Andrea Mann

Andrea Mann is a British screenwriter

On Imposter Syndrome, And Getting Out Of Our Own Way

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I put myself forward for a writing gig this month that I almost didn’t put myself forward for.

I’d seen the call out – asking for CV submissons – and immediately dismissed it as not something I would be good or experienced enough for. It required a writing muscle that I’ve not exercised in years and I feared would now be too out of shape.

But then my agent asked me if I was going to put myself forward for it. I said no, and gave my excuses reasons. And then – being both a good person and a good agent – she told me that I should.

Old me would have continued to resist. New me a) realised I was resisting, b) knew my agent was right, and c) submitted my CV.

And while I knew that it was an extremely long shot, I also knew that the point, really, wasn’t whether I would get the gig or not. The point was that I had just got out of my own way.

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Those Three Little Words That Mean So Much

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Learning to ‘trust the process’ can change your life. Trust me. (And the process).

Trust the Post-it

I’m in the first draft of a feature script at the moment, with all the ups and downs that entails.

The ups include thoughts like: I’m writing a film script! I used to manage a cinema and now I’m writing a film script!! – inwardly screaming and running around the house like Olive when she’s told she’s through to the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.

The downs include rather different thoughts, like: What the f— am I doing? Should I really put that there? Is this rubbish? Oh god, it’s rubbish. Is this script going to be any good? At any point? I bet Mike White’s scripts are great off the bat! …and so on.

I often talk to other writers and creatives about how a) the voice of your Inner Critic never goes away but b) you can help it to become quieter, and less frequent, by doing such things as nurturing the voice of your Inner Best Friend instead.

When I’m in the thick of a first draft, my Inner Best Friend reminds me that they’re known as Shitty First Drafts for a reason. That nobody will see this draft but me. That it doesn’t need to be good, it just needs to be written. That it doesn’t matter if it’s rubbish for now, as long as I push on through. That I should just keep swimming. At which point I realise that my Inner Best Friend is, in fact, a fish. Called Dory.  

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On Dreaming Whole Dreams, And Other Reminders For 2025

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The Holdovers (written by David Hemingson & directed by Alexander Payne)

I hope you and yours are having a fun-packed/no-activities-packed/delete as applicable festive season. As I write this, Greatest Hits Radio Christmas is playing in the background (damn right I’m going to keep listening to Christmas songs after 25th December), and Freddie Mercury is opining ‘Thank god it’s Christmas’. Right now, however, I’m thinking: thank god it’s Twixtmas. A time when the main activities in our house are, delightfully, getting up late (and then eating chocolate), watching movies (while eating chocolate) and going for long walks (only stopping to eat… you guessed it, Christmas cake).

My husband and I have a tradition on our Twixtmas walks to talk about the year we’ve each had, and share our hopes and goals for the year to come. So in the spirit of that, I thought I’d write about five things (fiiiive gooaaal thiiiings!) that 2024 taught me – or at least reminded me of – which I’m going to try to take into in 2025. They’re largely work/creativity-related, but not completely. And whatever work you do, or whatever your life may look like, I hope that one, some or all may be helpful for you, too.

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