Jenna | Jenna Avery

Sci-Fi Circuit: Writing Low Budget Science Fiction

by Jenna | Dec 20, 2013 | Science Fiction, ScriptMag Articles

Here's a new article on ScriptMag about writing low budget sci-fi, including looking at some recent low budget sci-fi productions (Moon, Another Earth, Sleep Dealer, and Safety Not Guaranteed) and what works about each of them.

If you’ve been following this column for a while, you’ll have seen the many recommendations about focusing on writing low-budget spec scripts from both screenwriting gurus like Chris Soth and Scott Myers, as well as sci-fi screenwriters who have been successfully breaking into the sci-fi market, like Dan Gordon and Shane Joseph Willis. Since… [read more at ScriptMag]

Image by ImaArtist from Pixabay

How to claim–or reclaim–your identity as a writer

by Jenna | Dec 4, 2013 | Writing Articles

If you're struggling to claim your creative identity as a writer -- or to reclaim it -- there are a few things to keep in mind.

Write regularly. Consistent daily writing will help you find your way back to your writing identity. Binge-bust writing patterns don't create a sustainable sense of identity. Writing on a regular basis does.
Introduce yourself as a writer. Decide that you are a writer and say so when you talk to people. If you're on social media, put "writer" on your account profiles.
Validate yourself as a writer. Stop looking for permission outside yourself to known or validated as a writer. Reward yourself for overcoming the resistance to writing EVERY DAY.
Be clear about what it means to be a writer. Try on the idea that writers write. And then make sure you're doing that. Try letting go of the idea that you have to be paid before it "counts". Or published. Or on the big screen. Writers write.
Take your dream of writing seriously. Don't treat it as something to be shoehorned in around the edges. Design your life around your writing -- not the other way around. Align all your levels of experience (surroundings, beliefs, values, actions, etc.) with your writing.
Look for positive messages about writing. There are lots and lots and LOTS of people out there ready and willing to tell you how impossible it all is, that you/they will never make it, and it's too hard. Choose to put yourself around people who know there is always a way in, even if you/they haven't found it yet.
Surround yourself with other (positive) writers. Your consciousness is affected by the people around you. Put yourself in situations where other people see you as a writer (classes are a great place to start). If you're on social media, fill your feed with writers. Hang out with writers -- but make sure they're the writers that know that succeeding as a writer is possible.

Thanks for reading!

I always love to hear what you think in the comments.

Warmly,

How to tell if you are a writer, or not

by Jenna | Nov 26, 2013 | Writing Articles

I've seen a number of debates and blog posts and flow charts on the internet over the last few months about how to tell if you are a "real" writer or not. This is something people struggle a lot with when it comes to their creative identity.

The bottom line of these conversations is this: Writers write. If you're a writer, you're writing. And, if you're paid to write, you're a professional writer.

As a general rule, I agree with these notions.

However!

And this is a big however: I believe these ideas are doing a grave disservice to people who WANT to write but haven't found their way to it yet. And to the writers who have written — but for whatever the reason — aren't writing right now.

It's pretty discouraging.

As a coach, I hate to see discouragement happening out there in the world.

I hate to think of all the people NOT writing right now because they've bought into this notion that since they're not writing YET, they must not be writers -- at least not in the core sense of who they are and who they can become.

Even one of my former writing idols, Joss Whedon, practically undid me when he said, "You either have to write or you shouldn't be writing." Since I wasn't writing "enough" at the time, I thought, "Wait, does this mean I'm not a writer? Or that I can't be a writer?"

So there are all these intense messages out there in the world telling you that you're not a writer if you're not writing. And okay, again, I see the point.

But, what if:

You have a massive amount of fear and resistance about writing, even though you've always dreamed about writing, and you don't know how to deal with it.
You're stuck with your project and you don't know where to go next.
You're blocked, you can't pick a project to focus on, or you're paralyzed by performance anxiety or perfectionism.
You've just suffered a major loss of a loved one or gone through a horrific breakup and you're in the throes of grief, and you can't find your way back to the page.
You're caught up in the myths about writing (like not having enough time or money so you think you can't write).
You haven't yet built your writing habit skills, and you're writing irregularly or inconsistently at best.
You've bought into the belief that you have to be naturally talented to be a writer so you aren't even giving yourself a chance.
You believe you need more training or skills before you can write.

In my opinion, you are still a writer — at your core — even under these conditions. Yes, a writer who needs support, discipline, and structure to help get back on track. But still a writer. It means you are a writer who needs a jump start, or maybe a little coaxing to come out of your cocoon and into the world.

The thing is, if you're called to write, you must write. And if you're buying into this story, "I guess I'm not a writer because I'm not writing", you will NEVER write. That's not okay with me. I believe that our souls speak to us about what we are meant to be doing -- they know WHO WE ARE at a deep level. And so even if you haven't CLAIMED that dream yet, it's still yours for the taking.

So let's help you claim that dream and start writing. It's your soul calling to you, after all.

Sci-Fi Circuit: Getting a Grip on the Sci-Fi Market

by Jenna | Nov 22, 2013 | Science Fiction, ScriptMag Articles

Here's a new article over on the ScriptMag site about breaking into the market as a sci-fi screenwriter.

By now you know how fascinated I am in not only how to write a great sci-fi script, but also in what it takes to break into the market as a sci-fi screenwriter. So when I heard that screenwriter Dan Gordon had recently had a sci-fi screenplay optioned, I reached out to him to… [read more at ScriptMag]

Image by Angela Yuriko Smith from Pixabay

When performance anxiety rears its ugly head

by Jenna | Nov 20, 2013 | Writing Articles

I've had three experiences lately that have triggered performance anxiety for me. Two assignments, where I've delivered a project to someone else, and one where I'm sharing my work with other people in a public forum. Now you might think I'd be over that by now, given that I'm writing publicly every week, teaching classes, and coaching on the spot all the time. I'm in a constant practice of "performing" or being in the spotlight.

But the truth is, that whenever we venture into new territory, our fears and doubts about our ability to "deliver" can come cropping up fairly quickly. I've observed that performance anxiety tends to come up as a result of three things:

We're trying something new.
We're holding high expectations about the quality of the work we "should" be delivering.
Other people are holding high expectations about our work as well (or we believe they are).

Performance anxiety tends to trigger an inner conversation (if we're even conscious of it, which we might not be) that goes something like this: "What if I let them down? What if it's not as good as they expect? What if I can't live up to their expectations? What if I can't live up to my own expectations?"

And that conversation in turn tends to leads to paralysis, perfectionism, and procrastination -- the three Ps of writing doom.

What's your mindset?

As I was noticing this behavior in myself as well as the inner conversation about it, I was reminded of Carol Dweck's book on Mindset* that I've been reading lately.

In it, she describes interesting scenarios under which people demonstrate either a fixed or growth mindset. The sports examples particularly resonated for me.

In one example, she talked about how John McEnroe, a tennis player famous for his on-court temper tantrums, illustrated the fixed mindset perfectly. The minute anything would go wrong with his game, he was full of excuses about distractions, noises, other people, etc. It was never his fault and never his responsibility. This is very common among people who perceive themselves as talented or have the belief that other people see them as talented.

In other words, because we are so talented, we believe we shouldn't have to work at it.

On the other hand, she also described Michael Jordon, and how after his basketball comeback, when they lost the big game of the season, he went back to the gym that night and worked on his game. He knew that he'd been resting on his laurels, thinking he could just drop back into the game after time away, and he was determined to change that -- through hard work and dedication to raising the bar on his skill set.

And that's the difference, that right there. The belief that talent and ability are fixed versus the belief that a skill set can be mastered and improved.

Strategies for dealing with performance anxiety

I've worked with two teachers lately who have really brought this home for me: Hal Croasmun of ScreenwritingU.com and Corey Mandell, both screenwriting instructors. Hal reminds me to have a "beginner's mind" and to learn to be comfortable with the discomfort of growth. Corey reminds me to focus on what I'm learning, not on where I'm failing.

Ideas for dealing with performance anxiety:

Make growth mindset choices rather than fixed mindset choices. Keep working, learning, and growing. You'll only get better.
As Hal says, be comfortable with the discomfort of growth and be willing to allow yourself to be a beginner.
As Corey suggests, keep your focus on what you're learning, not on how you haven't yet mastered the new skill you're attempting to integrate.
Shift your self-talk by first recognizing that fear and doubt are coming up and helping yourself through it. "Okay, I'm worried about what other people think. What if I just let that go and focus on doing the best work I'm capable of right now, and allow myself to learn as I go?"
Give yourself permission to fully engage in the messy, glorious process of learning and revel in it.
Reward yourself for your efforts.
Have lots of support from your peers.
Be authentic about what you're experiencing with yourself and with your peers. You'll all benefit from it.
Find ways to create accountability for yourself so that you do the work, even in the face of creative anxiety.
Create a little extra time and space around the learning to help ease up on the pressure.