jakevanderark
jakevanderark
| Forum role | Member since | Last activity | Topics created | Replies created |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Jun 26, 2012 (14 years) |
- | 0 | 1 |
- Forum role
- Member
- Member since
Jun 26, 2012 (14 years)
- Last activity
- -
- Topics created
- 0
- Replies created
- 1
Bio
“What I really want to do is direct.”
Yeah, I was that kid.
I spent my high-school career as the ghost of the art room, passionately constructing a portfolio that would provide the first step toward a creative occupation. Luckily, “The School of the Art Institute of Chicago” didn’t consider GPA when selecting applicants, so I was immediately accepted into one of the most prestigious art programs in the country.
Unfortunately, the only thing I learned in art school was how much I hated art.
But I found myself! And that’s important, right?
I graduated with a BFA in 2006 and moved to Los Angeles to harness my dream of becoming the next Ingmar Bergman (thanks a lot, art school.)
In LA, I began writing screenplays as a means to direct. I found a job reading screenplays for the same reason. I read a lot of crap. I wrote a lot of crap. But little did I know... I was learning.
In the three-year process of creating short films and pursuing funding for features, I learned that directing came naturally to me, but producing did not.
I wasn’t able to get a project off the ground. When my father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009, I moved back to my hometown of Grand Haven, MI with nothing to show but three screenplays.
One day, while working as a stage manager for a national dance competition, I had an epiphany that only a repressed, depressed, living-with-his-parents artist could have: what if I wrote books? Unlike screenplays, a book is finished when it’s finished. When the final draft is complete, a book becomes a marketable product. If I work my butt off, maybe I could actually make money doing what I love.
I’m not a millionaire yet... but I did write four novels in three years and I’m proud of the accomplishment. Currently, I’m engaged to my soul-mate, self-publishing all four books, and developing a sequel to "The Accidental Siren."
Dreams, here I come.
WordPress.com Forums 