Writing Your Way to a Writing Job

It's been a long time since I've had time to sit down and write a blog post. That's because I've been so busy getting paid to write. So when I thought about what to write, I said to myself "Why not just tell them how you went from wishing to make a living writing to making a living writing?"

So here we go. First of all, I've got a couple of decades in story development for the major Hollywood studios under my belt. That helps. During those fertile years, I learned from some of the best in the business about what works in screen stories and I've read thousands and thousands of scripts that taught about what DOESN'T work.

After leaving Universal Studios in 2006, I started writing this blog. It was my way of learning about the blogosphere and I also thought it would be a great discipline. I had originally planned to write one brilliant post every day. That didn't happen but I was pretty consistent with two or three posts a week. That gave me the confidence that comes from just "doing it." Showing up at the page on a regular basis is more than half the battle.

Then I rewrote my book and self-published it. Now I have a product to sell. It has also proven to be a great calling card. It led to my getting hired as a freelancer for a group of Central Texas magazines (which now hire me regularly) and that experience gave me the confidence to interview for a local newspaper. I was hired immediately as a reporter. Not my dream job, but it was a great experience. I met all the leaders in town and that has led to many more offers and some new friends.

So, at the risk of sounding really simplistic and obvious, if you want to write the best thing to do is just start writing. Write a blog, write a letter to your mother, keep a journal (I write in my journal every single day, whether I have anything to say or not), I record my dreams, I write promotional material, short scripts, advertorials and anything else I can. It's all great experience and it's all honing my skills as a writer.

Almost every day I run into people who wish they could make a career out of writing and all I can honestly say to them is "What's stopping you?" No sarcasm. Just ask yourself.

I'm a big fan of self-help books. My own book, SCRIPT: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO THE HOLLYWOOD JUNGLE is a form of one of those. It's great. I highly recommend that you read it. But it won't make you a writer. Only you can do that.

P.S. Writing a bog is also a great way to tell your dream lover you're keeping the light on for them:) All he has to do is show up. That's what I want for Christmas.