clearly a big fan of Mad Men.

I've taken a break from writing shorts, and have spent most of my time devoted to two TV pilots. Screencraft is accepting TV pilots for consideration this month, and my plan is to submit both of them by the deadline.

TV pilots are alien to me. They have a heavy focus on character development, something you commonly don't rely on with shorts. Shorts are about telling a compelling story in as quick of time frame as possible. I've struggled to keep myself from doing this.

One pilot is an adaptation of a feature I wrote about two years ago. I knew when I wrote it then, the concept was more of an established universe than anything else. It took some convincing from my friend Yvonne Saenz to turn it into a TV season.

The other pilot is a lot more ambitious. A year ago, I placed 5th in a short screenplay competition with a 12 page screenplay about a family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. I wanted to turn the short into a feature, but decided instead to attempt a re-write to turn the script into a spin-off of The Walking Dead franchise.

I am of the opinion that a writer's confidence can make or break their career.

Drake has this saying he uses in his songs, "in my feelings". He uses it to describe when he feels emotional, and believes that his actions and beliefs are being influenced by what he is feeling. I don't know why, but that always stuck with me. I consider it a lot while I'm writing.

I don't believe emotional writing is good writing when it comes to screenplays. I know that art typically benefits when it is derived from things like emotion. I'm not saying emotional stories are uninteresting. But, what's compelling to you may not be compelling to others. As a screenwriter, it's important to recognize when you've crossed the threshold between telling a compelling story, and telling a story you find compelling.

I see it a lot when I read other screenplays from amateur writers in /r/readmyscript. You feel the emotion the writer is clearly tapping. The break-up they're trying to get over. Car crash they have nightmares about. But that doesn't mean the reader is feeling a similar emotion. Even though emotions are the same to everyone, experiences are individual. Reliving your moments wont compel the reader. It's not their experience. But when you can tell a story that ignite those experiences...

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"The pain from an old wound"

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 ...the reader can feel their emotion.

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"It's a twinge in your heart. Far more powerful than memory alone."

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The best stories don't provide you with emotion, they make you tap into your own.

-Ryan