A Writer’s Journey
Brooklyn produces some of the most fascinating people in the world. Actors, singers, sports figures, and yes, writers. That’s where my life began, amid the quirky, sometimes comical and often tragic cast of characters that surrounded my youth in the Italian-American enclave of Bensonhurst. Think Welcome Back Kotter and Saturday Night Fever, and you’re within three blocks from where I was raised. Not a bad place from which to draw inspiration, especially for a storyteller like me.
We all possess gifts. Therefore, instead of describing myself as “talented,” I prefer to say I was “gifted” with the written word. With this gift, I am able to craft stories – a sublime opportunity to do something I love every day. I listen, I absorb, I write. I do it with insight, passion and humor.
My creative writing career didn’t happen right out of school, though. After a summa cum laude Bachelors Degree followed by a Masters Degree in Linguistics at NYU, I made the choice to pursue a career in advertising. As a principle of a successful advertising agency for many years, I was able to hone my skills as a copywriter. In the high-pressured, fast paced advertising world accounts are won and lost on the turn of a phrase. I turned lots of them!
In the book “Think and Grow Rich,” Napoleon Hill describes how people can only fulfill their life’s aspirations when they find their major, definite purpose. That rang true to me. Therefore, after many years in the advertising business, I’ve decided to concentrate on mine: writing.
It actually started in 2013, when I was given an opportunity to write my first screenplay, Seven Fishes. As the words poured onto the page, I knew this was what I was destined to do. Since that first screenplay, I have written and produced the feature film The Networker www.imdb.com/title/tt3685480/ due for release September 2017. Directed by film veteran John Gallagher and starring Sean Young, William Forsythe, Stephen Baldwin and many talented actors, the film has generated some great buzz. I was able to watch and learn on set as the movie unfolded before me. Truly an amazing experience to see my words come to life on the screen!
What can I do for you? I write. If you need a script doctor, ghostwriter, editor… or have a great idea for a screenplay/teleplay . . . or just need a quick script for your video project – if it involves writing, I’d love to walk the journey with you.