What was the moment you knew you wanted to be a writer?
For me it was in high school after I won an award for a guest column in the student paper. Pretty much everyone, myself included, was surprised I got first place and it compelled me to pursue a career in writing.
I knew I wanted to make movies after watching a clip from Seven Samurai in college. It was only 10 minutes long, but I saw enough to know I wanted to spend my life telling stories in film.
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Cool story!! Thanks for the thought provoking question Stephen! It was after I shared my first poem with someone and he said “see I told you your stuff is good! That’s why you’re greedy & keep it to yourself!”
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Dan - same here... I'm not sure I want to be a screenwriter even now that I've got the time & ability.
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I figured out I could write in Highschool. I started off with poetry, but just posted as a hobby to my facebook page. Readers would push me to take it seriously and write books and music. It wasn't till years later I decided after all of the nagging (lol) to take it seriously. And down a list of writing ventures later, it brought me to screenwriting. The signs were there a long time though. I was always good with writing stories. I just never paid attention. Young and carefree I guess.
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Dan Guardino Doug Nelson We can switch places if you'd like :) I'll gladly live your screenwriter life for you, even if just for a while.
After I lived long enough to have something meaningful to say.
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Stephen, my "I want to be a writer" moment came when I read that paperback version of the "American Graffiti" screenplay back in college. (I've still got that paperback!)
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My 5th-grade graduation. When to my surprise I was awarded by my English teacher the award for "outstanding student." Before saying my name he gave an extensive speech about how this student improved in her writing and excelled amongst her classmates. I was actually shook when he spoke my name. But even then I couldn't truly believe I could make a living by becoming a writer. This was due to the fact that I knew no role models who looked like me successfully doing what I dreamed of pursuing. All I knew was Stephen King, John Green, Steven Spielberg etc. This all changed when I discovered Shonda Mother F'ing Rhimes.
The moment I knew I could do better as a screenwriter was when I saw Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in the theater... 2003.
In 8th grade, a social studies assignment was to create a nation with four regions (democratic, marxist, socialist, monarchy), exploring how each would operate. The assignment was for 4 pages. 12 pages later, I had addressed the history, culture, economy... And writing it was a joy I had not known before, so that was the moment. I got a B-, BTW, for not "following the assignment."
And I'm with Dan and Doug - fell into screenwriting by default. Of the four of us in our production company back in 1996, I was the only writer, so it fell to me to write the script. Never liked it. So, when I came across a TV story and collaborated on the first iteration of Starfall in 1999, I realized (from that 8th grades experience) I was a worldbuilder. So I stopped screenwriting. Now I only write TV.
And novels.
Long, complex, of-questionable-commercial-value novels.
Dammit. :)