By Duane Gross

Rating:

My experience as a finalist in the 2008 Disney/ABC Writing Fellowship (Feature Screenplay Division) was very positive, very productive, mainly due to two factors: the executives in charge of the fellowship and the camaraderie that was developed between the 22 candidates.

The Talent Development & Diversity Staff were very professional and friendly. A cocktail reception was scheduled for the finalists as a meet and greet the night before the individual interviews. The TD&D staff mixed in and mingled with the potential fellowship recipients to get a good idea of who was getting involved and displaying their winning charm and personality, and who was standing on the sidelines being the room’s added wallflowers. The fellowship candidates came from all parts of the country… New York, Washington D.C., Michigan, Texas and of course California. And every writer had a different story to tell of their struggles to climb up the ladder of success.

The interview process was a bit intimidating, consisting of a panel interview with as many as seven to ten panelists. I won’t go into detail on the questions that were asked, but as long as a candidate is on top of their game… they’ll have no worries in answering them to the best of their ability.

Although, I didn’t win a covenant spot as one of the final four fellows, I experienced one of the best times in my life as a writer. I know that my writing skills have improved in leaps and bounds because of it. And best of all, I built a number of great friendships with the other candidates of whom I still speak and correspond with today.

Duane is an aspiring screenwriter living in Michigan. Find him at www.grossbros.com!