There Is No Right Way To A Writing Career

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I could always answer that question. I knew I wanted to be two things: a mom and a writer. When I was twelve, my own mother gave me a journal and a pencil. I promptly rode my bike to a grassy knoll near my house, put that pencil to paper and never stopped writing. As a kid, I wrote stories, poems, song lyrics, and even scripts for children’s TV series that I would act out with puppets. Since then, it’s been a long, winding writing path and I’ve learned a few lessons in the process.

A Master’s Degree Can Mean Menial Duties

After graduating from film school with a screenplay as my thesis project, my Master’s degree snagged me the cherry job of receptionist at a movie studio. For pennies, I answered phones and greeted people, but the time spent behind that desk allowed me to continue writing and more importantly, to meet producers.

One optioned my thesis screenplay and although it never made it to the screen, the experience was creative and collaborative, plus it boosted my self-confidence. I went on to work as an assistant for TV executives and producers. The pay was a bit better, and I was on a bigger studio lot, which was fun.

My rolodex of contacts grew (because everyone had a rolodex back then). I was across the hall from a casting director, so ran into the likes of one Mr. George Clooney early on in his career. He was always friendly to everyone and of course, exceedingly handsome.

Freelance Can Feel Like a Free Fall

I kept reading scripts, most of which were not terribly good. I thought, “I can do this!” So I tried my hand at spec (i.e. free) TV scripts, writing three before I landed an agent who procured me freelance work on drama series. I earned my WGA card and soon learned that being a freelance writer is not for the faint of heart because you never know when—or if—you’ll land another job.

The spec writing never stopped, because you’re only as good as your last (good) script. There were dry spells, frustration and insecurity, both emotional and financial.

I married and had kids, which ironically coincided with an offer of steady staff work. I didn’t want to leave my babies at the time, so I turned down the position. Freelance jobs in live action TV virtually disappeared from the entertainment landscape. Thanks to a producer friend of mine, I was lucky enough to fall into writing animated TV, which was more conducive to freelance work.

I wrote preschool television and movies, and developed a preschool series pilot for a network.

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

When I landed the preschool series pilot, the executives told me I would be making an animatic. I did not pose the question in my head: “What’s an animatic?” Instead, I promptly researched and secretly asked friends who wouldn’t out my green-ness: an animatic is a “rough draft” of a fully animated episode. In the case of mine, it included fabulous drawings by amazing animation artists and a stellar voice talent cast. It was another great experience, despite the fact that the series didn’t get picked up. One step forward, two steps back.

It’s Lightning in A Bottle

A manager of mine told me that selling a script and getting it made is like “lightning in a bottle.” He was right. He talked about the bell curve of being a writer. There is the top—writers who are well-known and successful in mounting their projects. There is the bottom—writers who never make a living. And there is the bell’s middle—writers who earn though you rarely actually see their work (series that don’t move forward, movies that go into turn around, etc.). I was somewhere in the middle and sometimes slid to the bottom of the bell. I wasn’t always earning enough to get by. I knew many writers who were in the same position and sat until they landed the jobs they wanted…or ran out of money.

Writing is Writing

When entertainment work was scarce, I wrote in other arenas. I stuck one foot in the marketing, PR and advertising world. Again, the “fake it ‘til you make it” adage worked. A PR firm asked me to write a press release for a beauty product client. I tracked down a buddy of mine in PR, asked questions and cribbed from the structure of the press releases he provided me as examples. I went on to make a decent living in PR and marketing, writing press kit materials and packaging copy. I wrote infomercials! But as long as I was putting pen to paper, I was happy. A story is a story, whether you’re writing about navy pilots, imaginary dragons or shampoo.

Have Laptop Will Travel

For a time after my divorce, I was raising two kids on my own. I never said “no” to a job. I wrote whenever and wherever I could: waiting in the carpool line at school, while the kids were at karate, at night when they were asleep, and on the weekends between playdates.

I learned to write with distractions. I can’t write while listening to music because I bop to the beat and sing along. Yet I could write while my daughter and her friends loudly baked cookies in the kitchen or my son and his pal pretended to be on the moon in a pillow fort decidedly close to my desk.

This year, I became an empty nester, and the quiet actually took getting used to. I’m thankful for my two rescue dogs, who are amusing company. But driving kids to and from school or going to my son’s flag football games were mandatory writing breaks.

Now when my husband comes home from the office, he will find me exactly where he left me in the morning: with my tush glued to my desk chair. Needless to say, daily workouts are a must for my sanity and my body.

Keep On Keepin’ On

I never stopped writing. As my kids aged up, so did my work. I still write in the animation arena and love it, but I have also written TV movies and plays. When I felt that I wasn’t seeing my screenplays come to fruition, I directed my own, with short films and plays that I also wrote. I was never the writer who said, “I want to direct,” but then I did and now I do. Working as a team with a crew and a cast is immensely gratifying and a total blast.

Then came my novel, THE SEASONAIRES. My literary agent, who I had met when I was developing one of his client’s memoirs into a TV series, asked me if I had any desire to write books. Needless to say, I always wanted to do that, too! At 52, I buckled down to a new creative challenge. I will never get over the delight of seeing my novel on shelves in bookstores.

Have I ever wanted to give up writing? Hell, yeah, but I can’t help myself. I keep coming back to that blank page, excited to fill it. Dreams do come true.

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Janna King is a screenwriter, playwright and director. She has written TV movies and series for Lifetime, The Hallmark Channel, Sony TV, and more. Her two short films, “Mourning Glory” and “The Break Up,” which she wrote, directed and produced, were official selections at several film festivals. Janna has written for Warner Bros. Animation, Disney Junior and Children’s Television Workshop. She has two grown kids and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two rescue dogs.

Find out more about her on her website https://www.janna-king.com/

Follow her on Twitter @amiwriteJK

About THE SEASONAIRES 

For a twenty-something, there is no summer job better than being a seasonaire. No responsibilities, college is barely a thought, and you’re surrounded by glamorous, beautiful people. Intoxicating and seemingly carefree, what could possibly go wrong?

An idyllic Nantucket summer begins like a dream for scrappy Mia from South Boston; Presley, a gorgeous Southern beauty queen; Cole, a handsome introvert; Jade, the sultry daughter of a model and music mogul; J.P., an energetic young designer; and Grant, a playful party-boy.

Tese six are working as seasonaires―influential brand ambassadors―for the clothing line Lyndon Wyld. But like all things that look too good to be true, the darkness lurking underneath slowly rises to the surface.

Lyndon Wyld, the chic tigress who owns the eponymous business, rules their daily life by curating their every move, which the seasonaires are obligated to post on social media for their growing throngs of followers. Corporate greed, professional rivalries, and personal conflicts mix with sex, drugs, and the naiveté of youth, exploding in a murder that sullies their catalog-perfect lives.

The Seasonaires is a fresh and stylish debut that perfectly captures today’s zeitgeist, promising to thrill until the very last page.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips