We were lucky to catch up with Jude Lutz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jude thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Last year I tried this thing I heard about called “100 rejections.” The idea is to try to collect 100 rejections fast. I loved it because it gamified the process of getting my work out there in a way that was fun. It flipped something for me. Instead of waiting to feel ready or precious about every submission, suddenly getting my work out there felt fun, not fraught.

So I started a spreadsheet and went all in. I reached out to people I never would have thought to contact. I shared current work as well as work that had been sitting on my laptop. I pitched places I’d never tried before and reached out to different types of opportunities. What surprised me was how many new, real connections came out of it. Some people I met through that experiment have become meaningful in my life and career. It made sharing my work feel routine in the best way, and playful. There was less overthinking.

One example: I sent an indie psychological crime drama feature—centered on a complicated mother-daughter relationship—to an international nonprofit for cinema called Dreamago. They’re based in Switzerland and sometimes called the “Sundance of Europe.” And instead of a rejection, I got in. Suddenly I’m in a castle in Switzerland for ten days with ten other writers, all expenses paid, meeting with filmmakers from all over the world, a French chef cooking every meal, and international filmmaker mentors engaged in my script.. And there’s a film festival happening at the same time, so I got to watch international movies I never could have seen at home, and meet the filmmakers behind them. It was supportive and heartening and life-changing. I never would’ve found it if I wasn’t in this mindset of, “Why not? Let’s try.”

The funniest part is, the rejections I did get simply felt like part of a game. Of course there were some meaningful things I wished I’d gotten, but it wasn’t so devastating and wasn’t so personal. I ended up building relationships I couldn’t have planned for and opening doors I didn’t know existed. It taught me in a new way how showing your work matters. So now I just keep going. I’d rather take the risk and see what happens. Sometimes “why not” turns into a castle in Switzerland.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a screenwriter and playwright who writes crime drama, grounded sci-fi, and dark-ish comedy/drama. I’m also currently writing a debut YA dystopian novel. Apparently I can’t resist a creative challenge, or chaos. I’m wired to imagine big worlds and complicated people

I started writing early — I was such a shy kid and quite a daydreamer. I spent lots of time with my imagination and wrote everything down as a way of processing my experiences. And because I was so quiet, I was a bit underestimated. That is, until one day I opened my mouth and won a debate at school. That moment stayed with me, and I’ve noticed my stories tend to feature clever underdogs who flip the script and defy expectations.

No matter what the genre, I’m captivated by the relationships between people and that’s what I love to explore. I write what I’m wrestling with and have fun turning the volume way, way up. Genre is the playground, but emotion is the engine.

Growing up in New Jersey, I was taken early to NYC theatre, and happily never left. I became a theater rat as a teenager, haunting rush lines and black box theaters. At the same time, I was writing for the school paper and I loved digging into people’s stories, so I went to journalism school and worked in it long enough to learn deadlines, research and how not to crumble when someone edits you.

When I moved to LA, I hustled as an assistant, wrote a script, and got into the American Film Institute for screenwriting, where I also got to direct a short. Then Disney hired me to write a short film about dropout prevention. I created a story about a troubled kid and the school janitor who become each other’s heroes. It ended up winning an award for them, which was so rewarding.

Since then, I’ve sold and developed work with ABC, Imagine, Mattel, Universal, and The Food Network, among others. I’m a proud WGA, west member and a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre Playwrights Unit

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The Rick Rubins book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being is one of the most inspiring books I’ve ever read on the subject. I especially love this quote: “Art is choosing to do something skillfully, caring about the details, bringing all of yourself to make the finest work you can. It is beyond ego, vanity, self-glorification, and need for approval.”

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is when people feel something, and maybe rethink the world a little, too. Stories saved me as a kid. Now I’d like to do that for someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.judelutz.com
• Instagram: @judelutz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JJLutz
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jude-lutz-6a35666/