Encouragement
My name is Lauren O'Connor — and I'm the writer behind many of the library-related blog posts and resources that you utilize on this website. In constructing these resources, I try to listen to the questions and concerns we get from patrons in the library. I try to meet the screenwriting community where its needs are in a given moment.
Right now, we're getting great questions (as always) but also a lot of glazed-over looks. It seems like everyone's feeling a little worried or down lately… myself included, if I'm being honest. The screenwriting profession is experiencing a contraction. It feels like many beloved resources and opportunities that writers once relied on are shuttering or having to scale back. AI is rendering intellectual property into a hypothetical. Not to mention — our noses are in our phones 24/7 and the resultant negativity in the air is frankly pretty suffocating.
It's bleak out there, y'all!
Anybody wanna do a writing sprint real quick?
Ugh.
How can I be most helpful right now? Even though I'm a librarian and I'm good at recommending resources, I don't have a crystal ball about what the future holds for the entertainment industry. To tell you what you should be doing at this moment to "break in" or further your career feels tone deaf at best and genuinely unhelpful at worst.
It's taken me approximately 7,000 false starts to even begin this blog post.
I'll just say this…
…. I write too.
When I'm not helping people in the library, I write plays. No, you probably haven't seen my work. That's because I’m not that prolific and 97% of it has never been produced. A lot of the time it feels like a joke and that I do way more flapping of my gums than actual writing, so I should probably just save myself the agony and STOP.
The problem is I can't.
So, I'll just say, if you feel down about your prospects at being seen or finding "success" in your writing, I know how you feel.
I write too. Sometimes what works for me is looking for what I personally need to hear or learn as a writer in a given moment. That's the germ of a lot of these educational resources we have on our blog.
And what I personally need right now is what writer Stewart Stern inscribed on the cover page for his Rebel Without a Cause screenplay in the library. I need somebody to tell me:
“YOU ARE NOT ALONE”
It's a period of transition and evolution for the industry. And it’s TOUGH, but storms eventually pass.
The only way to weather them is to continue to care genuinely and deeply about writing and craft and stories AND to just... keep going. Keep writing.
To help all of us weather the current storm, we're creating a wall in the library where patrons and visitors can write messages of inspiration and encouragement to each other. We're calling it “The Wall of Encouragement.” Let's all remind ourselves of the power of what we do and that we're not alone.
WGF staff will start below. Next time you’re in the library, you can read others’ messages and write one of your own for fellow writers/patrons… Help us fill up this wall!
“Tell me if you’ve heard this before… If there is anything else besides writing that you could do for the rest of your life and you’d be just as happy, do that instead of writing. But if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already answered that question, so you really only have one choice… WRITE! How freeing is that? — Javier Barrios
“If you’re ever doubting yourself, your writing, your drive, any of it… here’s a reminder that you’re reading this note at the WGF Library. You showed up today because writing means something to you. It might be bleak out there, but in here? You’re focused on your craft. You’re putting in the work. You’re writing. And we got you. :) - Lawrence Silveira”
“As I slide into middle age, all the cliches ring more and more true. One in particular feels so relevant — you get what you give. Lifting others up, giving of your time, talent and energy is never wasted. It matters. You matter. Your writing matters, so get to it! — Hilary”
“My Grandma has this saying she loves to trot out whenever someone’s going through a rough patch: ‘Grist for the Mill.’ What is grist? How does it factor into a mill? I couldn’t tell you. But what I can tell you is that any challenge you’re facing, whatever battle you’re being sent out to fight — use it. If you slipped on a patch of ice, if you just lost a raffle or if life is clobbering particularly hard today — WRITE ABOUT IT. You never know where it could take you. I think that’s what my grandma meant when she says that. If not, I’m sorry, Marian. — Truman Lapp”
“The hardest part is often getting started, and you are here! The words will surface, just be patient. Keep showing up. You got this. I’m rooting for you! - Casey”
“I’m not gonna pretend I have better advice to share than the following poem from Sean Thomas Dougherty. I return to it every time I doubt the value of my own writing. - Dustin”
“Why bother? Because right now, there is someone out there with a wound in the exact shape of your words. - Sean Thomas Dougherty”
“Something I’ve learned — the best ideas and the most worthwhile things to write about are often born from our most excruciating challenges or frustrations… When you feel like screaming, hiding under a rock or punching someone, it’s a good time to WRITE. The person you make laugh cry or feel less alone might be me, but we’ll never know unless you…. Love, Lauren”