Ask the Coach: How Can I Focus On My Own Unique Voice? – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a question from a reader about comparison and embracing your unique voice as a writer.

Dear Jenna, I have a tendency to compare my writing to others. How can I focus on my own unique voice and style without feeling inadequate or inferior?

In the coaching world, there’s this phrase, “compare and despair,” which gets right to the heart of your question. It means that to invite comparison is to invite despair, aka feeling inadequate and inferior. There’s another related notion that goes something like this: When you compare, someone always loses. It might be you, it might be the other person, but either way, it doesn’t feel good, and it’s always a one-up, one-down situation.

Writing doesn’t have to be like that.

There’s room for a whole spectrum of styles of writing, even in screenwriting.

In my response, I discuss:

  • Making a conscious choice to choose inspiration over despair, envy, or jealousy
  • Studying the work you admire and parsing the writing to understand what makes it work for you
  • Determining which skills you feel inspired to grow into and which skills you admire but feel disconnected from or unable to master
  • Leaning in, hard, to your own lived experience by being willing to lay out rich, powerful emotional moments and undercurrents on the page
  • Letting your natural voice come through on the page

You’re not inferior or inadequate. You are different, with your own stories to tell, in your own unique voice and style. That’s ultimately what makes your work special.

 
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
 
 
 
If you’ve got writing questions, please send them my way!
I’d love to answer them for you in my column.
 

Ask the Coach: Finding the Line with Scene Descriptions – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to two questions about writing scene descriptions, including seeing it as an opportunity for your voice to shine, and where to draw the line with what to include and what to leave out.

Here are the main points I discuss in my response:

  • Scene descriptions can be a delightful way to design your pages.
  • Scene descriptions are a place where your voice gets to shine.
  • Include thoughts and emotions in scene descriptions sparingly.
  • Focus on what’s truly important to the story when writing descriptions.

Writing scene descriptions offers a unique opportunity for screenwriters to feature their voice, style, and creativity. Allow it to come through with all the choices you make, while striking the balance between creating the blueprint for the visual, cinematic world of your story, keeping your writing open and flowing on the page, and giving your readers and audience insights into the depths of your characters and the critical information they need to follow the story.

Want the full scoop? There are more details in the full article on Script Mag: 
Ask the Coach: Finding the Line with Scene Descriptions


 
 
 
If you’ve got writing questions, please send them my way!
I’d love to answer them for you in my column.
 
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