Hey, thanks for checking out my “writer” page! I figured you’d read my bio, maybe look at a video or two, then move on to something more interesting. This is truly a pleasant surprise.
So, how did I become a writer? Well, I learned early on that if you have some musings in your head and you put them down on paper… voilà! You’re a writer! It doesn’t mean you’re a good one, but you are, by the literal definition of the word, a writer.
I don’t remember when I first started writing, but I do know what it was that first entertained a small but loyal audience. In junior high, to pass the time during Spanish Class – or “el classo de Espanol” – I drew comic-book like cartoons for my friends and family members to read. If there were an awards category for Best Stick Figure Artistry on Lined Paper, this wouldn’t have even been close to a nomination. But it was mildly amusing and the target demographic – idiots, morons and my brother – loved it! As long as they kept laughing, I’d keep having my stick figures do and say crazy things.
Hannaman never forgave himself for helping his former sidekick Osama find religion.
Unfortunately, according to my eighth grade guidance counselor, there’s no real future in crudely drawn cartoons. My stuff was funny, but let’s face it… I was no Trey Parker or Matt Stone. I was going to have to harness my talent another way. Somewhere along the way I wrote something and had a friend look it over.
“You write good,” he said.
“No,” I scoffed as I corrected him. “I write goodly.
It was that moment where I knew I could be a professional writer. My ticket to Millionaireville had just been stamped!
As it turns out, Millionaireville is a hard place to get to, and only a select few, truly talented writers ever actually get there. But along the way, I had stops in Hundredsburg and Thousandsland, turning my talents into a sustainable living as a television news anchor, reporter, writer and producer.
Let’s fast-forward through my broadcast journalist days. They were very rewarding and all, but the details aren’t necessary to the narrative of this story. Much like my time in El Classo de Espanol, as I sat in the newsroom, I longed to channel my energy into my personal, creative outlets.
Only this time, it was screenwriting!
Nice computer, Grandpa! Can you play Pong on that thing?
Since arriving in Los Angeles, I’ve written multiple screenplays, produced several short films I’m also the co-creator of the popular web series Ask Dr. Juli. So far we’ve released two seasons of that show, and we’re beginning preparations for a third (and final?) installment. Even during the Covid-19 lockdowns, I was able to co-produce a series of shorts, using the at-home constructs which presented themselves. Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say.
Bottom line, I’ve learned that my true happiness comes when I create something that entertains others. My goals are to leave you laughing, and to leave you wanting more.
You have to write goodly for that to happen.
