In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

On Tuesday evening I had the privilege of attending Caitlin McCarthy's staged reading of select scenes from her feature screenplay in development Wonder Drug .  As much as I would like to be out there attending festivals, staged readings, and other networking opportunities for screenwriters, I don't always get that opportunity, so it was a thrill to be in the audience for Wonder Drug . Caitlin's screenplay Wonder Drug is a scientific drama about DES (diethylstilbestrol), the world's first drug disaster. Before I get into talking about the reading I have to mention that this screenplay has nominations in over 20 international film festival screenwriting competion and labs, most notably: Action on Film International Film Festival Winner, "Most Likely To Be Produced" Screenplay Award; the Hamptons Screenwriters Lab Participant; Woods Hole Film Festival Winner, Best Science Screenplay; and Illinois International Film Festival Screenplay Competition Winner. You ...

Have I found my focus? No, but I am getting closer to it. Last night, I was supposed to buckle down and get to my treatments for Finding Patience and Ego Tripping. Instead, I ended up watching the latest episode of True Blood. I must say it was a great episode, but I realize I probably should have not watched it. Howevery, it was so much easier for me to break fasting with an episode of True Blood, rather than dig deep to find the writer in me. I know, I've got to get my priorities together. It wasn't a complete lost, at around 10 p.m. guilt began to set in and I decided to at least grow through my file folders of scripts, script notes, and articles on screenwriting. As I was reading through some of the papers I came across coverage for Finding Patience. The coverage was of the first 20 pages of my script. The contest I submitted to wanted to see your first 20 pages and if the story pulled them in then they would look at the full script. I did not make the cut. Ironically the...

Last week, I was in a celebratory mood. I was still getting a lot of kudos from colleagues, friends, and family for my recent screenwriting awards at the 2010 Action on Film Festival. Since my return I've been slowly coming down from the accolades and trying to get back my focus. It hasn't been easy. The shift from promoting and networking to getting back to the core of my writing is hard. I know the hubby would tell me I need to stop putting so much on my plate. For once I won't argue with him, cause he's right. I need to do a better job at prioritizing my work. I've had a lot of time to think about where I want my screenwriting to go. Am I really going to try and make this my career? The answer is yes, With that said, I need to exert a deeper dedication to the written word. At the end of the day it is about the writing. Writers write. I realize I have to do a lot more writing and I don't just mean my blogging either. I have to put in long hours to cultivat...

Although I've been back in Connecticut for two days, I'm still trying to adjust to the jet lag while also jumping back into the thick of things I left a little over a week ago. The adjustment is tough, but I'm hanging in there.  I'm really excited about this blog entry. Part of this feeling is because I have yet to come down from my high of taking home two honors at the AOF Writer's Award Dinner. The 2010 Action on Film (AOF) International Film Festival was a great experience for the screenwriter and filmmaker in me. I'm not just saying that because I won an award either. Instead of going on about how wonderful the festival was, I've decided to condense my memorable moments into a top ten list. To be more specific, I'm going to give you my top 10 highlights for this year's phenomenal AOF Festival.  My Top Ten:  10. Getting to AOF and receiving a warm welcome from the staff, Del, and Josh. The AOF team knows how to make you feel at home. "You m...