Scott,
I wish I could tell you how incredibly timely this post is. I just pitched an idea for a suspense/thriller to my manager and he pitched it to some producers and they like it. Ordinarily, I just sit down and write with no thought as to who's going to read it and when. Suddenly, I'm putting all this pressure on myself in a way I never have before.

You said: For example, we may get caught up in seeing the story as a bridge from our life today to our life in Hollywood as a working screenwriter. To carry that weight of 'responsibility' into a writing session, that attachment, can easily encumber our actual writing -- and soon we're stuck, not because of the story, but what we are bringing to the writing.

... Truer words were never spoken. I'm going to print out that post and read it every time I sit down to work on this script. Thanks, man! Once again, you rock!!

Congrats justwrite7 on the initial interest on your suspense/thriller. You can use their interest to energize you, but don't let that become an encumbrance to your writing process. Rather, go into the story, find it and write it on its own terms.

Good luck. And if you hit some bumps along the way, feel free to post here for feedback.

And don't forget: Trust the process!