Meet Celena Cipriaso: TV Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Celena Cipriaso and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Celena, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Discipline is the thing that matters to me the most. I would be nowhere withtout it. I decided when I was 12 years old that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t know what type of hard work that meant. It took me many, many years (until my 30s really) to understand that the main thing that drives a creative career is the need for discipline. In my 20s, I started and stopped a lot of projects when finally my best friend gave me a piece of advice that changed my life, “Celena, you need to finally finish something.” I didn’t realize that writing is not just about the desire to write or having ideas, it’s about the drive and the motivation to do it. You can’t create anything if you don’t put the work in and finish something.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It’s never easy to be a TV writer. It sounds like and it is an amazing job, but you really have to love it if you want to pursue it. It’s one of the toughest jobs there is to pursue because there’s so many people that want to do it and so many talented people out there. The way I overcame the challenges is that I kept writing. Each year, I would try to write a new sample. I always thought if my last sample didn’t get me the rep or the job or the fellowship, I wrote another sample and kept trying. You just keep trying to get better and experimenting until you find your groove. What I learned is while you need to love the writing, you can’t be too attached to a script when it doesn’t work out. Also, I learned that the writing is not the only thing that matters, people are just as important, cultivate those relationships in the industry, but do it in an honest way, be friends with people, care about the projects they work on, build a support system around you — that’s how you get through the hard times. Those are the people who will let you know about a job and who will tell you your writing needs work. In terms of my story, I think what’s most important is that I use my background as an inspiration and a strength. All my writing comes from that and that’s where the truth comes out.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love Griffith Park, LA Historical Park, Musso and Frank’s, Red Bird in DTLA, Colombo’s in Eagle Rock, Mezcalero in DTLA, the top of the Ace Hotel.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that have helped me get where I am, but one particular group that has been amazing to me has been Chicks with Scripts. It’s through them that I got a life-changing Writer’s Assistant gig and my manager, which started me on the road to where I am. The women that run this group are amazing and so supportive.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celena-cipriaso-3a737516/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/celena.cipriaso/

Image Credits
NBC, Jessica Sherman