I'm Finally a Finalist

Hello MFAers and staff,

I have some good news to share. The American Gem Literary Festival and Wright Brothers have announced their finalists and my short script Out of the Box (co-written with Lawrence King) has finally made the cut. The literary festival accepted submissions in the following categories: short screenplay, short story, story treatment, and logline. I'm a finalist in the short screenplay and logline categories.

Last week I was feeling down because I had two rejections from film festivals for my feature Finding Patience. I realize and accept that rejection is an unfortunate part of the writing process. However, this announcement puts steam back into my engine.

I wrote the first draft of this script four years ago and have submitted to this competition in the past, but I have only made it to either the quarter or semi-finalist round. When I received coverage on the script I always reworked it and tried to address my script's flaws. To date, I have done at least 20 revisions. Practice does make perfect.

I also want to give credit and thanks the students in my online multi-genre workshop from the Spring 2007 semester. The feedback you all gave me was extremely instrumental in my last couple of revisions of the script.

One of the lessons that this program constantly reinforces is that when you have a story to tell, write it. We also have to believe in as well as be champions of our work. After the script, manuscript, or article is finished, the writer has to then show due diligence in getting his/her story out in the world. I'm constantly working on that and it takes a lot of energy, but at the end of the day it is up to me and no one else.

Who knows if I'll win or place in this competition, but for me, being a finalist is proof that I just have to keep writing.

Aaliyah