Writers Association

I went as far as joining the Screenwriters Federation of America (SFA).  I was not eligible to join the Screen Writers Guild (SWG).  I thought the amount to join SFA was a sizeable amount of money given the fact that I had no published writings at that time.  But I was able to join as an "Associate".  I kept this membership for approximately 3 years.  During that time I visited the site on occasion. I must confess I didn't get my money's worth as I hardly ever when there to take advantage of all the membership offered at that time.  Although SFA is not like SWG there were some very noteworthy production companies listed for members to contact.   The only excuse one would have not to submit a project to see if it can be produced is a self-imposed one.  I had one no doubt whether it was a good one or not.  So this membership lapsed after I stopped updating my old blog and stopped writing on my existing projects.

Of course you have to be an active writer with published works to join SWG.  It is a notable accomplishment to be a member of that organization.  I aspire to be a member one day.   No offense to SFA.  It has really grown and is a worthwhile organization to belong to if someone takes writing seriously.

Sometime ago my sister gave me a book titled "Screenwriters Survival Guide" by Max Adams.  It was supposed to help me get to the next step of actually submitting my screenplay.  As you already know I didn't get that far.  But I still have that book for reference.  Someday soon I must crack open the cover to discover it's secrets.

My sister also gave me a website that contains other less notable writing associations.  However for the life of me I can't remember that website.  I'm sitting in an airport lounge waiting for my flight and I don't have access to any of my writing resource files.  I would like to explore getting a membership at one or more of those clubs as I must start somewhere.   I must ask my sister if she remembers even though it is so long ago.  I can only hope!

Writing Software Challenges

I used Dramatica software to develop a few movie ideas.  I chose this software because it allowed for development of writing projects that could be populated into a screen writing program or a book format for publishing.  It was exciting to use this software at the beginning as I went along trying to answer certain questions and deciding on the criteria for the outline of my movie ideas.  I went along throughout until one day I got to the end of one movie idea.   The way this software worked is that you develop the number of characters you want and you give them a role in the movie and based on what you want your characters to do and the overall theme of your movie it would take you down a certain path in the program.

I went through the review of what I had finished. During the review process I found that there were sections of the software program which were not completed.  I started addressing those sections.  This is when the fun stopped.  I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing by trying to address all of the sections of the software or whether I was already ready to go to either Movie Magic Screenwriter or Final Draft.  While I was looking at the pros and cons of these screen writing software programs I plodded along in a quest to address all areas of the Dramatica program. Somehow during this process I had a long delay in completing as I was pretty close to finishing this one movie idea and I had outlined a couple of other ideas.  Then my hard drive crashed and gone was the program even though I had saved a ".pdf" version of my projects.  You already know the rest of the story as this was the straw that broke the camels back.  I found it hard to think about starting over again and buying this program again as I didn't have a backup copy since I paid to have it downloaded directly to my laptop.

So I learned the hard way.  In the future I will be more diligent in getting a better insight into a software program before investing a lot of time, energy and money into it.

No Contest

I'm sure that the first thing to come to mind when you see "No Contest" is whether I recently had to go in front of a judge to enter a plea in a court hearing.  While that might add a little excitement here that is certainly not what I mean.  After all this is about writing folks!  I'm happy to report that I've not had any run-ins with the law.  I want to talk about the forum of entering writing contests.

I've tested the waters in this venue at least 3 or 4 times.  I've entered various thematic contests sponsored by Writer's Digest some time ago when I decided to pursue writing as a second career. I made sure I addressed the topical requirements and the word count requirements.  I was very careful even though the topics spurred me to write more than would be accepted in each contest entry.  I didn't win any of the contest nor did I receive any honorable mentions.  As far as I was concerned I was quite pleased with what I wrote for every submission. Then I gave up on the aspect of entering writing contests.

Some people have been quite successful at these contests venues.  It's not for everyone and I decided it's not for me.  I've always found that it is really not within me to thrive off of competing against other people.  I have done quite well when I compete within myself.  I think this is why I have been able to excel in some of the things that I have achieved so far in life.

I did spend more time on other writing endeavors that took my time away from writing for contests.  After that procrastination set in as to whether or not to submit a writing project for publication.  I could write and write and write and I let it become just enough for too long as I've already mentioned in my first posting to this blog.  So it's really up to each individual to decide if contest writing is for them or not.  I still believe even after I didn't win anything that I am good at writing.  I'm not a Michael Jordan but I am inspired by his story.  When he was told he would never be good at basketball he wrote his own history and has been honored by a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.  I'm embracing this bit of inspiration as I continue on my journey in writing.

The Art of Correspondence

Lately I've thought about the decrease in writing correspondence, namely letters and hand written notes that convey either sympathy, greetings, congratulations or simply love.  I've written at least two using note cards  before the holidays and mailed them to people I know in other countries.  They appreciated the notes and made a personal call as a result of the notes.  I felt very good about that.  Long time ago I had pen pals when I was growing up in Brooklyn, New York.  Now I'm dating myself!  It was a very fulfilling past-time and I was always checking the mail for a new letter from my pen pals.

In the current times most people use Facebook, Twitter, various Instant Messaging (IM) services and Blackberry Messaging (BBM), etc.  I've only used IM and BBM.  These services and SMS embody their own linguistic challenges depending on the age of the user.  I find that the older user does not grasp this jargon or code.  On the opposite spectrum it is virtually the only language used by the younger users.  While I know this code and do use it from time to time I normally prefer the predictive text feature on my cellphone.  I can't help that I have a love for words and that I want them to be used and spelled correctly.  I will not open a Facebook or Twitter account.  I prefer not to use these services as a matter of personal choice.  I tend to be a private person and prefer to limit the amount of information that I display publicly.

The very first IM service was ICQ.  How many of you remember that service?  It was revolutionary and exciting to be able to send a short written message between one or more persons and get a quick reply within a few seconds.  Since that time there has been an explosion of  all kinds of IM services online and on our cellphones.  I moved on to use AOL, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, in that exact order.  I still use Yahoo Messenger but not as much as I did when it was first introduced to online users.  I've used the BBM when I had that type of phone for my cellphone service.  Today everything is geared towards instant gratification.  We don't have to wait for a letter or note card in the mail.

I'm striving to balance that out with mailing a personal note to a friend or relative from time to time.  I've already gotten back into the habit of sending postcards since I travel quite a lot.  I have mailed letters to various companies to complain about services or to commend someone's extra efforts at a particular company.  So that will not change.  I think this way of handling correspondence is good for my soul as I am working on bringing things into balance in my life.  It's a wise saying that, "Too much of a good thing is no good!"  I feel having balance in life is important for continued growth.

I'm happy to find out that in the public schools writing is still in the curricula.   There are some schools that encourage writing by holding writing contests.  The children who participate are awarded for their endeavors in this art form.  This is good as we need to develop future writers.

To keep written correspondence alive perhaps we should stop and think which one of our family, friends or work colleagues would appreciate a hand written letter or note.  You might be pleasantly surprised by the joy this may bring to someone you know and/or love.

Let's try to do this.

Looking For Inspiration

I have taken up a new reading project as I am sure it will give me new ideas. I plan to be an avid reader so as to get some more new ideas.  I've been pondering about what life experiences I have that I can draw upon for writing projects. I haven't thought up enough ideas yet as I am still slowly getting back on my feet in the writing arena.  I struggle to find the right topics to pursue but I plan on persevering.  I am not giving up as easily as I have in the past.  Unfortunately I didn't put in enough thought to write more on this particular post but I'm happy I have at least put something on the page.  I have to fight this feeling of resistance and find the drive to overcome the challenges.  So whether what I write here is a lot or not much is not the main point.  It's writing something that is the main goal!  This is what is going to help me move forward with my writing.  

Comments are welcome at any time!