It took me a long time to call myself a writer ... more than 1,000 half-hour teleplays, two produced features, and an award-winning short. By the time I was on my second award-winning short film I finally began to consider myself, and call myself, a writer. It was when that film was in qualification for the Academy Awards (after screening at 31 festivals and winning 31 awards) that I was also given a bit of sage advice: "In this business you ALWAYS need a second act." Hoping that my film would be nominated, and with only two "finished" screenplays in my arsenal, I started writing in earnest. In the 3-4 months that followed I polished up those two screenplays and finished 3 more. I had a "fire under my butt" so to speak and the fire was this -- if I was so lucky to have my film shortlisted that year, I knew that anyone I'd want to work with in this business would come calling and ask me, "So ... what else have you got?" I needed to be able to answer that question with a variety of interesting stories. Completed stories. Stories I was proud to pitch AND hand over. Since then I've written/produced and directed several more films and written several more screenplays. And if you ask me now, "Are you a writer?" I would answer you with a resounding, "Yes." Oh, and by the way, my film wasn't shortlisted, but it IS available for viewing on IndieFlix. It's called "Worth."
Screenwriting : Your Second Act by Kathi Carey
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Good strategy, and it paid off! Glad to have you here, Kathi.
Very inspiring Kathi! Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Paul and Ben ... I've been lurking around here for awhile but meeting RB the other night made me finally decide to "step out and make myself known." Glad it seems to be working. ;-)
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Thanks Chad. I'm so glad you were motivated.
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Terrific post, Kathi! Great share.
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Thanks RB and Floyd!! I'm so glad I was able to share something to inspire you!
Thanks for sharing... this is inspiring!
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Thank you for reading Kira.
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This is so true. You always have to be prepared to answer "What's next?"
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And, Christine, I think you always have to be asking yourself the same question.
Hi Kathi, its good to meet you! Like you I lurked for a while until prodded into introducing myself by RB. And thanks for the story.... its good to hear both the good advice as well as the success that follows..... especially if one is in the time between projects when it seems like nothing will ever happen again. I'm a composer, not a writer, but it still applies.... try my hand at new kinds of music or instrument combinations.... write something new! Thank you so much for this post. Arhynn
Thanks for sharing your story, Kathi. It is inspiring, but also a little daunting. I'm just about to make my first short, which I wrote, but I've got a lot more writing to do. Thanks for the reminder and the push to do more.
Congrats on your success. Thanks for sharing!
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Congratulations on your success. You certainly set incredibly high standards for yourself!
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Thanks Arhynn, Caroline, Denise and Mona. I find it's always good to be creating ... not only does it keep those creative muscles flexed but it also pushes you in directions you never expected. It can be a little daunting, but I find that if I don't think about that but just try to do my best with each new project (and have FUN -- otherwise why do it?) any fear goes away. And Mona, I suppose I do set incredibly high standards for myself. I always have. It's just in my nature, I guess. I expect the best of myself and everyone with whom I work.
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Wow, I'm pea green. Just sent you a friend request so I can watch you sparkle.
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Blush
At my age I would be satisfied with festival wins. Anything else would be gravy.
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Ronald, festival wins are no small potatoes! At any age. Especially for a short film. You are up against some pretty stiff competition. In the festival world the short films are the toughest competitors because they are the easiest to make. Note, I did not say they were "easy" -- but the easiest, because of the relative availability of cameras, editing software and the like. So there are more short films competing for fewer slots. That means the ones that get those slots are usually really, really good. So, it follows that the ones that WIN are the cream of the crop. I hope to see you on the festival circuit!
Glorying in your reflected light. So happy for you.
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And this is why I only call myself an aspiring screenwriter, atm. :D Good for you. That's a lot of accomplishments (And writing o_O).
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Thanks Janet and Nadia. Appreciate the comments. Still writing, btw. ;-)
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Thank you for posting this. I need this as a new writer.
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That's a great post Kathi, Anytime we can get in the room with a possible connection we need to have additional scripts to pitch in case they are not interested in the one that got us in the door. A producer is going to spend years bringing our script to the screen so they must have passion for it...almost as much as we have. So, be ready to pitch them optons.
You're absolutely right, Curtis. One of the first questions you'll be asked when doing a "pitch" for a producer is "What else have you got?" This isn't because they're not interested in what you just pitched, necessarily, but they want to know if you're a "one trick pony" or if you're the real deal. Someone with multiple projects to pitch will ALWAYS be taken more seriously than someone with just one.
Congratulations Kathi. Ive only written one feature film and various shorts but Im currently working on my second feature right now. I think I was too concerned with "perfecting" my first that it was starting to drain me a little. I decided that I would only rewrite a certain amount of times then move on to something new. I can always go back to it again in a few months or whatever. I think one of the most important aspects to be able to call yourself a screenwriter is actually having a body of work. Very inspiring post Kathi. Thank you.
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Congratulations Kathi....
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Thanks, Janet! Gavin, just keep writing. The more you write the better you get. And what you'll find is that rewriting is quite different from writing -- different skillsets. So, as you keep writing new screenplays what will happen is that you'll get better and better as a writer and then, when you go back to the older screenplays, you'll see places where you now (as the better, more experienced writer you are) can make them better. But yes, at a certain point you have to say "This is done." and let it be.
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Great post, Kathi. Spot on!
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Yes spot on lass... We can all learn something from that.
Congrats on what you've accomplished.
What a great post Kathi!! Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations, Kathi!
Congrats. I want to attend that height too.
Thanks for sharing Kathi!
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Great endurance. Way to go!
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Hi, there! My name is Alan Champion, and I reside in NYC. After a career in television as a Broadcast Journalist for 35 years, today, I am a film/television Content Developer. A “Ideas Man,” I’ve taken several screenwriting courses at NYU and New School, but, found that my journalistic experience as well as having worked in Public Relations for music industries as well as universities tend to impede my screenwriting ability as I write how I believe characters should talk vs. how they naturally speak. Hence, I have over 65 different narratives, equipped with research, characterizations, premises, antitheses and synthesizes, and have approached studios and producers, but, without an agent, they don’t accept or espy unsolicited material. I am seeking an agent or professional representation, firstly, and, finding a seasoned writer that I might collaborate with in developing film scripts, secondly. I’ve been told by many producers to develop my narratives into novels as another means of attracting producers and studio development executives, but, I prefer dramatic writing more. Thank you for your insights and suggestions.
Sincerely, Alan Champion