I finished my 1st screenplay 'vomit draft' in a spiral notebook, longhand, 10 mins a day on the subway to work painting houses... and finished in one month.

Are you an aspiring or blocked screenwriter looking to unlock your creativity and bring your ideas to life? Look no further than this unique e-platform specializing in one-on-one sessions that will guide you through the process of screenwriting, no matter where you are on your journey. Just get it on the page! - Love, The Vomit Draft.

I was thirty-eight-years old, had tried and failed to write and finish screenplays for years and thought there was something fundamentally wrong with me. I just couldn't finish anything in the medium I loved the most. One day I woke up and knew I had to change everything, had to get off the barstool where I talked about making movies, but never actually did it. I'd studied film in college, worked on film crews, but somehow through the concoction of familial patterning, low self-esteem, and some sort of weird self-aggrandizing ego that told me I must've picked wrong career, I just up and quit trying, convinced I still didn't know what I wanted to do, that I would never be a screenwriter. But it was all based on the fear, not the inability to finish anything. A dramatic life change came at thirty-eight and my only coping mechanism, alcohol and drugs, stopped working. Instead of killing the pain, they made everything worse. However, I was right at the beginning of my real journey, and determined to figure out what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life, I like many others started reaching for any tool I could find that could facilitate that change. I needed to unlock whatever creative thing inside me so I could get through this uncomfortable new phase of life building new coping mechanisms. The only thing I knew for certain was that I was blocked.

What if I gave myself permission to list all the goals and passions I'd dared not dream about doing for fear of never achieving them? I mourned the self who'd never been given permission to follow my dreams, whether from family of origin, society, or the asshole in my head that reminded me it was all a waste of time... then I started writing. The common theme, 'just getting it down on the page,' kept popping into my mind. After three months of this, I skeptically started to write little scenes for a film idea in a spiral bound notebook as I traveled from home to a painting gig on the subway. The story started to take shape about a girl who hired someone to kidnap her so she could get the ransom money. Was it silly? Yes. Did it need work? Yes. Was it a way to settle the score for a lot of unfinished resentments and conversations I'd had in my head with people I couldn't talk to in real life? Yes. Was it therapy? Yes. But best of all, at the end of the month, I'd finished it. It felt... done. I'd never felt that kind of elation before.

Many of us think we need the right equipment, the perfect uninterrupted four-hour block of time, saying to ourselves a list of 'if-onlies:' If only I had a small shack in the woods, if only I lived away from noise and distraction, or kids, or a 9-to-5 jobs, if only my Mac was the latest model, if only I could update to Final Draft 13 with the latest beat board, if only, if only, if only... But they're whack-a-mole excuses from a disease of perfectionism that' plagues most artists and their productivity productivity, disguised as logic.

The Vomit Draft offers a fresh approach to screenwriting, catering to those who may feel hesitant about putting their ideas down on the page, through no fault of their own, because we've been trained to think writing has to look a certain way, that you have to be blessed with genius, that there's no room for terrible to turn into okay, then better, then great. We're not taught we should enjoy or embrace each of these phases. But there's no way around it. You gotta write a bad draft! And if you're one of the rare few who gets early success, notable artists have talked about the pitfalls of finding their footing again. it's incredibly rare to write a great draft right out of the gate.

I myself have a mild cognitive issue where syntax comes out jumbled. Am I dyslexic? Maybe, maybe not, but my vomit drafts allow the nose to be on the forehead and the ears on the chin. Then I get to joyously rearrange my Frankensteins, because it's already on the page. In the least straight path possible, I've won accolades, big contests, been in Writers Labs, was invited into the Writers Guild where I'm a proud member, was a finalist for the prestigious NBC Writers Program, and was just got accepted into my first writer's lab. I've learned to take my imperfect wins and relish the progress.

I know structure, how to get story onto the page, break it down, and make it better. The first step is to execute THE VOMIT DRAFT, in the least perfect way possible, to un-train and un-restrain your mind from warped ideas of how anything should look. It's time to write. Ten minutes a day, fifteen, twenty. Progress, not perfection.

Creativity wants out of your head. Keep your pen in your pocket, grab that bar napkin, or that flyer off the coffee shop wall! Be ready for the inspiration when it hits, and it will hit.