ALWAYS SUPPORT THE WRITERS IN THE WORLD

This is a year of writing for so many new platforms. My head is spinning a bit. I've written scripts since I was thirteen years old. My father brought home a used desk for me and encouraged me to write. It also kept me out of trouble. I would write scripts in my bedroom for hours and hours on end.

In high school, I wrote a couple of plays. My English teachers -- Ms. Gamache and Mr. Reinhardt -- were kind enough to let me cast them with students in the class and read the work aloud. It was a blast. I'm sure the plays were dreadful and filled with teen angst, but the teachers still encouraged me to write.

In college, I studied screenwriting and play writing and did well in both. I loved those classes. It was my passion and not considered a hardship to knock out a script assignment. Now, writing papers for my Psych 101 and Statistics courses were another story.

And now, I'm writing for TV news, the web, and the stage. They all require a different approach and style. All require connecting with your target audience and capturing their attention from the start -- a lot like screenwriting. I'm learning no matter whether you're writing a 20 second Voiceover for the News, or a web story, or a 10 Minute Play... people want information and conflict. They don't want to be bored.

So I'm learning to write more with less. Shorter sentences. More active verbs. More visual images.

Writing is writing. What amazes me now, is that we can still learn new techniques and new styles to move people. To write about our universal truths. That has never changed as my motivation for sitting down at my desk -- not the same desk my father gave me -- but just the same, he would be happy to know he started a life long tradition for his daughter.

Until next time.