Learning the Game

I love hearing real life stories from writers. Like the post about Sly Stallone and how he learned to write so he could have a role! Plus, he learned how to write scripts by copying the format of other scripts.

A few years back I got hooked on a Scottish series called Monarch of the Glen. Last night I was frustrated that the star, and my favorite actor on the show, disappeared and searched online to see if he came back for Season 6.

While looking him up, I ran across an article interview and learned he is now a screenwriter as well. Alastair Mackenzie, who played Archie MacDonald on the show, left to pursue other projects. According to the article in The Scotsman, he wrote and starred in The Last Great Wilderness.

Mackenzie said it was his first attempt at screenwriting. Apparently, he went in with a dangerous mindset that because he had seen lots of movies it would be easy for him to write a script. I like how he admitted that. He went on to say, "So it took me many years just to learn the language of writing, but eventually I loved it."

I felt that was a raw admission and I respect that. Writing is fun. Writing is therapeutic. Writing is rewarding. But it is not always easy. I sail through some formats and struggle through others. I just like to know I'm normal and appreciate stars like him being transparent.