Writer Sheila Valesano
What did you accomplish in 2022 as a writer? What do you hope to achieve in 2023? Writing is an active pursuit, so this month we’re talking with BWW member Sheila Valesano, fiction writer, poet, screenwriter and all-around go-getter when it comes to writing.
What writer-focused events and activities did you attend or pursue last year?
In 2022, my screenplays, poetry and short stories were submitted to a number of groups. Here is a sampling:
- Chicken Soup for the Soul – Lessons Learned from My Cat. I am a contributing writer, Meow Visits the Vet.
- Barrington Writer’s Workshop – Actor’s performed my short screenplay, Unraveled.
- NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Challenge – Alareen
- Winning Writer’s Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest – The Mariner’s Daughter (Results pending – April 2023)
- CINEQUEST Competition – BESSIE: Soul of a Pilot (Results pending – February 2023)
Why did you choose these venues?
In searching for the right place to submit my work, it’s important for me to find compatibility between my work and where I’m submitting. I want my work to resonate with readers. When the matchup is in alignment, it’s mutually rewarding. For example, my poems tend to be lengthy and rhyme. I look for places to submit that specifically state they are looking for rhyming poetry.
Did you have a favorite event?
It’s hard to choose just one. I am an alum of the Sundance Screenwriter’s Retreat in Utah’s Wasatch Range. The sessions led by Dave Trottier, author of The Screenwriter’s Bible, offer insightful script analysis. The Sundance Mountain Resort purchased and reimagined by Robert Redford, actor, producer, environmental activist and Sundance Film Festival Founder, offers a perfect serene space for screenwriters, like myself. We gather for inspiration, study, critiques, and relaxation. It’s great to have the synergy of a supportive group of writers. Upon meeting Robert Redford, I came to understand how a place can be a character.
My favorite writing contest is the NYC Midnight Screenwriting Competition. I love a challenge and this one is intense. There are three rounds with approximately 10,000 competitors from around the world. For each round, at midnight, competitors receive a deadline, a genre, a subject, and a character. An original story must be written using those criteria. Deadlines are shortened for each round. As a finalist in screenwriting competitions, I’ve learned a lot from critiques provided by producers and directors. Their feedback taught me to compress my stories.
How do you find out about events for writers?
Information is available through writing organizations, writers, Internet, and books specializing in the craft of writing. I found my mentor at a workshop he taught at Columbia College in Chicago. He is an award-winning Hollywood screenwriter helping me reach my goals.
Tell me about the rhyming fairy tale contest you entered and why.
NYC Midnight offered a three round rhyming story challenge. The first-round criteria gave contestants eight days to write six hundred words or less. My assigned criteria included genre: fairytale, theme: defection, emotion: perplexed. I wrote Alareen, a 597- word fairytale poem that told the story of a young woman who witnesses her village’s mistreatment of a traveler, ensuing punishment, remorse, and restoration. Although the poem did not progress to round two, I received helpful feedback from the judges. Now that the contest restrictions no longer apply, I am free to expand the poem to develop the characters more fully.
What have you learned by putting yourself and your writing out there?
I’ve learned to cheerfully seek feedback for my work. It’s important to hear from people who are writers and people who are not. Both perspectives are helpful.
What will you be doing in 2023?
My plans include promoting the book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Cat. It launches February 14, 2023. I am pitching my screenplay, Bessie: Soul of a Pilot to producers. Additionally, I’m planning a few personal retreats for novel and poetry writing.
Editor’s Note: If you know of any upcoming events, contests or workshops for writers that you’d like to share please put them in the comment box below.
