March 2025
We made it thru February in Ohio! That always feels like an accomplishment doesn’t it? Hopefully the weather won’t derail our in person meetups from here on out.
Practice and creativity go together. Any kind of practice helps, whether you journal, read scripts, take notes while watching films, watch videos on YouTube, or take part in a film challenge ☺️ The point is to keep the wheels greased.
At our March meetup we will do a mock 48 hour challenge (just the writing part). If you’ve never done one this where you make a film in 48 hours. The first step is group thinking the script from the required elements (Genre, location, dialogue, prop, character) and developing it based on items and locations you have available.
A writer can practice these things alone by free writing from prompts, but it can be more fun to collaborate. Everyone brings their own type of creativity into the mix.
If enough people want to commit, we can also form a group for the next local 48 hour challenge.
The next meetup is Saturday March 15th at 12:30pm at the Oregon Library. Everyone is welcome!
We are getting a sweet taste of spring here in Ohio, just a taste for now. The realist in me is waiting for that foot of snow we’ve missed out on this winter to drop upon us soon.
There is so much advice about how to write, how to tell a story properly. Should(s) and should nots, sometimes opposing one another, it’s enough to make your head spin. When the learning process makes you want to give up, the best direction to follow is your own path. Use your passion to guide you. March to the beat of your own drum. If you want to write something truly unique, you have to listen to the voice inside more than the cacophony of external forces.
Reading and learning from others is important, but you still have to ask whether it is true for you, your writing, or particular story. This can be difficult to determine sometimes. Giving your story the time to breath and develop is important, don’t rush it. This is a continuous lesson, I still struggle with.
It’s exciting to greenlight yourself even with just a quick short film project. This is a great way to learn, but when you have a deeper story to tell, take the time to make sure it is saying what you want it to say. Mistakes will definitely happen, don’t beat yourself up. There are always surprises and problems you can’t anticipate with making a film. Learn from it and keep going!
Hope springs eternal, I hope to see you at a meetup soon. Let’s plan to create something special this summer together as a group.
-Virginia
Important dates:
Wednesday March 6th 6:30 pm at Oregon Library Open writing time. This is our weekday evening meetup. If you have questions, want to talk about your writing project, or just have a set time to write. Come in person or join us on our Discord chat.
DO NOT MISS JUPMODE HERE FOR GOOD T-SHIRT SALE! March 11-31st We have a new design! You order from their website and they ship directly to you. This helps to support our group and website hosting, please consider purchasing a shirt to show your support. FilmToledo and many other local creators are also participating, make sure to check it out.
Saturday March 16th 12:30 pm Our Monthly meetup. Don’t miss out, stay up to date on local films and projects crewing up for the summer season. If you have a writing project you want to get read by actors, we have been teaming up with a local group, so join us at a meetup to get involved. This month we will also talk about finding the time to write while balancing other careers and families. A major challenge, right?
Time to get serious. Spring is around the corner and let’s face it, the warmer the weather gets, the more distractions we will have. I have been very busy getting the scribbles of ideas from my notebooks put on to the computer into easy to access files. I am trying to use Google docs more to jot down quick thoughts digitally, but many times the ideas still flow better when I get out a little journal or legal pad and a nice pen. How does your process work?
Old West End got its festival premiere at the end of February at the Youngstown Film Festival! It was a great first year for this festival with some amazing films and cool people. They got over 200 submissions which was amazing for the first year. We were honored to be selected to screen, especially since only 13 films got that honor. We hope to have many more selections so we are able to share the film with more people.
Our March regular meetup is Saturday the 18th at 1:30 at the Oregon branch library. This month we are in the smaller conference room within the library. That’s plenty of time to recover from St. Patrick’s Day and get back to your writing, right? If not, it’s a nice quiet library to recover in 😀
Stay curious. The universe provides so many weird and powerful stories and opportunities to tell them. All we have to do is get off our phones, listen, and be open to receive.
Have fun writing!