I appreciate that so much!!!

Oh no! I checked into it, it seems like that function has a few limitations with phones and maybe tablets, if you use those. 😅 What program are you using Grammarly desktop with (Scrivener or Word)? Also, when clicking into the page, if the little G icon has a number it’ll take time to load the color lines. If the logo doesn’t have a number and after loading gives you an emoji, it hasn’t found anything.

I love that, I go between both, also. Hallmark absolutely loves fictionalized small towns the most, even when they mention the state. Geographically, for movies, I have noticed that it’s only important if the story needs the location as an exotic plot device. Which audiences WILL notice if it seems too far off culturally and scenically. I have thought about it, but mostly on a production level. Production-wise: they’re lower budget films, so the less specific the location, the easier it is to film in a state or country with tax breaks and weather that cooperates. For the audience: I don't think they mind a quick feel-good book capitalizing on small-town feels, without specifying anything. It might add liberation for the audience/reader to feel like this town is more magical and unique than a real town.

Welcome! 🎉 So glad to meet a fellow neurodivergent writer!!!

Murder mysteries are so fun to write! TV is definitely a fun format to write in. I would follow the career of Brit Marling. She writes drama mysteries and built a name for herself as an actress too. Which gave her the power to star in her own writing. Charmed was my favorite!! I also watched Walker Texas Ranger and Buffy, really great shows.

Yes! So glad you mentioned that!! 🙌 I’ve used this feature and it’s really helpful that they do that.

There was a reverse of this I’ve heard some people will do which is just time tracking. You can use a stopwatch on your phone and instead of losing the flow you’d stop when you’re done and track that session time in your notes. Pomodoro doesn’t need to be planned and often I run one using my countdown on my phone at work for ten minutes or fifteen during lunch. It mostly helps with my time blindness. I know sometimes I don’t have time during lunch so I work around my 50 hr workweek by going into work earlier to write or staying later if I know at home I might be distracted. Something my friends do is after they finish writing, they make a quick prose note/summary of what is going to happen next so they don’t lose it if they come back way later. I do this myself if I’m deviating a bit from my outline. A few also use voice notes and attach it to the document so you can find it later. Hope you find something that works for you! 🙌

@@PikaLeeMedia Time tracking might work, though going to work for some quiet time won't work (I work in a grocery store, so it's constant customer questions, even off the clock, plus I write on my PC at home). Taking summary notes isn't going to work, as I stop writing due to the distraction and it just gets worse if I don't just minimize/close the window - there's barely time to hit Ctrl-S to quick save (I've even hard to stop mid-word before) and all to avoid the multi-hour argument about whether I should even be writing. But the time tracking does sound like it'll work (timer on a whole separate device), so thank you!

Amazing!!! Thanks so much for sharing! I really admire that you’re taking the journey to know your family history and understand where the people you love came from. It might be difficult processing that history, but it definitely brings a closer connection to heritage and hopefully to your dad. 💗

You’re the goat

It all about experience and remember that entertainment is a business, which is why beginners aren't handed over keys to their own production without proof of skill. Try to create your own smaller pieces on a budget, or work with bigger productions to gain the experience of working on something well-known (even if its just lending a hand you'll learn the business.) That builds a trusted portfolio and skills. 😄

Congrats on placing!! I know outlining wasn’t my thing at the beginning either because when I would try, I would give up and just start writing the script. 🤪 Then I started small, just a quick logline before I started writing. Then just the major beats. Now I’m fully beat by beat of the whole script because UCLA made us outline. It took me years to finally mold it to the way my brain works haha. Maybe since you’re visual you can try creating AI images of the major beat scenes and add it to an outline doc with a quick sentence about the beat? Could be fun but time consuming tho. 😅

Welcome to screenwriting!! It really does help internalize the structure when you watch it. It’s my favorite thing to do before or after I read the script! I try to pinpoint beginning and ends of the acts and any major beats and I’ve started teaching my family story by pointing it out too. It becomes a fun game.🤭

@@PikaLeeMedia thank you so much!! yesss i've gotten my writer friends to analyze movie beats with me and i think its helping us all improve our craft a lot!

@pop-punkreptile5827 🥳

Yay for the same brains! I have never tackled a 100K project before, so I am rooting for you! I have friends who write Sci-Fi and Epic Fantasy primarily and I admire the heck out of them for it.

goodjob !!!!

same

It’s incredible how we unconsciously do these little things to help ourselves write or create art! It’s really great to know what makes us tick. 😁

Thanks so much for subscribing!! Welcome and I wish you so much luck on your writing journey! 💫😄

Thanks for your comment! I did much soul searching previous to releasing this video with thoughts of using this term. It is still quite frequently used by the industry trades although becoming less common with the introduction in recent years of Diversity and Inclusion departments to solve this problem. The departments were created because audiences wanted more diversity away from a specifically white stories or only using white actors. I made the choice to use the term because of its definition as set by Miriam Webster, and the history that Hollywood in America has with this term: “to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people a: to portray (the past) in a way that increases the prominence, relevance, or impact of white people and minimizes or misrepresents that of nonwhite people.” I understand many may not like the term or find it taboo because it has negativity attached to it. This is why I think we should talk about it. But I do think that people with objective minds will understand the context I used to explain why I wrote stories the way I did influences from growing up watching and working in American Cinema. As well as gain perspective on their own writing. 💞

@@PikaLeeMedia Well you wouldn't say "blackwashing" or "yellowwashing" or "colorwashing" would you? Would you say we're gonna get it all colored up in there? So what's the difference? Racism is racism. I don't care what it says in some dictionary.

Thank you!! 😄

Thank youuuu!! I learned so much from those old Hollywood movies and their actors 💕 YES! I love reminding myself I have the option to bring some POC into a story to see what that story looks like.

😭

Yes!! I just went to the LA Phil for the first time and heard the Harry Potter scores and it was magical and moving. I will definitely be writing to it when I rewrite my fantasy. I definitely do get distracted with the lyrics sometimes in my music while writing, it’s a good point that instrumentals help so much and the length makes it that much better.

I do this with the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. One channel on here uploaded all the Davey Jones themed songs together and made a "suite". Makes you feel like Davey himself when he played the organ, except the keys im pressing are from a laptop and im stressing over what to name my character and not my tragic romantic backstory.

I avoid movie soundtracks like the plague as so many include songs with lyrics. If there's one thing 100% guaranteed to disrupt my writing of words, it's hearing words and then due to both ADHD and hearing loss, concentrating as much as I can to listening to those words, hoping I heard it all correctly. Wait, what was I doing again? Certainly not writing, was it the laundry? Dishes? Oooo, I bet I was cleaning or maybe watching a video. I'm all about music, but I create my own ambient music playlists, sometimes with my own ambient music. The entire genre is actually designed to not be to overt, hence the reason it's called ambient.

@@DesoloSubHumus yup, I agree. "No lyrics" is a must. Try older sound tracks and remember you might have to skip the one or two songs that have lyrics. Try John Williams to start with. Using the same music every time with a set, acceptable length will help regularize the writing session. Try not to leave the session until your music is done. Over time this creates a habit. Cheers and good writing.

@@MichaelHolstine I've haven't seen many movies, but so far, every one has had lyrics for most of the soundtrack, so it may well be a case of just having terrible luck in terms of the movies I come across. I've never heard of John Williams, so I'll have to look him up. As for writing until the music is done, that simply isn't going to happen. Quoting my other comment on this video: "Is there any alternative for the Pomodoro method for those of us with jobs and other commitments? In reality, I'll find I may have between 2 and 10 chances to write in any given 6 month period, often ranging for 2 minutes (most common) to 30 minutes (if I'm really, really lucky), and none of those moments are scheduled. They all depend on other people leaving me alone, and I have no control over other people's schedules - it happens when it happens - there is no way to plan for them. I also have to get the full chapter/multiple full chapters done in that time or else I'll forget where I was going with it. ..." I'm called into other rooms or end up with the shoulder-surfing critic (who is 100% certain I'm the worst writer ever and I should never write or say another word again) to be able to write on a regular, scheduled basis for any pre-set time. To be honest, I've never written until the end of the music, rather I write until the headphones are yanked off or until the music is drowned out by voices, usually yelling for me to look at some meme.

🫶

Thanks for watching Adam!

Am I right with the twist? .....She´s dead, he´s alive?

Yes! 💯

@@PikaLeeMedia yeeeeaaaaah, I'm so intelligent 😂

🤓

Dana!! Thanks so much ☺️

Thanks for ALWAYS supporting my writing and filmmaking. You know I appreciate you!

I love hearing that!! It makes me so happy to know another writer is bringing their own experiences with this subject into their work. 🙌

@@PikaLeeMedia 😁

THANK YOUUU! 🫶

Glad you enjoyed it!

Yes!! I felt like it was much needed motivation for my fellow neurodivergent writers. Sometimes you need a reminder that if others have made it with these challenges, you can too. 💌

Thanks for watching! The filmmakers in this video noticed they had signs of ADHD struggles (or dyslexia) since childhood, into adulthood. They wrote down any potential memories of symptoms from their life and spoke to a specialist in the health space (usually, Psychiatrist) for a professional diagnosis. It’s the absolute best way to know if you might have ADHD and get support!

Thank you for the information 🙏

Hiii!! You get me. I was completely split. But I couldn’t be happier to graduate with this certificate first. Think about trying out for the grant in their website for financial need or applying for the cert to get 10% off. Anything helps! 🤪 I can’t wait to see where we go in this industry. Hope the stand up is going well!

I get that so much! I had some setbacks that were financial and it took me quite a while to finally make it happen. I would suggest looking into the grants they give if you qualify for making less than a certain amount, it pays a portion of the class. UCLA Ext also gives you 10% off as a candidate, on your classes. Or, Sundance Collab was a *bit* more affordable. I would never suggest private loans to anyone, ever. (This is in case anyone else comes across my comment, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t.🤪)

I’m actually not familiar with iA Writer. I’ll have to look into it! If it’s a word text editor and it has the features you’re looking for, I’d say go for it and try to customize the margins to screenplay formatting. If you want to take that work away from yourself and have a clean distraction free space, try Arc Studio or Scrivener.

Hi Venkat! I know what you mean. It is truly is a roll of the dice with instructors. I can’t tell you a better school because I think that would be universities with conservator style screenwriting programs (AFI and NYU.) Another style of teaching would be intensives with closer 1-1 teaching (Sundance Intensives, but not Sundance Collab.) Good luck on your writing and I hope that helps!