So I\u2019ve been really busy lately and wasn\u2019t feeling a spark about the blog, because it’s another thing to get done, and then someone posted a really fantastic comment that made me feel good about the work and what I\u2019m trying to do here. It lit it up. <\/p>\n

That comment turned into an email exchange about all kinds of fun writing stuff \u2013 we were debating the merits or inside\/out vs. outside\/in writing, if one offers more than the other, if there is any way to integrate the two. We email-discussed all kinds of stuff. He had me in hysterics. And now, magically, I’m feeling excited about the blog again. <\/p>\n

I realized more than ever we don\u2019t always have the spark ourself all the time. Sometimes we need a hand up. <\/p>\n

I was thinking about one of the guests we had at AFI, Paula Wagner. Hearing Paula Wagner speak at AFI was transformational for me, because she\u2019s at herself, charming, feminine \u2013 but make no mistake, she doesn\u2019t miss a beat and is a very savvy business woman. Paula was asked a question about the glass ceiling for women in this business. She laughed and said something to the effect that whenever she feels like she hits the glass ceiling, she knocks, and when the hatch opens, she says, \u2018Do you mind holding my heels and giving me a boost?\u2019<\/p>\n

Sometimes we need to actually discuss ideas with a close friend, a distant friend, someone who loves some of the same things we do, someone who loves ideas. Sometimes just the love of ideas is enough to give you a boost through that hatch and up beyond the glass ceiling to that next level \u2013 whether that\u2019s for a personal issue, a writing problem, a story concept. <\/p>\n

Sometimes we all need a boost. And, to be honest, most of the time we\u2019re not going to get one unless we ask for it. If I\u2019m off, like my uber-reclusive writerly self (read: working), agonizing over how I\u2019m not making my fucking story work, then I\u2019m going to be off agonizing by myself, probably dragging out the process. But, if I call a friend and brainstorm out some possible options, it will likely get me excited again about the project and light it up, thus enabling me to take it to the next level and, in essence, open that hatch and climb the fuck through. <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to cultivate a Team You. There are people out there who will get what you\u2019re trying to do and why, and on the off days, they\u2019ll be willing to give you hand if you stumble. And, then, once you\u2019re feeling better, you can help somebody else through that hatch when they need a boost. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So I\u2019ve been really busy lately and wasn\u2019t feeling a spark about the blog, because it’s another thing to get done, and then someone posted a really fantastic comment that made me feel good about the work and what I\u2019m trying to do here. It lit it up. That comment turned into an email exchange […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.screenwriter-to-screenwriter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}