[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: [Answering the livestream comments] Sengaari, hello, another great question “Why write and try to get my work out there if the chances of it being optioned or even read is extremely slim in the real world?”
Tony DuShane, Writer/Podcaster/Teacher: I’ve got the answer to that because you’re right, it may never get out there, it might not be optioned, it might not get out but what I’ve learned through tons of failures and a couple of kind of successes, is to embrace the process. Not only embrace the process, just realize that you’re a writer, so you wake up every day as a writer. I had someone ask me they’re like:
How do you get your inspiration?
I’m like, Inspiration, what? No, I just write.
I have a routine, I have these three structural things that I do and then I get to my work and it’s just I do it every day. The beauty of that is the process, nobody can take the process of writing away from you, so you just keep crafting story, crafting story, and even when good things happen like when we had our premiere of Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk [Tony’s novel and adapted film] and I got to do the Q&A and it was just such an uplifting point.
The next day I was depressed. I was like Well, that’s the end of that but I learned a valuable lesson, it’s not the end of that. Tomorrow I get to work on the other thing, I’m working on the next thing. More important than the outcome is the process and you have to love the process. You have to love storytelling, if it’s your religion, you’re going to show up every day to it whether there’s an outcome or not. It’s like playing the lottery…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk by Tony DuShane – Check out the book on Amazon:
BIO:
Tony DuShane is the author of the semi-autobiographical novel Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk. He adapted the screenplay for director Eric Stoltz, and the film is now available on Amazon Prime. His journalism and essays have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, Penthouse, The Believer, and other media outlets. DuShane has hosted the author interview show Drinks with Tony since 2002. He just finished his next novel Dream Casting and is seeking a happy home for it.
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