A few months ago I applied for the Script Pipeline Fellowship in the hopes I would hear back before my return to living in Los Angeles in May. Today I finally heard back! 

I was not accepted into the fellowship however I (as well as anyone else who is rejected) have until December to reapply at no extra charge. They sent really thorough and awesome feedback on what to work on before reapplying and I have been re-reading the message with excitement since it hit my inbox. I love notes. I may be the only writer I know who says that. I learned in school and in past development jobs that writers are always defensive to notes and I am no different. The first thing I do when I hear or read judgement of my writing is think about why I made the choices I did in writing, as if that will be enough to knock the notes aside. Then I have a snack. You gotta make sure your blood sugar isn’t too low and get yourself in a good mood. Go back and re-read the notes and now what they’re saying will start to click. The power of food is amazing that way. Now all I see are the positives they wrote and ways to improve an idea that I already love.

In the past, I have written things that after several drafts I declared them complete. When my friends had notes, regardless of what they said I would only make minor changes but ultimately believe the script was done. In those moments I was very aware that I had hit my personal limit. You have to know when to walk away from an idea. I thought that the script I had sent in to Script Pipeline was complete. When I received the critique I initially rejected the notes they gave me, and got a snack as always. I thought about what I would send instead for the resubmission. Then the food-happiness set in and my brain swarmed with ideas of how to improve the script. This idea I worried I may already have burned out on still held the ability to evolve in my mind.

The best part about the set up of this submission process is the critique. I have the map of exact what they want from me and I do not disagree with any of their points. So now I get to roll up my sleeves and dig right into doing my favorite thing in the world: writing.

Everyone should definitely check out this awesome fellowship opportunity and submit! http://scriptpipeline.com/pipeline-fellowship