Tag: writer journey

Final Recap: Sundance Collab Week 9.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 9. THE FINAL RECAP! I did it! I made it to the end of this awesome course. It was fun and challenging, and I am so proud of myself. Thank you to the Sundance Collab for this wonderful opportunity and experience. Thank you to my advisor and to the awesome writers I met. The whole purpose of this course was to take an idea for a feature film and create a 10 to 15 page treatment for it. The treatment serves as the source material for your screenplay. The more fleshed out and detailed it is, the easier it will be to write the first draft of your screenplay. Keep reading below 🙂

This final week was an additional opportunity for me to continue expanding upon my treatment from last week, with a particular focus on act two-which is usually the most challenging section to write. Act two can be a beast because it makes up and takes up the majority of a feature film script. Keep reading below 🙂

I expanded upon my treatment and ended up with 10 1/2 pages! Awesome! I have a TREATMENT! Now, am I done with this treatment? Absolutely not. Writing is rewriting. I see where the holes are, and I look forward to tackling them by revisiting my notes from weeks eight and nine, and by watching a few films that may help answer some questions. This plan will help me carve out my treatment and expand its current page length. Keep reading below 🙂

The other cool thing about the last nine weeks was the research I collected that will help inspire characters, future scenes, and future dialogue. I now need to organize my research into one central place so that I can access it easily when it’s time to write my screenplay. Keep reading below 🙂

So, this is the end, but not really. It’s more like the end of a chapter. I look forward to starting the next chapter of my feature film journey. Thank you to everyone who took this exciting journey with me over the last nine weeks. I hope it inspired you in some way. Now, it’s time for me to CELEBRATE this win! Keep reading below 🙂

Next week, I’ll be blogging about my second and third quarter wins before circling back to my acting updates!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 8.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 8. The moment has finally arrived! The whole goal of this course was to take an idea for a feature film and create a fully-realized treatment for it. This was the week to start transitioning into this final phase! Wow! I expanded from an idea to an action summary to a beat sheet to an expanded beat sheet to an outline, and now, to the beginning of a treatment. This has been an amazing and crazy ride. Seeing my story expand over the last 8 weeks is a wonderful feeling and accomplishment. I’m so proud of myself. One more week to go! Keep reading below 🙂

A treatment is where you now infuse emotions into your scenes. If you remember from last week, an outline is an expanded breakdown of what is happening from one scene to the next. Now, in terms of a treatment, “what do the characters feel when these things are happening? The treatment is an emotional short story. From scene to scene, what is this scene about? And then fill it out emotionally.” Our goal in this course is to create a treatment that is 10 to 15 pages long. And the purpose and power of a treatment is that it is the source material for our eventual screenplay. The treatment will guide us in the actual writing of our feature film screenplay. It takes the guesswork out of our writing. Keep reading below 🙂

Armed with my course advisor’s notes from last week and the answers I came up with, I meticulously went through as many scenes as possible and asked myself, “what is this scene about?” and “what is this character(s) feeling?” “When and how will Luke’s assets and liabilities that I created in week two show up in these scenes?” “Is the theme of my movie, which I discovered in week one, present within this treatment? When does the theme come up and how often does it come up?” “Is Luke’s emotional drive clearly coming through in my scenes?” Some scenes were easier than others in terms of discovering what they were about and my ability to fill them out emotionally. However, I know that if I keep going back to those other scenes and ask the next question, the answers will present themselves. Or, I’ll realize that those scenes don’t work. In which case, I can get rid of them (and I’ve already gotten rid of a few scenes that didn’t fit within my story.) I made it to the beginning of act two and realized I was going to need more time to continue tackling the rest of my scenes LOL. LOL. LOL. Keep reading below 🙂

With one more week to go, I have a feeling that we will be able to continue tackling our treatment. See you all next week for the FINAL recap of my Sundance Collab writing course experience!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 6.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 6. This week, we were challenged to expand upon the beat sheet that we created last week. To help us expand our beat sheet, we were introduced to the “index card method.” This method was really cool because it reminded me of a method I use when I prepare for an audition. (For my fellow Richard Lawson Studios colleagues who have taken the Professional Development Program, you’ll figure it out as soon as I describe the index card method further.) Keep reading below 🙂

Take a stack of index cards and write down every scene from your beat sheet onto them. Once you are done, put them up on your wall in chronological order from left to right. (My fellow RLS peeps, does this ring a bell yet?) Once the index cards are up on your wall, read through what you have. This visual story on the wall helps you see what scenes you have and what scenes you don’t have. By seeing what scenes you have and don’t have, you can start filling in the blanks to expand your story. Having your story up on the wall helps you to see it in a clearer way versus seeing it on your computer. The story is out in front of you. Keep reading below 🙂

As I read the index cards each time through, a new scene occurred to me because I saw and understood my story a little bit more. Great! I wrote that new scene on a blank index card and placed it on the wall. (My RLS peeps, are you getting warmer?) Keep reading below 🙂

We were also encouraged to color code our scenes so that the main storyline was in one color and the B storyline in another. By utilizing colors, we can see how balanced our story is or how one note it is. For example, I realized that my B storyline was lacking in act 2. I also realized that act 2 needed more scenes in general! The other aspect of the index card method that I like is that you can move the cards around to make certain scenes track better, or take them out if they don’t work. Rearranging certain scenes or removing them helps to create clarity for your story. Seeing my index cards on the wall was so awesome, and I had fun reading through my story repeatedly and adding, moving, and removing scenes. Keep reading below 🙂

Okay, okay! My RLS community has to know by now what the index card method sounds like………………………THE SUBTEES PROCESS! The Subtees Process is a method we use in our audition preparation to discover the subtext of our character. Film acting is about subtext. It’s about what you don’t say. The first step of the Subtees Process is to write the entire audition scene on one stack of Super Sticky Post-it Notes before you transfer them to the wall, top to bottom, left to right. And through an extensive series of steps where you utilize different-colored Post-it Notes, you create and build a character from scratch, infusing them with history, light and dark subtext, the moment before, etc. And each time you go through the Subtees Process, you gain more clarity about your character and the scene. And the power of this process is that if I were to look at your wall and go through it, I could also perform the character. Why? Because the Subtees Process is a blueprint, an architectural design, that guides you on how to play this character. Once I expanded my story on the wall, I added those new scenes to the beat sheet on my computer. Keep reading below 🙂

The next step was to use the “sequence method” to continue expanding my beat sheet. I like the sequence method because it breaks down the three act structure into these smaller sections, or “manageable chunks”, that are like these mini stories. And each sequence serves a specific purpose or function to move the story forward. It’s a more gradient approach where I can tackle my story one sequence or chunk at a time. I can see what needs to happen in one sequence before I can transition into the next. I went back to my wall and rearranged my scenes into these sequences. The sequence method gave me more clarity. It helped me to see where the holes in my story were. For example, I realized I needed a little more set up in act 1 to propel my protagonist into act 2. I realized that the scene I thought was my act 2 climax was incorrect and that it was actually the one after it. I also had to make sure that not only did my scenes create a beginning, middle, and end within each sequence, they also had to fulfill the purpose of each particular sequence. So I ended up creating more scenes to add to my beat sheet. Keep reading below 🙂

See you all next week!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 5.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 5. Let’s jump right in! I haven’t experienced impostor syndrome yet, so that’s good! We’ve studied films like “You Can Count On Me” and “Sideways” in the last couple of weeks. I have also been thinking a lot about my story while in the shower, while on the toilet, and while trying to go to sleep. Keep reading below 🙂

This week, we focused on the three act structure and creating a beat sheet. Once again, I was glad I understood the three act structure and its components due to my previous work with “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story”. Last week, I submitted my action summary to my advisor for feedback. Now, it was time to take that action summary and extract sections that fulfilled the major components of the three act structure. So far, so good: My action summary contained the components of the three act structure, and I plugged them in (e.g. the inciting incident, the midpoint of act two, the act two climax, etc.) Keep reading below 🙂

Once I did that, it was now time to tackle the beat sheet. And you might be asking yourself: What’s the difference between the three act structure and the beat sheet? The way I look at it is that the three act structure is like the major overview of your story. Kind of like the skeleton of your story. This structure contains these major moments you need to have and hit in your story, whereas the beat sheet is the beginning of the scene by scene breakdown of your story. This is where you start filling in scenes across the three acts. Keep reading below 🙂

So, I went from this major overview of my story to the scene by scene breakdown of it. And like my instructor said, “the beat sheet isn’t pretty. It’s an outline of an outline. But each short scene description should march you through the basic building blocks of those three acts.” The beat sheet can be rough and crude. All I need to do right now is write one-liner scenes that take my story from beginning to end. For example, I wrote, “Luke runs down the streets of Brooklyn with a bag of chips in his hands.” “Luke goes home and interacts with his mother and brother.” “Luke flies to LA to start training.” “They kiss.” That’s it LOL. There were some scenes where I added more details, but I loved and enjoyed the freedom of these one-liners. It took the pressure off of feeling like 1) I needed to know every single scene that occurs in my movie (which I don’t!) and 2) that I had to describe every single scene in detail (which I can’t…yet!) I know more scenes will come to me as I keep looking at my story, and I’m pretty sure we will get to the details in a future class LOL. Keep reading below 🙂

My story is growing and taking shape! Until next week!

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 4.

Chasing The George

Hello, my fellow artists! I am recapping my weekly experiences of the writing course I’m taking at the Sundance Collab. These recaps are a cool insight into the creative process and personal journey of building something from scratch. In this case, a feature film treatment.

Recap: Week 4. Last week, I shared how my causative routine was going, plus the creation and exploration of the other characters in my feature film. This week’s class was exciting because it focused on the overall arc of our story. What’s our story about from beginning to end? Also, how do the characters drive the story forward? Our homework was to write a one-to-two page summary of our story. The basic beginning, middle, and end. Keep reading below 🙂

Woo hoo! Here was an opportunity to tell my story from beginning to end. Here was an opportunity to see if my idea could go the distance from fade in to fade out. Let’s do this! The homework also confirmed what I learned in class: Each new generation consumes more and more stories via film, television, and streaming, and so most people today inherently have a strong sense of storytelling. I share that because I was pleasantly surprised at how much story poured out of me when I sat down to type. I understood the overall framework and arc of my story. I knew where it started and where it ended. When I finished, I had written several pages worth of my summary LOL. Good problem to have because I can always edit it down. I can always cut the cloth shorter. Keep reading below 🙂

While editing, I kept telling myself to focus on the main points. Describe more succinctly. Don’t be precious with every word. Get it down to one to two pages. I finally did and sent it over to my advisor for feedback. I felt accomplished. I felt like I did my best. She said I did a great job and that she loves a sports story. She also asked me a couple of questions regarding my story and to make sure that the emotional drive for my character is coming through. Her feedback and questions were helpful and they inspired me to continue looking at my story and ask more questions. Keep reading below 🙂

See you all next week when I recap week five! (Oh yeah, ever since this course began, I’ve also been doing extra research outside of class that will help me out when I eventually write my feature film script.)

Recap: Sundance Collab Week 1.

Chasing The George

Hello artists! As mentioned last week, I got accepted into a screenwriting course at the Sundance Collab. This course will help me take an idea for a feature film and create a fully realised treatment for it. Also, as mentioned last week, I am recapping and sharing my personal experiences each week as I build a feature film treatment from scratch.

Recap: Week 1. Two things I wanted to share. 1) Everything really boils down to, “What is this about?” Whether I’m doing a scene in acting class or writing a movie, it’s all about understanding what something is about. That’s the driving force that helps paint the picture (or write the script, in this case) and informs the choices we make. Keep reading below 🙂

2) I also told myself to take the pressure off. Looking at the homework for week one, I felt I needed all the answers to everything in one day. For example, I felt like I needed to clearly and expertly articulate what my movie was about in one day. And when I couldn’t, I started to have a little doubt. “Uh oh, what did I get myself into? Perhaps this is a stupid idea for a movie.” I had to handle myself to remove this pressure and doubt. Once I did that, I allowed my training to kick in. I said that I have to be okay and comfortable with the unknown. I’m starting a journey from scratch. Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Why? Because I can ask the next question. I asked the first question that came to me. Great! I now had either a placeholder or a definitive answer. And from there, I kept asking the next question. Each placeholder or definitive answer allowed me to take another step forward. Each answer provided more clarity. I allowed myself to be patient with the homework and to let the answers come to me. I did what I could to fill in the blanks each day. As the days in week one progressed, I started thinking about other movies and art forms that could help me shape and articulate my answers. I also got on my feet, walked around, and attempted to answer my questions. By the end of the week, I finally arrived at an “a-ha” moment. I knew what my story was about. Keep reading below 🙂

Ask the next question no matter what it is: rehearsals for a scene, an audition, a script you’re writing, etc. See you all next week for my week two recap on developing the protagonist!

200 Blog Posts!

Chasing The George

WordPress alerted me recently that I have written 200 blog posts on their site!! Wow!! Also, Happy (early) Anniversary to Chasing The George!! I’m celebrating early! On July 15th, 2015, my teacher and mentor, Richard Lawson, encouraged me to write a weekly blog where I would share my artistic journey, advice, stories, and interests with other artists. A “Hollywood 101” if you will that reveals and shares the sustained effort, work, and fun it takes to have a career in this industry. Thank you, Richard! What a journey it has been! Walking the walk as you teach us to do. Fun fact: My blog originally started on Tumblr before I moved it over to WordPress (LOL for anyone who is doing the math and wondering how it’s only 200 blog posts since 2015…I switched platforms and also took a few breaks with my blogging.) Keep reading below 🙂

Thank you to everyone around the world who has supported my blog over the years. Thank you to everyone who has read, shared, commented, and continues to be inspired by this one artist’s bravery to put himself out there and share his artistic life and journey. Thank you for witnessing how I found and strengthened my voice through this blog. Thank you to those who encouraged me to blog again when I stopped for periods of time. I’ve shared wins. I’ve shared lessons. I’ve shared highs and lows. I’ve shared so many things from how to get an agent to how I got my script to James Franco to how I feel I can’t act when I start a new rehearsal process (and how I combat that) to how I outlined a feature screenplay in two weeks to how I booked a national commercial by following my impulse to cry. Keep reading below 🙂

Wow! 200 blog posts!! I am so grateful not only because of the sheer amount of writing I’ve produced, but because I’m still in the game. I achieved 200 blog posts because I’m still in the game. I haven’t given up. I won’t give up because I can’t live without my art. I NEED to be an artist, and I have a healthy, supportive career bus that keeps me going and holds me accountable. I have a wonderful community that I can lean on and grow with. I’m grateful to still be an artist in this industry. I’ll see you all next week! Onward and upward! Keep reading below 🙂

Which Writing Competitions To Submit To.

Chasing The George

For my fellow screenwriters and TV writers out there who are interested in submitting content to writing competitions, but don’t know where to start, I hope that my blog entry will help. I have been submitting to writing competitions this year (and in previous years.) And let me make it clear that because the writers strike is still going on, the information I’m providing is done with respect and support to their cause. The information provided does not go against the writers strike rules.

I read a great interview for pre-WGA writers titled, “Writers Strike Dos and Don’ts for Pre-WGA Writers, Explained by the WGA” that has confirmed and shaped how I’m writing today’s blog entry around writing competitions. Keep reading below 🙂

As with film festivals, there is a PLETHORA of writing competitions. It can feel daunting when looking at the myriad choices out there. For example, when I logged into my Coverfly account today, the dashboard listed 194 writing competitions. 194?! What?! By the way, “Coverfly is the industry’s largest screenwriter talent-discovery platform, connecting emerging screenwriters with literary managers, agents, producers and development executives.” It’s a central, convenient hub that contains a huge listing of different writing competitions. Keep reading below 🙂

Submitting to writing competitions as a way to get your work out there, to get noticed by the industry, and to receive feedback or coverage, can become expensive. Don’t just blindly submit because submission fees add up quickly. The best advice I can give you before you begin your journey is to do your homework and research. Aim for the big ones (because why not?) and aim for the ones geared to the type of script you have written for a more specific, bullseye approach. Not all competitions are equal and built the same way. Some have been around for a while and are highly-regarded and respected. Others are brand new and have only been in the game for a year. Some competitions come and go. Keep reading below 🙂

Some factors to consider: how long the competition has been in existence, its mission statement, its end goals for the writers who enter and win, the judges involved in the competition, the sponsors behind the competition, whether it is a genre-specific/niche competition that matches your script, etc. Do the research and decide for yourself. Listen to your instincts and use your common sense. Also, read the WGA interview at the end so that you understand the do’s and don’ts of writing competitions while they are on strike. Keep reading below 🙂

Below, I have listed 10 established, industry-recognized writing competitions that I have been submitting to this year (and in previous years.) Plus, I included a link to Coverfly. I found these writing competitions based upon industry colleague recommendations and through my own research. There may be a lot more established, industry-recognized writing competitions, but at least this list will get your wheels going. And with the exception of the Academy Nicholl Fellowships which only focuses on screenplays, the other competitions listed below accept both screenplays and TV scripts. If there is an asterisk (*) in front of a particular competition, it indicates that they have put out a written statement that they support the WGA’s strike efforts and will not go against their strike guidelines. For those competitions below (or any not listed here) that haven’t put out a written statement regarding their support of the writers strike, reach out to them directly. And before you submit, read what the WGA recommends in their interview below. Keep reading below 🙂

WGA Interview: https://www.moviemaker.com/writers-strike-rules-pre-wga/

1) Academy Nicholl Fellowships: https://www.oscars.org/nicholl

2) *Austin Film Festival: https://austinfilmfestival.com/submit/screenplay-and-teleplay-submissions-2/

3) *Final Draft Big Break: https://www.finaldraft.com/big-break-screenwriting-contest/

4) Page Awards: https://pageawards.com/

5) *ScreenCraft: https://screencraft.org/screenwriting-contests/

6) Scriptapalooza: https://scriptapalooza.com/

7) Script Pipeline: https://scriptpipeline.com

8) *Shore Scripts: https://www.shorescripts.com

9) *The Black List: https://blcklst.com/

10) Tracking Board Launch Pad: https://tblaunchpad.com/

11) Coverfly: https://www.coverfly.com/ “At Coverfly, we proudly support the rights of writers and the WGA’s efforts to ensure fair compensation for their work. Coverfly stands in solidarity with the WGA and its efforts to ensure fair, livable compensation for the work of writers. For information on how you can stay within the WGA strike rules and procedures while submitting for competitions, please contact the competition organization directly.”

My Major Revelation About Career Policies!

Chasing The George

Hello fellow artists! Here’s to another week of moving my acting and writing careers forward. My goals for this year are to continue booking theatrical and commercial work and to sign with a new literary agent. These goals are tied to a larger postulate of mine within my DOIN (Declaration of Independence aka business plan.)

As I pursue these goals, it’s important that I have policies in place. With any business, policies are essential to keep it running and operating on a high level. Policies keep it afloat and on track to achieving their various short-term and long-term goals. Here’s the definition of policy: a definite course of action adopted for the sake of expediency, facility, etc. a document embodying a contract of insurance. I’ve always understood this definition on an intellectual level and have had various degrees of success with implementing policies to keep my business (aka Jorge Ortiz Inc.) alive, healthy, and on track. Keep reading below 🙂

At the beginning of each year, I create a postulate DOIN for that year (A sub-DOIN from my main DOIN, if you will.) It’s a way for me to choose one postulate from the list and focus on it for the year. When I got to the policies section, I couldn’t help but feel uninspired and disconnected from what was there the year before. I had several policies listed that I wasn’t executing or honoring. These policies weren’t a contract of insurance. They weren’t things I had to do. Let alone, I didn’t even understand why I had to do them. For example, consume at least 50% organic food every day. Okay, I love organic food. I like being healthy. But WHY is this a policy? How is this policy connected to WHAT I’m trying to achieve as an artist? Why is this policy here in my DOIN? Keep reading below 🙂

And then, I had a major revelation. I realized that policies are connected to a specific postulate! BOOM! I am on a journey to achieve a postulate. A postulate sits at the very top of the mountain. So, what policies do I need to establish to help me get there? BOOM! It all made so much sense to me. Of course! Armed with this revelation, I identified five policies that I felt would support my journey towards my postulate. I understood the WHY behind these policies. I understood WHY I needed to do them. These five are enough for now. If I add a few more arbitrarily, I will set myself up for disappointment. I need doable, tangible, executable policies that SERVE my postulate. Below, please see the postulate I’m focusing on for this year and the five policies attached to it. Keep reading below 🙂

Postulate: I am one of the top, consistently working, bankable, and respected actors, writers, & executive producers in Hollywood. Keep reading below 🙂

  1. Execute at least one item of career administration Monday through Friday. Administration means the actions I’m taking to achieve my acting and writing goals. I know when to execute these actions each day. I know what these actions will consist of because I pull them from the administration plans written within my DOIN (On Sundays, I look over my DOIN and write out my administration for the week in my calendar.)
  2. Use social media as a platform to engage with others and to share about myself at least once on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Pretty self-explanatory! I’m consistent about the times I post on social media and what exactly I post on it.
  3. Practice and memorize sides once a week. I know which day of the week I do this on. This is important to keep my mind sharp.
  4. Return communications within 24 hrs. In terms of how I want to be seen and respected in this industry, this is a must.
  5. Take Lion’s Mane Mushroom supplements every morning at 8am. Healthy brain regiment so that I can operate at the highest level possible as an actor and writer. Keep reading below 🙂

Those are my policies! And here’s the other thing that I realized about the power of policies. For the last two weeks, I’ve felt somewhat uninspired and discouraged. I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing anything. And then I remembered what Richard Lawson once said about policies: “If you don’t do your policies, you take a loss on them…Policies also determine the quality of the trip and the consistency of it. These things help to sustain the effort of the trip when they are applied, and when you start breaking policies–policies are directly connected to statistics. If you keep statistics of certain things, you will notice that your statistics will drop when your policies deteriorate.” Keep reading below 🙂

Of course! I fell off my policies for the last two weeks. That’s why I felt uninspired. My administration statistics went down because I got off track with my policies. DUH! That being said, the beauty of this is that I can quickly get back on my policies. (My apologies to anyone if I didn’t return communications to you within 24 hours over these last two weeks!) Keep reading below 🙂

What policies are keeping you on track towards your dreams? Let me know in the comments section below!

How A Teacher’s Letter Impacted My Career.

Chasing The George

Hello artists! Something compelled me recently to pull out my Vassar yearbook. Perhaps I wanted to look at my senior year photo (I did, and LOL, I had a full head of hair.) Anyway, a handwritten letter fell out of my yearbook. It was a letter from a teacher I had in fourth grade named Ms. Rosen. I totally forgot about her letter and the fact that I tucked it away into my yearbook.

In elementary school, I wrote several short stories where I reimagined/adapted existing movies or TV shows like “Nightmare On Elm Street” and “The Bionic Woman”. There was something so wonderful about writing these worlds and being able to escape into them. As soon as I finished a short story, I shared it with Ms. Rosen. After sharing several short stories with Ms. Rosen, she wrote me a letter. Keep reading below 🙂

As we know, teachers can play a pivotal role in our lives. And sometimes, it can be for better or for worse. Teachers can make or break us at any point in our educational journey. They can make or break our dreams, our confidence, our ability to see further, our sense of possibilities and havingness. I’ve met many students with a deferred dream or failed purpose because they had teachers who discouraged them and tore them down. Fortunately, Ms. Rosen’s letter was uplifting and encouraging. She praised my writing and challenged me to tap into my point of view and imagination moving forward. She knew that I had more interesting, original stories to tell. What does JORGE have to say? What is UNIQUE and PERSONAL to him? What is in Jorge’s IMAGINATION? Create new worlds, don’t be derivative. Ms. Rosen’s letter wasn’t a “make wrong”. Her letter impacted me and laid the groundwork for writing about things that are personal to me, compelling, different, and a little dangerous. Her letter also laid the groundwork for the type of teaching and instruction I respect and admire (it’s why I have studied with Richard Lawson for so long. He he draws out my voice, uniqueness, and imagination by asking the next question.) Fun side note: I attended Vassar because of my guidance counselor. I knew nothing about the college application process. I didn’t know what colleges to research. I walked into my guidance counselor’s office one day during my junior year with all these brochures I randomly picked up at a college fair my high school was hosting. My guidance counselor looked through the brochures, put them aside, and said, “No. You can do better than these. You’re going to Vassar.” She saw something in me. She knew I was worthy of something higher. She added Vassar to the list and helped me identify other great schools that best fit me and what I wanted. Thank you so much, Ms. Ham! Keep reading below 🙂

Below is the front and back of Ms. Rosen’s letter. In case you can’t read her handwriting, I transcribed her message below the pictures. Thank you so much, Ms. Rosen! Time to keep moving forward with the first draft of a feature film I’m currently writing with my friend and colleague. Keep reading below 🙂

Dear Jorge, First of all, let me apologize. I am so sorry it took so long for me to get your story back to you. I hope it didn’t upset you or cause you any inconvenience. I also hope you will continue to share your work with me. I promise I will not delay in returning anything else to you. It gives me such pleasure to see how your writing is developing and I hope you will trust that I won’t let such time elapse again. As always, your descriptions and use of details are marvelous. You create vivid images, which all good writers in any genre need to do. You use powerful verbs which give your writing an energy-one that keeps the reader’s interest. Let me explain my feelings about gore and scary stories. It’s not that I don’t particularly like them. It’s more to do with my feelings that gory is not as original as other types of works. “Freddie” and “Bionics” are not new to literature. I believe that with your talent, your gift, you can, might, explore other avenues for where and how your writing may excel. I’m happy to learn that you are indeed branching out and have written a soap opera. It’d love to see your character development on that. I’m also interested in seeing your essays. Are you writing any for school? Is the soap opera for you or for an assignment? Please keep me posted. I wonder, have you given thought to writing news editorials or book reviews? Keep up the good work! Keep in touch. I have enjoyed speaking with you tremendously! Fondly, Ms. Rosen.