Just a quick note: I haven’t had an opportunity to say much about my excellent adventure in Seattle with Robbye and Dean and the good folks of the Northwest Screenwriters Guild. Because, as you know, the script, my friends, must get done.
You can read more about it on the SagePresence blog, where Dean and I managed to sneak in a couple of posts on the event, which was, might I add, nothing short of stellar. I look forward to going back there soon, and I think Robbye’s ready to move there.
Anywho, I got a heads up that NWSG President Aadip Desai posted some kind words about us on the NWSG website. I took a moment to check it out and was quite touched. I thought I would share his wonderful sentiments here.
"Since I haven’t blogged about it yet, let’s talk about the amazing BILL TRUE and DEAN HYERS. These two are on my top 10 list of nicest guys ever. This list includes Blake Snyder, by the way. We will bring them back again. For those of you who missed it, shame on you 🙂 This was hands down the most invaluable pitching training I’ve ever had.
"We were all nervous as hell. Pitching in front of an audience is hard. I don’t care who you are. Even as President of NWSG (basically a volunteer Project Manager) I ranked 6th out of 22, which was a hard pill to swallow. Of course I blew through my pitch in 37 seconds instead of the allotted 90 seconds. I left out my catalyst (duh!) and a major piece of the subtext/set-up puzzle. The hardest thing was to admit that I didn’t do my best, didn’t prepare properly, and sold myself short by not using all the time. I forgot that it doesn’t matter how hard we try to check our egos and pride at the door, they still crash the party. So, not only did I learn how to pitch better, more from the heart, and how to hit the major plot points, but I learned that I need to acknowledge that my ego is right there with me, vulnerable to, as Dean Hyers would say, devastation. Phew. Who needs therapy when you can just pitch in front of an audience and get feedback! Imagine if these guys were mean, I think I would’ve gone home and drank a bottle of Vodka and watch Taxi Driver. But, in this case, I was appreciative of their knowledge, brutally honest feedback, and I was inspired to take my pitch to the next level."
Thanks, Aadip, for the great props. The feeling, by the way, is altogether mutual.
True Life 