Balls of Steel™ – Script Magazine

Balls of Steel: The Screenwriter’s Mindset Digital Guide now available at The Writers Store!

Becoming a screenwriter is as much about mindset as it is about talent. Being able to write a great screenplay is only half the battle, as Jeanne Veillette Bowerman explains in this nearly 200-page PDF. You have be able to make the time to write against other obligations, understand how to submit your pages, and stay motivated in the face of rejection.

Featuring 46 completely updated articles and never-before-seen content based on her popular “Balls of Steel” blog series on ScriptMag.com (and selected as recommended reading by the Universal Writers Program), you’ll discover informative, yet personal chapters on the Mentality of a Successful Screenwriter, Actions of a Successful Screenwriter, Setting Goals, and When Things Don’t Go Your Way.

Using her own screenwriting experiences, interviews with industry professionals, and knowledge garnered from her years as editor-in-chief of Script, Bowerman imparts meaningful insights and some hard truths about how writers can get in the right mindset to make it as a successful screenwriter.

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BALLS OF STEEL™: Complete Collection or find the individual articles below:

Adaptation:
Balls of Steel™: Pursuit of the Project
Balls of Steel™: Be Careful What You Ask For
Balls of Steel™: Challenge Yourself to Change
Balls of Steel™: Advice on Adapting a Book
Balls of Steel™: Adapting Your Script Into a Novel
Balls of Steel™: Script to Novel – 5 Steps to Adapting Backwards
Balls of Steel™: Emma Frost on Writing, Charity & Adapting ‘The White Queen’ for Television
Line Between Good & Evil: Tim Talbott on Writing ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’


Breaking Into Hollywood:
Balls of Steel™: Being an Outsider
Balls of Steel™: Dear New Screenwriter
Balls of Steel™: Putting Your Script Out There
Balls of Steel™: It’s Never Too Late
Balls of Steel™: The Yellow-Brick Road to Hollywood
Balls of Steel™: Positive Attitude
Balls of Steel™: More Than One Path to a Writing Career
Balls of Steel™: 10 Tips to Prepare for Opportunities When They Knock
Balls of Steel™: The Zig-Zag Screenwriting Career Path
Balls of Steel™: Liar, Liar, Career on Fire
Balls of Steel™: Becoming a Professional Screenwriter – What’s Holding You Back?
Balls of Steel™: The Magic Trick to Selling a Screenplay
Balls of Steel™: Pursuing a Writing Career When You Feel Lost
Balls of Steel™: How to Write a Screenplay that Sells Itself
Balls of Steel™: Navigating Hollywood – 11 Ways to Develop Your Screenwriting Hustle
HBO Exec Chris Salvaterra Offers Perspective On the Business Side of Screenwriting
Balls of Steel™: Can You Really Be a Professional Screenwriter? Perception vs Reality


Characters:
Balls of Steel™: The Value of Voyeurism
Balls of Steel™: Therapy for Your Character
Balls of Steel™: Character Evolution Requires a Writer’s Evolution
Balls of Steel™: Finding Character Motivation, Conflict and Compassion
Balls of Steel™: What Can Writers Learn from Actor Interviews?
Balls of Steel™: Characters, Fate, Philosophy & Clarification


Conferences:
Balls of Steel™: Plan B
Balls of Steel™: Don’t F*ck It Up!
Balls of Steel™: Pitch Tips
Balls of Steel™: Checklist for Pitchfests and Conferences
Balls of Steel™: Screenwriting Pitchfests – Ripoff or Opportunity?


Consultants/Experts:
Balls of Steel™: Getting Honest Feedback
Balls of Steel™: When to Stop Listening to Screenwriting Experts
Balls of Steel™: Script Consultants – Are They Worth It?
Balls of Steel™: Which Screenwriting Experts Should You Believe?


Feedback and Notes:
Balls of Steel™: Script Consultants – Are They Worth It?
Balls of Steel™: Getting Honest Feedback
Balls of Steel™: Lessons of a Reader


First Drafts:
Balls of Steel™: 7 Lessons in Outlining, First Draft & Fear, Oh My!
Balls of Steel™™: Put Up or Shut Up
Balls of Steel™: Bring on the Frenzy
Balls of Steel™: Now What? – Using Therapy to Break Story
Balls of Steel™: Debate and Tips for Outlining a Script


Independent Filmmaking:
Balls of Steel: Lessons on a Set
Balls of Steel: The Road to Sundance
Balls of Steel: Cast ‘Em
Balls of Steel: Marathon Pitch via Kickstarter
Balls of Steel: Lights, Camera, Anxiety Attack
Balls of Steel: Unexpected Emotion
Balls of Steel: A New World in Distribution – ‘Goodbye Promise’ Releases on IndieGoGo
Balls of Steel: Community Service for Screenwriters
Balls of Steel: Crowdfunding Competition – Sink or Swim
Balls of Steel: The Walk of Shame


Interviews:
Balls of Steel™: The Passion of a Huston
Balls of Steel™: Image of Collaboration
Balls of Steel™: Skin That Spec
Balls of Steel™: Penmonkey Darwinism
Balls of Steel™: I Am I… and Then Some
Balls of Steel™: Jane Espenson Takes on the Web
Balls of Steel™: Below Zero Hits Austin
Balls of Steel™: The Social Media Stage (Stage 32)
Balls of Steel™: Screenwriter Losing Vision But Kickstarting Dreams
Balls of Steel™: A New World in Distribution – ‘Goodbye Promise’ Releases on IndieGoGo
Balls of Steel™: Zoe Lister Jones Talks ‘Lola Versus’
Balls of Steel™: Ava DuVernay’s ‘Middle of Nowhere’ Journey… & Screenplay
Balls of Steel™: ‘American Pickers’ Road to TV with Show Creator Mike Wolfe Part 1
Balls of Steel™: ‘American Pickers’ Road to TV with Show Creator Mike Wolfe Part 2
Balls of Steel™: ‘American Pickers’ Road to TV with Show Creator Mike Wolfe Part 3
Balls of Steel™: ‘On Becoming a Man’ Goes to Cannes Film Festival
Balls of Steel™: Meet Guinevere Turner and Her New Project, ‘Creeps’
Balls of Steel™: Meet Author and Screenwriter Christopher J. Moore
Balls of Steel™: Emma Frost on Writing, Charity & Adapting ‘The White Queen’ for Television
USAF Dentist Eric Koenig Sells ‘Matriarch’ to Paramount
Brandon Barker on Writing, Career and the Sale of ‘Nottingham & Hood’ to Disney
Writers on Writing: Brian Godawa on Breaking In & Reinventing Your Writing Career
Writers on Breaking In: Q&A with TV Writer Greta Heinemann
Q&A: ‘If We Left’ Producer & Screenwriter on Bringing Real Life Heroes to the Screen
Line Between Good & Evil: Tim Talbott on Writing ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’
Lucinda Coxon on Theatre, Breaking In and ‘The Danish Girl’
HBO Exec Chris Salvaterra Offers Perspective On the Business Side of Screenwriting
The Multi-Hyphenate Thornton Brothers Talk Storyteller Survival and Crowdfunding ‘Cactus Jack’


Mentors:
Balls of Steel™: The Secret to Finding a Screenwriting Mentor
Balls of Steel™: How to Get Your Screenplay Read Without Asking
Balls of Steel™: Working with a Screenwriting Mentor


Motivation:
Balls of Steel™: How to Grow a Set
Balls of Steel™: Patience, Crazy Patience
Balls of Steel™: Hope vs. Faith
Balls of Steel™: Take Your Label and Shove It
Balls of Steel™: No Comfort in the Zone
Balls of Steel™: What is Success
Balls of Steel™: How Far Will You Go?
Balls of Steel™: Dear New Screenwriter
Balls of Steel™: Change Will Do You Good
Balls of Steel™: You Are Your Words
Balls of Steel™: Going for the Gold
Balls of Steel™: It’s Never Too Late
Balls of Steel™: What Makes a Writer Fail?
Balls of Steel™: Positive Attitude
Balls of Steel™: More Than One Path to a Writing Career
Balls of Steel™: Seize the Day… and the Opportunity
Balls of Steel™: New Year, New You, New Script
Balls of Steel™: Do You Write for You or for Fame?
Balls of Steel™: Fill Your Cup
Balls of Steel™: 10 Tips to Prepare for Opportunities When They Knock
Balls of Steel™: Are You Afraid of Success?
Balls of Steel™: Screenwriting Career Outlook and the Happiness Meter
Balls of Steel™: Writing and Life – No Pain, No Gain
Balls of Steel™: The Zig-Zag Screenwriting Career Path
Balls of Steel™: Becoming a Professional Screenwriter – What’s Holding You Back?
Balls of Steel™: Pursuing a Writing Career When You Feel Lost
Balls of Steel™: Overcoming Overthinking


Networking:
Balls of Steel™: Get Your Community On
Balls of Steel™: Your Character, Your Career
Balls of Steel™: Shifting Network to Relationships
Balls of Steel™: Give to Receive
Balls of Steel™: Reality Check
Balls of Steel™: Positive Attitude
Balls of Steel™: The Martial Art of a Writing Community
Balls of Steel™: Taking Your Online Network Offline
Balls of Steel™: Liar, Liar, Career on Fire


Novel Writing:
Balls of Steel™: Challenge Yourself to Change
Balls of Steel™: Adapting Your Script Into a Novel
Balls of Steel™: Script to Novel – 5 Steps to Adapting Backwards
Balls of Steel™: Meet Author and Screenwriter Christopher J. Moore
Writers on Writing: Brian Godawa on Breaking In & Reinventing Your Writing Career


Pitching:
Balls of Steel™: Pitching Takes a Team
Balls of Steel™: First Impressions
Balls of Steel™: Managing Expectations
Balls of Steel™: The Waiting Game
Balls of Steel™: Pitch Tips
Balls of Steel™: Don’t F*ck It Up!
Balls of Steel™: Reality Check
Balls of Steel™: The Executive – He’s Just Not That Into You
Balls of Steel™: Checklist for Pitchfests and Conferences
Balls of Steel™: Pitching Insights & Tips for Before You Submit Your Script
Balls of Steel™: How to Get Your Screenplay Read Without Asking
Balls of Steel™: Liar, Liar, Career on Fire
Balls of Steel™: Screenwriting Pitchfests – Ripoff or Opportunity?
Balls of Steel™: 6 Screenwriting Pitching Lessons from the Sharks


Protecting Your Work:
Balls of Steel™: Is Our Work Safe?
Balls of Steel™: Writers in the Ring of Arbitration


Rejection:
Balls of Steel™: The Sting of Disappointment
Balls of Steel™: Managing Expectations
Balls of Steel™: The Waiting Game
Balls of Steel™: When to Cry Uncle
Balls of Steel™: The Executive – He’s Just Not That Into You
Balls of Steel™: What Makes a Writer Fail?
Balls of Steel™: Pursuing a Writing Career When You Feel Lost


Rewriting:
Balls of Steel™: Grab an Actor… and Listen
Balls of Steel™: Rewrite from the Gut
Balls of Steel™: When to Cry Uncle
Balls of Steel™: Getting Honest Feedback
Balls of Steel™: Stick a Fork In It
Balls of Steel™: Putting Your Script Out There
Balls of Steel™: Editing is Murder
Balls of Steel™: Goes Into the Writing Room and Behind the Lines with DR
Balls of Steel™: How Long Does It Take to Finish a Script?


Social Media:
Balls of Steel™: Tweet to Success
Balls of Steel™: Get Your Community On
Balls of Steel™: The Social Media Stage (Stage 32)
Balls of Steel™: Give to Receive
Balls of Steel™™: Taking Your Online Network Offline


Story Ideas:
Balls of Steel: Pursuit of the Project
Balls of Steel™: Write What You Know… or Not
Balls of Steel™: Challenge Yourself to Change
Balls of Steel™: No Comfort in the Zone
Balls of Steel™: How to Write a Screenplay that Sells Itself
Balls of Steel™: How Writers Can Make a Difference in Diversity in Film


Success:
Balls of Steel™: Writing for Free – Is Money the Only Measure of Success?
Balls of Steel™: What is Success
Balls of Steel™: More Than One Path to a Writing Career
Balls of Steel™: 10 Tips to Prepare for Opportunities When They Knock
Balls of Steel™: The Zig-Zag Screenwriting Career Path
Balls of Steel™: The Magic Trick to Selling a Screenplay
Balls of Steel™: Do You Write for You or for Fame?
Balls of Steel™: Cheating With Benefits
Balls of Steel™: Characters, Fate, Philosophy & Clarification
Balls of Steel™: Can You Really Be a Professional Screenwriter? Perception vs Reality


Writing Partners:
Balls of Steel™: Pitching Takes a Team
Balls of Steel™: The Perfect Storm
Balls of Steel™: Writers in the Ring of Arbitration
Balls of Steel™: The Walk of Shame
Balls of Steel™: 11 Ways to Avoid Disaster When Choosing a Writing Partner


Writing Routine and Goals:
Balls of Steel™: The Secret to Finding Time to Write
Balls of Steel™: Juggling Projects
Balls of Steel™: Train to Write
Balls of Steel™: Cheating With Benefits
Balls of Steel™: Focus, Focus, Focus
Balls of Steel™: Unblock the Block
Balls of Steel™: Balance
Balls of Steel™: How to Manage Time Flying
Balls of Steel™: Realistic Writing Goals Minus the Punching Bag
Balls of Steel™: Spark Your Creativity by Changing Your Writing Routine
Balls of Steel™: Get Real with Your Writing Goals
Balls of Steel™: Writing Space + Writing Routine = Progress