Find the "happy" in the New Year!

So we wish everyone a Happy New Year today but do we really know what we're saying when we speak those words. Happy. It means, "Be Happy". Sometimes easier said than done though, huh? But what I've realized in my years of late is that it's not so hard to do. It doesn't mean ignore the things that bother you, it just means there are so many more reasons to be happy. If we use this in our writing, we can focus on the positive in our career, even if we're not successful yet. Ask yourself, what have been your successes this past year? Did you make new contacts? That's good. Did you reach out to new producers? That's good. Doesn't even matter if they said they'd read your script or if they said they'd produce it. If you got farther in your career, then you're making strides. So focus on that. Do not focus on how far you have to go. Did you write one new script this year? Two? Three? Then that's a lot to be happy about! Maybe you didn't have a strong writing year, but jotted down new ideas, then be happy about that! It's something. It's always something. See, there are always things to be happy about. Even if you have a computer you can write on. Fingers to type on the keyboards. A brain to come up with ideas with.Those are all reasons to be grateful. What you might take for granite, some people might not have at all. So just remember, you can focus on what you can be thankful for and the universe will bring you more to be thankful. Or you can be bitter your career isn't as you hoped it would be yet. And the universe will bring you more of that. I'd rather choose to be happy and watch as the universe brings me more to be happy about. And let me tell you, it's working. The good things are coming. So this year, listen when someone says, "Happy New Year". And mean it when you say it. And by the way, have a Happy New Year. Seriously.

Who cares how many other people are writing screenplays?

I joined a new TV writing group recently. Great group of women. Yes, it's also an all-women writing group, which I'm digging. Nothing against men. But it's fun surrounding yourself by other talented female writers. So a couple are kind of new to the TV world. You could say younger than me. No, I won't tell you by how much! More than one year and less than 100. But what I can tell you, is these gals tend to go to a lot of writing events. Something I've stopped going to because I feel it just takes away from actual writing. But they're single, no kids, unlike me, so have much more time on their hands. But part of the other problem with going to these kinds of events is you see how many other people are out there trying to do what you're trying to do; Attempting to make a career out of something you want to do. Something you've been told could be hard to actually become a paid one of.

So one of the gals said she got really intimidated by seeing how many other writers were there. The others didn't speak up but had that "Oh yes, I was panicking" look on their faces. Luckily, I've been down this path before her and reminded her/them, "Don't worry, most of these people won't finish a first script. And out of those, most won't do a rewrite. And guess how many won't write script #2. Won't keep at it after a year. Won't keep at it after two!" The thing is, most people that are trying to be real, paid writers, are few and far between. Okay yes, many are very talented and hard-working writers and for some reason their careers don't take off. But many of them, most of them, just don't have what it takes to really become a paid writer. So you can either let the amount of people that are also trying to get their writing career launched intimidate you, or you can remember that most of them are just pretending to be writers. That's how I see it. Because if you really love writing, really want a career in this, nothing like too many other writers, should get in your way. Because I also preach "our thoughts create reality". And if you believe it, it will happen. And that's something most other writers don't have either.

RIP writer that could have been

So as writers go, we tend to have writing groups. And these days, some of those groups are online. Which means we end up being online friends with people we never meet in person. Luckily I've "met" some really great writers that way. And one of these, Sandy Corkins-Schmidt, just passed away this week. I never got to meet her. I barely knew her. But I do remember her smiling face, seeing kind words posted from her. I know she placed in several screenwriting contests this year. And of course when everyone online heard of her passing, there were only kind things to be said about her. But what does this have to do with you? Well, she was young. I would assume in her 40's. Which to me, is too young to pass away. So the reason I'm writing about her, to you, is that I hope this reminds all writers, that you need to stop waiting to get those screenplays and TV scripts written. Because we just don't know when it's our time. Life is short people. And if you aren't doing what you love,  you aren't following your passion to be a writer, then why aren't you? For me, my dad passed away when I was 23 and he was only 51. It was the most tragic thing that had happened to me. But it taught me never ever to take life for granite and to live every moment to its fullest. It's given me the passion to always keep writing and never waste my time doing anything unimportant when I could be writing instead.

So please writers, stop procrastinating. Stop watching too much TV when you could be writing your own TV scripts. Stop hanging out with friends ALL the time, when you could hole up and finish your outline or your rewrite. You're a writer. You're meant to write. You have the passion to be a successful writer. And if you waste too much time, you'll never see your dream realized. To me, writers were put on this earth to tell their stories. So tell your story. Before it's too late.