The Curious Outcome of Giving Up on My Dream

Last year I gave up a dream I’d been pursuing for 14 years, the dream of working in the film industry as a writer and filmmaker.

My love started many suns and moons ago with a lightning bolt realization. I had daydreamed a vivid conversation between a grandmother and her grandson, and it was such an odd, cinematic vision that I wrote it down. Then it hit me, “THIS must be what it’s like to write movies!” I went on to devour any book about the craft that I could find, and write my first feature-length script in a week.

As years passed I wrote more scripts, produced and directed my own short films, moved to Hollywood and worked for a big screenwriter. Later, I worked in casting and production. I won some small awards for my scripts and films, and worked for little or no money in pursuit of…