guess who's back, back again - Bekah's back, tell a friend!

Holy Hell, y'all! It's been a long while since we last met on this blog. I would apologize for the hiatus but I was in desperate need of a break after all of the academic writing I had to do during grad school. I was burnt out and directionless in my writing. There have been moments over the past two years where I had potential blog ideas but lacked the desire to actually sit down at the computer and hammer them out (not to mention, the tiny issue of Mabel the Mac needing a brain transplant). It's been an interesting and beautiful two years away from here filled with love, laughter, travel, and a lot of questions about the direction of my "career". I now come back to blogging with clear and exciting answers to these questions - as well as a creative rejuvenation and love for the written word.

What was the catalyst for this new found inspiration, you ask? Over the last year, I had noticed a bit of a hole in my life despite all of the amazing people and moments in it. The more the idea of writing popped into my head, the more it became glaringly obvious what was missing. The problem I faced then was in what direction did I want to take my writing? Did I want to continue blogging and journaling for a hobby and a creative outlet or did I really want to dig deep and face what I’ve been yearning for, yet scared of all along...writing as a career. [Aaahhh! Yay! Eeek! WHOA!] So often we are scared of the things that we most want and those are the things that lead to one of my least favorite words in this world - regret. I’ve always prided myself on pushing my own boundaries and living a life with no regrets and if I didn’t take this next step with my writing because I was afraid of failure, I would be living a lie. The question still plagued me...what was I going to write? It wasn't until my friend, Meghan and I were inspired by a visit to the historical society museum in my hometown - we kept going on and on about what an amazing stories there were to tell. Months later a brilliant and unexpected idea was born over fire and boozin’ - we decided to write a screenplay [proof that alcohol can sometimes really inspire and help you make great life decisions].

This wasn’t shocking news to those closest to me. As a matter of fact, it made perfect sense to them (and myself, once I really thought about it). My boyfriend quickly reminded me that during our very first conversation together, I gushed on and on about my love of film, writing, and desire to eventually write a screenplay. I had said it out loud to someone else and knew then that it was coming from the deepest and truest part of my heart -- and let’s be honest, it’s been a long time coming. I have been a writer, dreamer, and film lover since my childhood. There’s nothing like the thrill of putting pen to paper or the sound of fingers tapping away at a keyboard to bring life to a story. I spent many years trying on different hats but have resolved that writing should be my top hat. No more excuses...it was time to start making my dreams of becoming a screenwriter a reality.

So Meghan and I started plowing away on it! We knew we wanted to focus on a specific historical time period at the Highlander Folk School [I won’t go into it too much because quite frankly, it would ruin the movie and we will be counting on you to spend yo dollas to see it. However, feel free to google away because it is rich in history and is still rockin’ on today.], which meant we had beaucoups of research to do before forming into the perfect story. During our research, fate intervened.

We noticed that Highlander (Research and Education Center) would be holding their very first Screenwriting Workshop with none other than Robert Ben Garant. If you aren’t familiar with Ben, he’s a Hollywood screenwriter, former writer/star of Reno 911 (Travis Jr.!), AND also the great nephew of the Highlander Folk School founder, Myles Horton. I mean, C’MON people -- the stars were aligning for us! Fate then decided to give us scholarships for the workshop, so we packed our pens, paper, and enthusiasm as we headed to the middle of nowhere in east Tennessee (beautiful green hills, mountains, and farmland for DAYS).

Y’all, it was a workshop wonderland! Inspiring. Creatively exhilarating. Educational. Entertaining. Hopeful. Happy. Thought-provoking. And above all, life-changing! We met some wonderful and interesting people that challenged and delighted me along the way. The food there was seriously scrumptious. The conversations were incredibly interesting, fun, and encouranging. We were so incredibly fortunate to be able to meet and chat with the real life leading lady in our film -- So yeah, that was pretty much amazing! Then there was Ben. He taught, nurtured, encouraged, energized, and directed us. He’s a truly funny and warm guy and I will be forever grateful for his kindness, advice, and for presenting us with the opportunity of a lifetime [note: I’m not just talking about any kind of opportunity. I’m talking about the crazy awesome, out-of-this-world, dream kind where he vowed to help us MAKE this film. Yeah...you read that right. Holy! Shiz! *still jumping up and down with insane amounts of excitement and disbelief*]. We honestly learned more than I could have ever hoped and finally started to realize that this film was REALLY going to happen. Talk about exceeding my expectations in every possible way!

Now begins the real work. We are in full research mode -- reading all that we can get our hands on, watching films, setting up interviews, reading other scripts, and jotting down inspiration for scenes and ideas by the boat loads! Even though there are moments when it seems terrifying and daunting, it will never outshine how alive I feel and comfortable I am with this new adventure.

So I guess I can actually say it now. I finally know that I am right where I was meant to be - I’m an aspiring screenwriter.

Peace Love and Movie Magic,

Bekah