Finding the time to work on your craft is never easy and maintaining that stamina after a setback can be even harder. Last week, Austin Film Festival headed to the heart of Los Angeles for our annual AFF in LA event in partnership with The Academy Education Initiative and The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, where we turned to a panel of industry writers and creators for their advice on finding the time to pursue your writing career, and overcoming obstacles once you’ve broken in.
Here are 5 tips for jumpstarting your writing career from our panel of working writers and filmmakers:
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BECOME A MASTER MULTITASKER
When you move to LA, do three full time jobs: One that pays, one that doesn’t but puts you in the creative space, and one that is working on your original material.
Alisha Brophy (writer/Moth GrandSLAM Champion White Girl Problems, License to Drive, “The Moth” Radio Hour)
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MAKE TIME TO WRITE
Write for 1-2 hours a day. It doesn’t matter if it’s good. Give yourself permission to be bad, consistently.
Charmaine DeGraté (writer/supervising producer The 100, Chambers)
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GIVE YOUR IDEAS ROOM TO GROW
Don’t tear things down unless you have something to replace it with.
Carly Wray (writer Mad Men, Westworld, The Leftovers, Mindhunter; co-executive producer Watchmen; co-creator You Know You Want This)
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EMBRACE YOUR CREATIVITY
All that’s keeping you from being creative is your own internal critic.
Taylor Allen (writer Chappaquiddick; editor The Simpsons)
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KEEP LOOKING FORWARD
You have to be years ahead of this town to make the next big head. You can’t reach the zeitgeist by recreating what happened yesterday.
Wendy Calhoun (writer/producer Warner Bros TV, Station 19, Empire, Nashville, Justified)
Want to attend events like this and hear these tips first hand?Join us on Saturday, April 20 as we head back to LA for a look Inside the Writers Room of S.W.A.T. with panelists Shawn Ryan and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, presented in partnership with HUMANITAS. For more information on how to attend, click here.