A Writers Journey

In the summer of 1998, I started writing my first screenplay. In retrospect, I realize I always had this creative side.  1995 was a watershed year. That April, while marketing what would be my first published article post-Wellesley, someone asked me out of the blue: “Have you ever considered writing fiction?” I had, in fact, written a play that my third grade class performed, and some twenty years later started pondering a spec sitcom. Then, a confluence of factors continued to steadily nurture this creative seed and, after much perseverance and many drafts, I completed the first good ‘final draft’ of my screenplay. That summer, I started developing my sitcom, as well, and BBC Entertainment reviewed the pilot as I helped launch BBC America—the first of many such helpful suggestions from various pros. In the intervening years, brick by brick, I have also grown into a serious non-fiction writer, as reflected below. As for the success I might ultimately achieve, I always keep in mind what the executive producer of Miami Vice told me: “It’s the becoming, not the being.”

– Mary Claire Kendall