Some people love telling their stories, and I love hearing them, and sharing mine. Through our stories, we learn if we have shared interests, and begin to understand one another. On a recent trip to Studio City, Los Angeles, I met an actor and scriptwriter for Hollywood movies and plays, in the most unlikely of places – my hotel hot tub.
He was enjoying the pool and hot tub with his wife, also a scriptwriter, on a mini staycation, from their busy lives of creating art around the clock. He said they have many friends who are actors and writers near where they live in Burbank, California, who never take a break from the busy, fast paced. competitive work environment, and he didn’t want to burnout like them.
As a Hollywood actor, he became a screenwriter and playwright by default, when ten years earlier, at age 32, his former wife divorced him. The pain he felt from that experience, made him sad and he cried everyday, and when he was unable to feel better, he talked to a therapist, who recommended that he start to journal his feelings to get them out and heal himself.
His journal story was so compelling, the therapist said he could sell it as a screenplay, which he did. Then he kept writing and sold a movie script to Hollywood for big bucks, and has been living off the two sales for years, and he has a few more films in development, which he is co-writing with a buddy.
Since I am a writer breaking into the fiction market and screenplay markets, I was inspired to learn how he did it. But I had to keep sitting up on the edge of the hot tub so I didn’t pass out with the heat over the hour long conversation.
Here’s how he did it:
- He dedicated himself to telling his story as best as he could.
- He got validation that the story was good, and was determined to sell the story and become a playwright.
- In order to sell a play, he acquired the knowledge on-line about how to format and market the script, and how to send it to directors on IMDB Pro.
- Once he had the know how, he applied the knowledge he acquired, and took action and sold the screenplay, and subsequently, a movie script.
He turned an obstacle into a triumph, by believing in himself and doing whatever it took to realize his dream. Then amazing things started happening for him and his life moved forward again.
The road to his dream of being a screenwriter was unpredictable and surprising, with massive dips of pain and sacrifice and risk and effort. Superhuman strength of character was required at times, so he didn’t give up, but he kept swimming against the tide. He lay in bed at night asking himself how badly he wanted to achieve his dream, and how far he was willing to go or what or whom he was willing to give up to make it happen.
God has a way of repaying those who stick with it when the going gets tough, and don’t quit. And most people who put in the time and effort required to move in the direction of their dreams, gain the knowledge and apply it, do eventually succeed.
Like a successful Hollywood actor, screenwriter and playwright that I met in Studio City, Los Angeles a few weeks ago, who encouraged me to write the stories I told him about, saying if he can do it, so can I! Don’t you love a happy ending?