I may have.
For me, the beauty of this blog is to not only be used as a creative outlet but to build my writing portfolio. I encourage any criticism, thoughts, facts you have heard about the business of television writing or any other helpful comments. I will be blogging about a variety of topics and will also do the occassional update on my writing career!
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