This is the first article I have written for the TSA newsletter and, when asked to do this, I really didn’t have a topic in mind, just an empty canvas. But that’s okay, I’m used to writing on spec. So, I thought, like any writer should, who is my audience? Or, much like that perennial and world-leveling question asked of so many screenwriters, “Why would someone pay $8.00 to see this?”, I could ask here and more poignantly, why would anyone spend their time reading this?

And this is the key question always in my mind as a writer: Where to spend my time and what to spend it on? There’s only so much of it – and becoming an accomplished writer takes time – time spent writing and time spent improving the craft of writing. So, when considering a topic for a screenwriting association newsletter, and one that I would want to read as a reader, Investment opportunities and Wall Street naturally came to mind.

As a writer, I have been on Wall Street, where it seems everywhere I turn, I am hitting walls – How to determine if my idea is sound? Am I ready to begin writing the actual screenplay? What to do next? Who to listen to? Where to go for bottom line advice on a topic? When do I know my screenplay is ready to be marketed? How to market myself and my writing?

Some of the ways I went about finding the answers to these questions did yield results, but most of the time I kept hitting walls, walls and more walls. Welcome to Wall Street. Eventually, my tenacity and resourcefulness would lead me to the right answers, but the overall investment of my precious time (Gollum’s got nothing on this ‘precious’) and money left me wondering at times if it all is worth it. After all, I am serious about becoming a screenwriter, not just doing it because I’m bored. But I kept thinking that all that time I spent investing in the search for the right answers could have been spent writing, writing and more writing. Heck, (not sure if I can swear here), but dang it, that’s the one thing all the teachers, seminars, books, pro writers and industry people agree on: spend time writing to become a good writer!

Now, although I don’t reflexively eschew them, I am generally not the type to be a member of an association or group or tribe or whatever. The main reason again is – why invest the extra time it takes? What am I really getting out of it? But I took the advice of a friend of a friend whose advice I respect and I joined the TSA seven months ago. It was apparent within a very short time that it was unequivocally the best investment of time I had ever made as a screenwriter – and perhaps as even a writer, period. And, I got to say goodbye to Wall Street.

And the big “T” word aside for the moment, let me say something about the big “M” word: Money, or in this case the membership fee. $25 a year?!?!? C’mon! Don’t tell the TSA guy who collects the cash, but I would have spent $250 for all the time and money I have already saved to put me at the same place I am now on my career path. And between you and me, I have known writers who have spent ten times that amount and still haven’t found the answers.

I won’t rant and rave about the extensive benefits of TSA membership, but here is a quick summary of what I personally found to be the greatest payoffs so far:

1. I repeat – the collective TIME I SAVED on the path to becoming a better screenwriter
2. The opportunity for live, interactive, constructive feedback on my screenwriting, ideas and characters from people who know what they are talking about – this weekly ‘real time’ element is exceedingly rare and indispensable
3. Effective tools and resources (both writing and industry related)
4. Being with people who love screenwriting and film. This is an ancillary benefit, but it makes it fun, and motivating for me. I’m not getting all support-groupy and everything here, but let’s face it, writing is a solitary, challenging and often frustrating process and career choice. It’s nice to know I am not alone and I have the opportunity to express, discuss and hear about something I am passionate about.
5. The more you take advantage of all the TSA has to offer, the more you get out of it – pure investment philosophy, they way we all dream it ‘should’ be.
6. And, I might add, if you are unsure about joining the TSA or only just interested in hearing about it at first, it’s free to stop by and just listen.

Okay, so now it appears I can be considered one of your investment advisors. Yikes! If that’s the case, and now that I have sincerely and fervently hyped up the TSA, I feel I have to manage your portfolio expectations to a degree also. Call it a little ‘truth in advertising’ (‘perspective’ I think is the word) or perhaps even ‘life insurance’ as I don’t want you hunting me down six months later. At the risk of being preachy….Nothing, including the all great and powerful magic of the TSA, is a cure-all for you becoming a successful writer. Nothing except you, that is. So if you’re looking for a sacred pill out there, then hang up your pen right now and become a banking investor. It still has to come from inside you. The desire, the creativity, the sheer will at times it takes to be a screenwriter. TSA or no TSA, you are still going to have to go home, come up with your own ideas and do the work it takes, and that means REwriting too! Hey, this is still hard stuff here. If it wasn’t, like so many artistic endeavors, everyone would be doing it because the payoff can be amazing, both personally and financially. But if you have - or feel you have - what it takes, the TSA is the perfect complement. It is the mashed potato next to the great sirloin of screenwriting. Give me a break, I am writing this when I’m hungry.

So, allow me to end predictably, get some food and sum up by emphatically stating:

If you are a screenwriter, or are interested in becoming a screenwriter, and need a solid investment tip that will yield a handsome return, here it is: Invest your time in the TSA.

Or maybe you prefer that as a log line:

In this action-drama, a struggling time investor discovers the TSA and, to his shock, learns there doesn’t have to be a Wall Street.

Stop by. Every Wednesday. Hope to see you there.