Most aspiring writers don't appreciate how hard it is to be "good enough" to break in to the entertainment industry. And then there are the writers who think "good enough" means being just barely better than the latest bad movie released by Hollywood. In this week's ep of the webshow, I explain why the writers who make it are never satisfied with just being better than the worst of their peers.
Yeah that's a great post. It seems there are precious few avenues for someone who feels (as you state of yourself) that they're almost on the verge to actually verify this without paying fees or risking Scriptshadow-style humiliation. I've had such wide-ranging responses to material of mine from fellow writers that it's hard to tell, as some comments are clearly clueless, others asinine, and others professionally jealous. It's hard to spot the supportive but clinically critical readers from all the rest.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true, but this message is also what stops a lot of baby writers in their tracks and renders them impotent. We keep studying and reading and learning and writing and every time we think we've hit a little milestone, we get told we're a hack. The goals keep moving, the standards are so high we can't just... write. We sit in terror. Blocked. Terrified. A balance of encouragement and criticism/harsh reality is always needed.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about coddling baby writers. It's about not making a toddler feel like shit just 'cos it can't walk as well as a 20-year-old. Because then it'll become too scared to try. And if I have learned anything over the years, it's that shit writers have less self-doubt than talented ones.
I'm currently in a period of inability to write after being kicked off the horse, and I'm giving myself some time to breathe before I get back in the saddle. Those of us trying so hard to be brilliant need to remember that first drafts are allowed to suck ass, and we shouldn't be scared off from sucking our way to brilliance.
Okay, that sounded wrong. But in LA, either path is possible ;)
Great post as always. Really appreciate all you do.
ReplyDeleteMost of the 2012 Academy Awards Nominees used "ing" quite liberally.
ReplyDeleteGreat take on an overlooked topic. I don't know if my scripts will end up produced; but I do know that every one, whether good or bad, will be my best work.
ReplyDeleteI am not going to be satisfied until I am considered the best at my thing. I want to be the first name executives think of when they wonder who should write this smart action script. Anything less is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteI just want to know why the puppet has a gig and i don't! I have the same eyebrows, I deserve a shot!
ReplyDeleteYup. That's how you retain the crazy. Hours of sitting alone in a coffee shop, plowing through, and pretending that the java is helping the story. *If I can't visualize it, it never drops on the page.
ReplyDeleteEven Scorsese recently said he's no where near where he wants to be as a director.
Kaufman and Allen. That's where I want to be.
I agree, though there's something to be said for sending out any script that you think is "good enough", because that's the only way you'll learn how far short it falls. My personal definition of "good enough" has evolved over the years, and I don't think I would have ever learned how far I had to go unless I had thought I was good enough in the first place... which was about 7 years before I sold anything.
ReplyDeleteSo, I am on board with what you're saying, but think it's one of those things you can't really learn from a webshow: you have to chuck yourself in and figure it out the hard way!
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ReplyDeleteOne time, I entered this screenwriting contest. I didn't win, let alone become a contender. It seemed that the judges didn't like my voice as a writer. It didn't discourage me from writing, but it did discourage me from entering contests because the "industry standard" of what's a great script isn't a fixed thing. I could go the easy route and get mad over how my work isn't being produced...or I could just write the best work I can. Maybe I'll break in while being a background extra...
ReplyDeleteP.S.: The contest I entered doesn't exist anymore because the screenwriting magazine that managed it went bankrupt.