The Best Book for New Screenwriters
Being an aspiring screenwriter is exciting and scary… Where do you start? What do you do?
Becoming a professional screenwriter is more than understanding structure, character or dialogue.
There is something deeper to it. That something may be holding you back.
“The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
“The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron is all about that elusive something that can make all the difference between wanting to be a screenwriter and actually making a living as a screenwriter. I know, because I have been there.
It helped me, and it will help you.
About 15 years ago I realized I WANTED to be a screenwriter. I was a development executive in a TV production company and I was working closely with top screenwriters, but I couldn’t build the courage to even TRY to become one myself.
Then a friend gave me “The Artist’s Way” and everything changed. I mean dramatically changed. It was a true revolution.
This book opened my eyes. It helped me identify what was holding me back and how to overcome it.
Today, I am a successful screenwriter. I won Israel’s Best Screenwriter Award, I created 2 shows and wrote on others. I teach screenwriting in college and I have workshops around the world.
This book helped me accomplish all of it. It could do the same for you.
The Artist’s Way is a 12-week course, not just a book.
The Artist’s Way is a 12-week course. Each week, you will have to face the things that hold you back and complete exercises to overcome them.
You will learn about negative beliefs that hold you back and how to disarm them, about your inner critic, about poisonous people in your life, about perfectionism, and about your concept of time and age and much more.
Weekly exercises that will change you and your life.
Every week, you’ll read a short chapter and will be asked to complete an exercise. These exercises are designed to help you approach writing confidently and calmly. And they work. Big time. You can find more about it on Julia Cameron’s website.
Filling the well.
A professional writer can’t wait for the muse, or write just when she feels like it. To be a professional – even if you are not getting paid for your work YET – means you are always writing.
One of the concepts Julia Cameron discusses in the book is that you need to nourish your creative self.
“We must become alert enough to consciously replenish
our creative resources as we draw on them”.
Julia Cameron
In other words, you need input to have an output.
That is why you need to fill the well.
Here are some ideas, to get you started, but try to come up with activities that feel right to you. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone. You are doing this for yourself, not for anyone else.
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