Jay Fingers, Novelist, Journalist, Editor, and Screenwriter: Me having just idea upon idea because I’m always thinking of a story to tell. What story should I tell next? Okay, I’m working on this script but what should come next?
Film Courage: Why is your writing mentor relationship important to you?
Jay: Because you need someone to believe in you. That’s one of the major things that he provides is he lets me know that he sees me working, he believes that the work is good, he believes that I have a gift, a talent for this and I think that’s important. You need to have someone in your corner. It’s great that he is who he is and he’s in the position that he’s in, but it can really be anyone I think as long as they have that belief that what you’re doing is worthy. You’re not wasting your time, you’re not wasting your talent, keep pushing. That’s why it’s really important because he provides that for me and also with him being in the business and being successful he just has a lot of knowledge that he’s able to impart. It can be anything from how scripts are formatted and how you people will receive the script to stuff on the business end. This is what you need to think about, you need to think about taxes, you need to think about contracts, blah blah. He’s got that kind of inside track and that’s also beneficial.
Film Courage: Aside from him believing in you and you showing up for him (whether it’s online or in person), what is one or two things that he gave you feedback on that changed things for you?
Jay: I would say my approach to certain genres of storytelling. He read one of my scripts and just the advice I think This is what you should do in this situation, this is how things are usually structured in this genre and he knows what he’s talking about and following his advice I think really helped improved that script and…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
Jay Fingers is a novelist, journalist, editor, and emerging screenwriter. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, before attending film school at the University of Miami. After college and working in Miami Beach’s nightlife scene for several years, Jay moved to New York City — Brooklyn, specifically — where he wrote four books: Guestlist, Kisses for Tati, Orange Mound and Manhattan Sweetheart. Deciding to fully pursue his lifelong screenwriting ambitions, Jay relocated to Los Angeles, where he currently lives and has been tirelessly working on spec scripts.
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