It's a pretty important day

It's International Women's Day. And that's pretty cool. So what better time to take a moment out to be thankful for all the strong women in my life. 

I'm thankful to have an amazing all-female writing group that not only inspires me to write better but to keep wanting to see more women's stories told. 

I'm thankful to all the strong women in my life that inspire me to go after I want, because if it's my dream to be a writer, then why shouldn't I be? 

I'm thankful to the women in the film industry that are paving the way for other writers like me, today, to tell my stories and know that I too can do it if I want. 

I'm thankful to people like my mom, who even though she was afraid to go after her own dreams, she's always proud of me when I go after mine. 

I'm thankful to all my strong friends who even if they aren't writers or have no interest in the industry, they are going after their own dreams, no matter what they are. 

I'm even thankful for all the strong men in my life who aren't afraid to let strong women go after their dreams and don't feel threatened when they do. We need strong men too, that's for sure. 

So no matter what International Women's Day means to you, I hope you've found a way to honor yourself or the women in your life too. And if not today, it's never too late. 

All women's writer group? Worth it or not?

Okay, first of all, this isn't for men who want to be in an all women's group! That's another post I think. So, we got that out of the way! But what if a woman wants to be in an all women's group. Is it really worth it? 

See, I've been in a few writing groups. I've learned something in all of them. Some I've outgrown and then had to find new ones, and others just fell apart. Well, lately I found myself in need of another writing group. So through an online social media writing group I was in, I found out about a new female writing group. I never really felt the need to be in an only female writing group. I've been in an all women's TV writer's group, but it never really felt different than any other writing group I was in. 

But this new one, something was different. Once I started talking to the founders of the group, I really got excited about it. They mentioned that in previous groups it had been men that had talked down to them, shut them up before they got to say what they wanted, and made them feel not listened to. I'd never realized it until we spoke, but in two separate writing groups, the only problems I'd ever had were both men that also treated me that way! These instances were years apart so it never even crossed my mind there was a connection. Of course, not all men are like that. In fact, I've had many amazing male writing group friends, male mentors, and many of my writing partners in TV and feature writing have been men. But it did start to seem that certain men, have lashed out at females in ways women don't. 

There have also been online writing groups where I've been verbally attacked, and when that's happened, it's been men. During the same time, it was a man that stood up for me and made me feel better about the whole negative situation. So by all means, I'm not suggesting men suck! Not in the least. But maybe in order for a woman to feel supported, it's okay to have other women who tend to be more nurturing, anyway. I can't say all women are like this and I'm sure there are some people who might have stories to share about not feeling supported by women. But maybe at least for me, and the women I've met in this group, maybe an all women's writing group just might be what we need. 

I made it to the first group and I really enjoyed all the women in the group. They all seem like very talented writers and I'm very excited to be a part of this new group. Will they always be my writing group? Who knows. But for now, I feel happy to call this my writing home. 

Don't judge

So I usually write about screenwriting, but today I felt the need to write about what it's like to be judged as a woman in today's world. The reason I felt like doing this is because of the fallout from Renee Zellweger's new face. Before her new critics, she was in the trades and news for not looking good. People tweeted and commented on how horrible she was looking. Really? People? Why is it that from the safety of every one's homes they feel so nasty and mean about ripping apart a person. She's a person, remember? So then recently she does who knows what to her face. Facelift? Botox? Facials? I don't know and I don't care. So now she's ripped apart for no longer looking like she used to. Luckily it seems like she's not caring and letting it roll off her back. And I hope she really feels that way. Because I can only imagine what it's like to be judged by every Tom, Dick and Mary in the social media world. It's hard enough as a woman in today's day and age to get older, but when you're an actress in Hollywood the standards are even that much tougher. So what's an actress to do? I guess learn to develop a thick skin. Easier said than done I'm sure. Because most actors are insecure as it is. If you're an actor reading this and you don't think you are, I bet, you are. And if you can't get a thick skin, stop reading social media and tabloids. It's sort of like a tree in a forest, if you don't read it, it didn't happen. And for the rest of us writers and other non-actors, stop caring what actresses do or don't do. If you have that much time to criticize what an actor does or doesn't do, you've got too much time on your hands. Which is why, I'm going back to my new outline. Ciao!