Meet Jordan-Paige Sudduth

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan-Paige Sudduth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jordan-Paige, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I keep my creativity alive by waiting for inspiration to come to me. I learned early on that forcing my creativity to flourish when it’s not ready is a recipe for half-baked stories, writer’s block, and general frustration and lack of confidence in my stories. Most times, I find that when a story is ready, it’ll come to me and begin to form in my mind in its own time. If a fleeting idea comes to me but doesn’t stick around, then I know it’s not time for it yet, or it’s not my story to tell. Once I feel a story is about 70% complete in my head, I’ll sit down and write an outline and continue with the writing process.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hey! My name is Jordan-Paige Sudduth and I’m a 22-year-old screenwriter, actor, and content creator from Atlanta, Georgia, now living in Buford, Georgia. I’m proud to be a queer, autistic, anxiety-ridden storyteller, and I often center my stories around authentic autistic, asexual, and/or aromantic representation in young adult media. I sold my first feature script in as a long option at 19 in the spring of 2021, and gained literary representation after my short film “ACES” went viral on YouTube (now being written as a feature script).
Currently, I’m working on rewrites for the “ACES” feature script, planning to write a new science fiction pilot in the near future, and am getting ready to film a few upcoming projects as an actor in April.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1.) Communication! Communication is so incredibly important in all aspects of life, including the film industry. Nothing gets done if no one communicates, or if communication isn’t performed effectively, instructions can get lost in translation, leading to major issues and potentially even cutting ties between creatives. Don’t burn bridges unless you’re 100% you don’t want to rebuild them!

2.) Confidence in Yourself
It’s easier said than done, I know (trust me). But trusting in yourself and your abilities is so important to reaching your goals. If you don’t believe in yourself, how are you going to convince others to give you opportunities? Fake it ’till you make it, even if you’ve got to trick yourself first.

3.) Being Able To Take Notes/Criticism
Listen, no piece of media has EVER been loved by every single person who has come across it, and they never will! That’s one of the beauties about being human — we’re all different. Receiving notes on your script (or other media) is an important part of the process, and you’ve got to tamp down that initial defensive reaction when people criticize your work (most of us have it, it’s okay!). Take the notes that work and leave what doesn’t, but don’t shut things down immediately — while one note may sound like the dumbest thing in the world at first, three hours later you might find yourself thinking differently.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
Two words: Supported me. My parents have always been there for me. They listen to my wild stories ideas, even if it takes me hours and they lose track of which story I’m talking about. They offer me advice when I ask for it, even though they’re not in the industry themselves.
They offered to provide snacks, water, and transportation to and from my own sets when I started making films at 15 and couldn’t drive yet. They drove me to auditions, ran lines with me, and listened whenever I just needed to vent about the woes of being a teenage independent filmmaker.
I don’t know where I would be without them. I can never thank them enough for all the support they’ve always shown me, and I just hope they know how much they mean to me.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Suzy Hanzlik Cody Ottinger Matthew McKenzie Nick Lester

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