• Home
  • About Emmy-Winning Blog
  • ©2008-2018 Scott W. Smith

Screenwriting from Iowa

…and Other Unlikely Places

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« ‘Unbroken’
Writing Quote #24 (Laura Hillenbrand) »

Starting Small

April 21, 2011 by Scott W. Smith

“We tend to overestimate what we can do in one year, and underestimate what we can do in ten.”
Richard Foster

Often times people have great big dreams for the things they want to write. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I’ve found that most writers who’ve found success at the most basic level tend to have started by taking small steps. In Laura Hillenbrand case it was small painful steps.

She had to dropout of Kenyan College when she was 20 because of an illness later discovered as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In fact, sometimes even walking to the mailbox had to be painfully considered.

At times she’s suffered from vertigo that left her bedridden and unable to read or write. Over time, through various specialists, she learned to cope with her illness. But before she would go on to write the best selling books Seabiscuit and Unbroken she took one very small step as a writer.

“I wanted to be useful but I wasn’t strong enough for a conventional job. The one thing I could still do, however, was write. Shortly after arriving in Chicago, while watching a video of the 1988 Kentucky Derby, I had an idea for an article on the impact of overcrowded fields on the race. I researched and wrote the piece, then mailed it to an obscure racing magazine. I got a job offer. Fifty dollars per story, no benefits. I took only assignments that I could do from home and wrote them in bed. The magazine never paid me, but my bylines drew assignments at better publications, ultimately earning me regular work covering equine medicine and horse-industry issues at Equus.”
Laura Hillenbrand
A Sudden Illness—How My Life Changed
The New Yorker (July/2003)
As you read Hillenbrand’s own personal story it’s not hard to understand why she writes so vividly about characters who have experienced profound pain and brokenness.

Scott W. Smith

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Reddit
  • Google
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Miscellaneous | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on April 21, 2011 at 7:03 am Screenwriting From Iowa » Starting Small

    […] “We tend to overestimate what we can do in one year, and underestimate what we can do in ten.” Richard Foster  Often times people have great big dreams for the things they want to write. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I’ve found that most writers who’ve found success at the most basic level tend […] Original Source… […]


  2. on April 21, 2011 at 8:29 am patti

    All I can say after reading Laura’s account of her illness…is what a heroine she is. And what an amazing writer. I doubt I could have carried on as she did…I would have caved. I’m going to pass this on…it bears reading again and again. A triumph of the human spirit…stunning.


  3. on April 21, 2011 at 10:12 am Scott W. Smith

    @Patti—I’ve read where people have commented that it’s too bad Laura has this illness and wonder how much more she could write without her afflication. I imagine that Laura would love to be healthy, but I bet she also understands that her illness is part of what makes her writing special.

    There are plenty of (realtively) healthy writers who will never capture the magic that Laura has in either of her books.

    I don’t recall if that great line in the movie “Seabiscuit” is in the book, but it sure is Laura’s story:

    “You don’t just throw a whole life away just because it’s banged up a little.” Tom Smith (Chris Cooper’s character)

    Actually, that could be said about a good deal of the characters in both “Seabiscuit” and “Unbroken.”



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,070 other followers

  • Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places

    Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places
  • @scottwsmith_com

    • #AQuietPlace —It all started with Charlie Chaplin...and Jacques Tati @beckandwoods @quietplacemovie #screenwriting wp.me/paP6U-hTh 1 day ago
    Follow @scottwsmith_com
  • Top Posts

    • ‘A Quiet Place’—It all started with Charlie Chaplin...and Jacques Tati
    • How Much Do Screenwriters Make?
    • The Major or Central Dramatic Question (Tip #101)
    • The Four Functions of Dialogue (Tip #45)
    • The Perfect Logline
    • ‘A new and vibrant cinema’—Ted Hope
    • "Star Wars"—The Logline
    • ‘Fall Forward'—Denzel Washington
    • "Juno"—The Logline
    • Pity, Fear, Catharsis (Tip #69)
  • Recent Posts

    • ‘A Quiet Place’—It all started with Charlie Chaplin…and Jacques Tati
    • What could be made on a farm in Iowa for $50k? (That would be a movie people want to see.)— ‘A Quiet Place’
    • A 20 Year Journey to ‘A Quiet Place’
    • Find a Filmmaking Path By Making Things as Cheaply as Possible
    • A Quiet Place…in Iowa
  • Pages

    • About Emmy-Winning Blog
    • ©2008-2018 Scott W. Smith
  • Categories

    • Book Reviews
    • Film History
    • filmmaking
    • Filmmaking Quote of the Day
    • Miscellaneous
    • Most Viewed Posts
    • Movies
    • Off Screen Quotes
    • Postcards
    • Quotes from the Road
    • Screenwriters
    • screenwriting
    • Screenwriting & Life
    • Screenwriting Biz
    • Screenwriting Quotes
    • Screenwriting Road Trips
    • screenwriting tips
    • Television
    • Video Blog
    • writing
    • Writing Quotes
  • Add to Technorati Favorites
  • Digg!
  • Archives

    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries RSS
    • Comments RSS
    • WordPress.com
  • RSS Screenwriting from Iowa

    • ‘A Quiet Place’—It all started with Charlie Chaplin…and Jacques Tati
      Just as Sean Baker talked about the unusual influence of The Littel Rascals on his indie film The Florida Project, screenwriter Scott Beck talks about the unusual influence of the origins of the monster movie A Quiet Place.  It started with Charlie Chaplin—and I’m 100% serious. In college, we were watching a lot of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton […] […]
      Scott W. Smith
  • Blogroll—Favorite Posts from Others

    • ASPIRING TO ACT, WRITE, DIRECT—TomCruise.com
    • BURN IT DOWN—John August
    • CASE STUDIES IN FILM EDITING—Oliver Peters
    • DAVID MAMET'S MEMO— Movieline
    • EVERY SALE HAS A STORY—Blake Snyder
    • FILM FINACE OVERWHELM—Stacy Parks
    • IT'S THE CONCEPT STUPID—Max Adams
    • LISTEN TO A MOVIE—Scott Myers
    • MISHA GREEN INTERVIEW—Scriptshadow
    • QUERY LETTER SAMPLE — Michele Wallerstein
    • RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK—Scriptsnotes, Ep 73:
    • THE 'RAIDERS' STORY CONFERENCE—Mystery Man on Film
    • THE "A" LIST—Christopher Lockhart
    • THE SCREENWRITER'S GUIDE TO MOVIE VILLAINS—Screenwriting Spark
    • THE TOTAL FILM-MAKER BY JERRY LEWIS—Cinephilla and Beyond
    • VINCENT LAFORET—chasejarvisLIVE

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: