The class I'm taking is a "Supermentor" class offered by Marc and Elaine Zicree. Marc and Elaine are professional screenwriters, with many credits to their names, and with the opinion that you can make your career happen for yourself.

That attitude works for me, so I signed up for their 6-week course that meets on Wednesdays at a local restaurant. Our first 3-hour meeting turned into a 4.5 hour meeting, and I found it very productive. There are only ten of us, and our backgrounds and goals vary widely. I happen to be the only writer focusing on a TV career right now. There's producer/directors, writer/directors, a writer, actor and the producer/writer/directors. We're at all levels of our careers, some just starting out, some (like myself) on the verge of breaking in, and one in the tumult of her first sale.

For the first class, we went around the table and described what our goals are. Marc & Elaine then probed us for our contacts, skills, ideas, and provided us with pointers, suggestions and homework. For me, I need to really think about the list of industry people I may have had any contact with (Dear madam, I passed you in the ladies room last week...), to make a list of shows that I want to write for and to dig for the personal element that I bring to a script. What makes me unique, stand out from the crowd, makes me of interest to someone else?

This last one will be a tough one for me. While I'm pretty secure in analyzing who I am, I'm much worse at figuring out what makes me different. I box. Well, there's a start, eh? If only I had a script about a boxer...

I also took notes on some of the suggestions provided to the others. I met a bunch of swell people, one of whom works close to TV production.

Overall, I think this will be a good class for me. It will help me find a path to success, expose my strengths and weaknesses and, in the end, empower me to take my career and run with it.

Next class is on Wednesday. Stay tuned...