Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “No person has the right to rain on your dreams.”
I had a best friend who claimed to be a romance writer, though she never finished a story that I knew of, never submitted anything, and spent more time quilting than she did writing. She liked to talk about writing, though, and she was great at brainstorming.
When I became interested in screenwriting, she did, too. She liked coming up with ideas. Then, I began working with half a dozen different producers who liked my voice, liked my writing. They wanted to see anything and everything I wrote. It became a matter of finding the property that would be a good fit for them.
When I optioned a screenplay with a Canadian producer who had ties to Hollywood, she told me it wouldn’t go anywhere. She stated that I’d never sell a script because I didn’t live in Hollywood, wasn’t young enough, and wasn’t the right sex.
I was in my 40s!
I asked her why she would stomp on someone’s dreams like that?
Crickets.
Later, I discovered her mother had stomped on her dreams of being a clothing designer. So, she became an office assistant for NASA, a job her mother approved of but which my friend hated. She retired as soon as she possibly could. Quilting, a part-time hobby for much of her life, now became her full-time hobby, along with the care of her many cats.
While that optioned screenplay ended up not going anywhere—which is true for many optioned screenplays—just getting it optioned was an enormous step in the multi-step process of a script being filmed.
I still have hope for that script. Why?
Because it performed decently in contests and still garners excitement when I’m asked what is it about and I provide its logline pitch. Currently, it’s a project that needs a facelift.
And now, after a 30-year hiatus from screenwriting—due to a divorce, a return to school, and a career of academic teaching, during which I was writing Grendel’s Mother, retired, and became an indie publisher of 20 books, I’m finally back.
In coming back, I’ve rejoined Scriptwriter’s Network, a screenwriting organization I belonged to decades ago, during which I judged their screenwriting contests for a decade.
As a result of coming back, I’ve been invited to do a webinar on October 19, with the Network’s president who is hosting the event. I was thrilled to be asked and am honored to present and hopefully help other writers.
I feel like I’ve come home.
Back when my best friend stomped on my dream, I knew her stomp wasn’t about me. It was all about her. She wanted me to live the same script she was forced to live. The adage of misery likes company was the subconscious core of her words.
She wasn’t the only one who tried to talk me out of my creative writing or going back to school. They all said the same thing: that I was wasting my time, wasting my money. There were others, but her voice was the loudest and most consistent.
I ignored the advice and continued onward, listening instead to the little voice that had cheered me on, whispering that it was okay to follow my passion. I knew from experience that my little voice was never wrong.
My dreams were about publishing books, being able to help other writers, presenting, becoming an acclaimed screenwriter and best-selling author. So far, I’ve achieved most of my goals. The big monster goals are still goals to achieve, but I continue to work and strive toward them. Always listening to that little voice from within.
When my stepfather was nearing the end of his life, we had a great many talks about life, and I asked him if he’d had any regrets. Immediately, he replied with a sad, resigned expression, “I wish I had lived my own life, making my own decisions.”
Don’t let others stomp on your dreams. Age doesn’t matter. Follow your passion, and if that passion doesn’t pay the bills, take whatever day job(s) that will pay your bills, while you pursue your passion at the same time. Having other responsibilities can slow you down, as it did me from time to time, but the key is to never give it up.
It’s never too late to start. The joy you receive is beyond words. You’ll never regret the pursuit.
I sure don’t regret the unusual path I took. While it hasn’t always been easy or always fun, it’s been interesting and lesson filled. And, I’ve met a lot of incredible people along the way. Every success, no matter how small, has been a win.
Currently, I’m writing a psychological paranormal thriller novel and plan to publish it by the end of the year; plus, I plan to write it as a screenplay, too. Other screenplays will follow, along with a continuation of my Finding Your Fire series.
What about you? Are you living the life you always desired? Are you ready to start living that life now, even if only for fifteen minutes a day?
