I made it!Thank you to all who joined me for #100screenplays2021! I hope you're having a great time in person with friends, family, and chosen family for whatever holidays you might celebrate. I hope you're at least celebrating being able to celebrate again! On this day, 21 years ago, I was a young bride. I can't believe all we've been through, and never dreamt it might include a global pandemic. By ...

Sometimes writers have to take bill-paying jobs to make it to the next thing. I've recently been working in a costume and party supplies warehouse.Something magical happened. I found inspiration, even while I was mindlessly scanning Halloween costume after Halloween costume to ship all over the world. Within hours of the HALLOWEEN KILLS premiere, we were scanning hundreds of Michael Myers costumes. As the new Ghostbusters movie ads ramped up, so did ...

Hey, how are you? I'll bet many of you have some new comedy material after spending turkey day with family for the first time in a couple of years. I know I do!Sometimes life takes an oddball turn and we have to "PIVOT! PIVOT!" to make it through the change. That's been me since early October. My husband had been back to work a little over a month (thanks to ...

It's my favorite month! October begins with my birthday and ends with Halloween! After last month's bizzaro list, I thought I'd try to stay on theme a bit better. I don't usually recommend a watch list (although I may do that next year in conjunction with the reading list), but this month I MUST recommend "The Movies That Made Us" on Netflix because season 2 episode 1 is about Back to ...

Who's been eating salad and drinking more water? THIS GIRL RIGHT HERE.I mean, I have no expectation of having a small booty again, but hey, I'm down a pants size. I'm celebrating the smallest of victories because I've experienced a couple periods of depression this year (as many of us have) which makes selfcare feel kind of like doing homework in wet cement. For me, it's less about feeling sad and ...

So, I just had my THIRD cancer scare in 18 months. The first two were so weird and random I turned them into standup bits.The first one was April-July 2020. Odd symptom, obgyn visit, ultrasound, biopsy, and final result: weird, but not cancer. (At the same time, one of our cats got sick and we had to put her down. It was awful. A few months later I turned the ...

Hoo-boy has it been a scorcher summer! Big congratulations to several friends and colleagues who've recently been staffed in writers rooms, pitched to Amazon and Hulu, placed in screenwriting contests, and stuck to their writing goals no matter the heat, fires, floods, family stuff, financial stress, or current events. And special congratulations to my husband for winning another screenplay contest and making the finals in a third one! Here's my script reading list ...

Happy Pride Month! Who's back out in the world? I've been having fun doing a mix of zoom and live comedy. It sure feels good to hear live audiences laugh again. Of course, I'm most happy about being able to give out #freemomhugs again. I recently completed a Roadmap Writers Incubator with a comedy exec (virtual), and it was so worth it. If you're not familiar with Roadmap Writers, they're a fantastic ...

I am happy to say I'm fully vaxxed and back at doing live standup! WOOHOO!I recently attended the Screencraft Writers Summit (virtual), and it was worth every freaking penny. If you get the chance to attend, DO IT. There were so many high level industry pros there--showrunners, producers, managers, agents. My professional network expanded at least threefold.One of the panels was a Q & A with the showrunner of Falcon ...

It's been such a challenging time for all, so I hope you're doing well friends.  I am happy to report two of my favorite people--my husband and my mother-in-law--have had their first dose of the vaccine and by the end of this month, they'll have the second. My kids and I are on the waiting list, so hopefully we'll soon follow. It's great to see the numbers declining in Illinois, ...