“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do you ever get tired of trying to please everybody, only to find that in so doing you’re not being yourself and that in the whole trying to please everybody process, you end up being miserable? Been there, done that. I have tried to be, say and act, many times opposite of how I felt just to appease my friends and family. I’ve put on the mask, played the charade, only to find myself miserable which ended up making everyone close to me miserable as well.

Not being who you really are, or who you were created to be can and will eventually bring you to a breaking point. Look, you were created in the image of God. You are unique. You are special. There is no one else like you on the face of the earth. You are who you are and you need to make the most  of it.

There’s just something about using words all put together in a beautiful way to express your mood, feeling or state of being. The written word allows others to experience what you were feeling at that moment in time. It can convey what you want to say and the message you have sometimes in a way, perhaps a vocal voice could not do justice.

OK, so I’m rambling here. I’m in one of those moods. The bottom line here, I guess, if there is a line at all, is that writing is cool. It is or can be an expression of who you are. And it works especially during those moments that you just don’t feel like talking, but need to get some stuff off your chest. Hey, you can even write about being ticked off at someone, letting out all of your anger, and then tear it up so no one ever knows the full extent of your anger. That sure beats blowing a relationship with spoken words you can’t get back.

I knew someone who did just that. Whenever they were really mad at someone, they would write down everything in an email they wanted to say (no holding back), and then rather than send it, they would go to bed. The next morning, after they had cooled off a little bit, they would go and delete the letter they had written. The great part about this is, they had let out their pent up anger, gotten over their moment of rage, and the other person didn’t have to hear or feel the whole hurricane force gales. A friendship was saved.

So, why not try it. Grab a pen, grab some paper, or nowadays just grab your laptop, and go create some written expressions. It may just be what you needed.

Every writer knows that there is nothing worse than having a paper due, a deadline for an article, being in the middle of a great story, or writing the lyrics of a killer song when all of a sudden it happens— Writer’s Block. Your thoughts just stop, go away or disappear.
They vanish into that unknown zone (probably the same place that socks go to once you put them in the dryer).

Every writer reading these words and even those that aren’t, have experienced Writer’s Block. It is, to say the least, an extremely frustrating zone to be in. But, there is hope. You can overcome this moment of complete frustration and stress. And here are a few suggestions to help you quit pulling out your hair and get back to your writing.

1)    Go for a walk. Not only will the fresh air do you good, but the exercise will calm you down.

2)    Take a bubble bath. Just relax your body and mind for a moment. You’ll be amazed at how well your mind will react to a little pampering. The bath will help to relieve stress and with less stress, you will be able to think more clearly (not to mention, you’ll smell better.)

3)    Listen to music. Music has been used through the ages to soothe ill moods (in the Bible, David played the harp and sang songs to King Saul to rid him of his bad moods). Classical music has been used in classrooms to stimulate creative thinking. Music also motivates. Think about it, how many times have you heard the Rocky theme song and felt like you could go conquer everything that got in your way? Music can help.

4)    Exercise! Go work out. I know many of you don’t even want to hear this one, but exercising is good not only for your body, but for your mind as well. When you exercise, your brain releases chemicals called endorphins into your body that actually gives you energy, and helps relieve stress and even depression.

5)    Write a different part of your story, song, article, poem or whatever. In other words, steer clear of the point you froze up on and move to a different point. If you got stuck on the chorus of the song, write another verse. If you got stuck in the middle of the story, go write the ending. The point is, get away from where you are for the moment. Change gears. It’ll get you up and over the hill.

These are just a few suggestions that will hopefully help you through your moment of anguish. Writer’s Block can be a pain in your aspirations, but it won’t last forever. As with all other stressful areas of life, this too, shall pass.

If you are writing a screenplay for more than just the joy of writing it (imagine that) and have any aspirations whatsoever on ever “pitching” your screenplay, then you need to know that there are standards by which your writing should adhere to. There are formatting standards and techniques as well as screenwriting “lingo” (terms and definitions) that you must be familiar with. The screenwriting business has a language all its own.

In order to be able to successfully pitch your screenplay, you must take the time to learn these standards. There are many screenwriting software products available on the market today, that help to make this process easier.

One such product, and as a matter of fact, the one most recommended by top names in the business such as Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump”, “Saving Private Ryan”), Bruce Feirstein (“James Bond”), and Stuart Beattie (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), is Final Draft.
This software enables you to write without the worry of having to format. It actually formats your work into script form as you go.

Final Draft is an amazing product; however, it can be a little overwhelming when you are first trying to learn it. For this very reason, I have written and produced a step-by-step tutorial to help screenwriters who purchase Final Draft understand how to use the software.

The name of my tutorial is Final Draft Explained. You can check it out for yourself at www.finaldraftexplained.com