Humility? It’s respecting the reality of your journey and the mountain we all climb daily to reach any level of success as screenwriters. It’s knowing you’ll never be bigger than your craft, as screenwriting is a lifelong learning process. It’s accepting there will be massive sacrifices to get even one movie produced and distributed. It’s accepting the journey is not a sprint with shortcuts, but a long haul marathon with no guarantees of success. It takes about three or four scripts just to learn the format and find your voice, and it may take ten scripts to sell your first one. Do yourself a huge favor early in your journey and respect these facts. The great Rod Serling said, “This is, if not a lifetime process, it’s awfully close to it. The writer broadens, becomes deeper, becomes more observant, becomes more tempered, becomes much wiser over a period time passing. It is not something that is injected into him by a needle. It is not something that comes on a wave of flashing, explosive light one night and say, ‘Huzzah! Eureka! I’ve got it!’ and then proceeds to write the great American novel in eleven days. It doesn’t work that way. It’s a long, tedious, tough, frustrating process, but never, ever be put aside by the fact that it’s hard.”
Also don’t be lulled into the belief that somehow it’s going to be different for you because you’re “special” or more “talented” than the next screenwriter. Approximately 50,000 precious screenplays bounce around Hollywood every year and nobody really cares. Many of these scripts are poorly written by writers looking for their easy “big break” or a huge sale bringing them fame and fortune. This is why Hollywood continues to build the walls higher and higher to filter out those who are not serious about the craft. Hollywood doesn’t owe you a read, a sale, or even a career. Just because you’ve put words to paper doesn’t mean anything to the bigger Hollywood community because it’s inundated with screenplays. In fact less than 100 specs sell in any given year and in 2021 only 34 specs sold. Those figures are not to scare you away from your pursuit, but a reminder to humble about the journey and what you are up against. This way, you will treat your screenwriting career pursuit with the seriousness and dedication it needs and deserves.
If you did finish your screenplay, congratulations because you’ve accomplished more than most. Usually aspirants talk about their writing process more than actually writing. Humility also comes from knowing that you’ll have to create a solid body of work to standout. One script isn’t going to do it and ten poorly written scripts will definitely not do it. I finally made some noise with my fifth spec screenplay. It sold and was eventually made into a film and distributed worldwide. That opportunity opened the door to assignment work, and I just completed my 24th script assignment last month. I’m blessed to have seventeen produced films and late last year my latest thriller SMART HOME KILLER premiered on cable and became available on streamers.
What about competition? Do not worry, you are not competing with ‘A-list’ screenwriters at this moment. But there is always someone who wants a career in screenwriting more than you and is willing to work harder and sacrifice more than you’ll ever be willing to do. That’s okay. Don’t worry about the outside competition, the only real competition is with yourself to become a better screenwriter with every successive script you write. The goal should be realizing your growth as a screenwriter with every new project. After having written 42 feature screenplays and 9 TV pilots, I still learn something valuable with every screenplay and learn from every producer, executive, or director I am blessed to collaborate with on the projects. We never stop learning on this journey and that should humble you as well.
We are all special and unique, but we all still have to learn and write our way to any type of success by doing the necessary work, following disciplines, and maintaining our drive and passion. We all have to fill our blank pages for a shot at any level of success. Even with talent and a fantastic screenplay, there are still no guarantees. Writers who sell screenplays can also find themselves lost in development hell where their work never becomes produced. Some projects even become lost in the mire of financing or they fall apart due to global market changes and a myriad of other problems.
If you are not humble and thankful for the little successes along the way, the film business will quickly humble you. Be humble, as it will serve you well on your long journey to reach any level of success. Know the monumental journey ahead of you, respect it, and get on with the hard work of creating fresh, authentic, and unique stories that showcase your talents. The rest is just luck, but you know that luck is a prepared screenwriter who meets an opportunity and knocks it out of the park! Keep writing and keep the faith because if you stop—you’re guaranteed never to have any shot at success!
Scriptcat out!
Copyright ©2024 All rights reserved. Written by Mark Sanderson on his blog MY BLANK PAGE.
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If your passion drives you to embark on this crazy adventure of a screenwriting career, you’ll need to prepare for survival in Hollywood’s trenches. Talent is important, but so is your professionalism and ability to endure criticism, rejection, and failure over the long haul. The odds may be stacked against you, but the way to standout in this very competitive business is to create a solid body of work and build a reputation as a team player and collaborator. The rest is just luck — a prepared screenwriter who meets with an opportunity and delivers the goods. “A Screenwriter’s Journey to Success” will help you prepare for your own journey with the necessary, tips, tricks and tactics that I’ve developed over the past twenty years of working in the film industry. It’s time to start living your dream as a screenwriter in Hollywood. CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER FOR THE LINK TO AMAZON
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“It is no small feat to get a movie made, on any subject, on any screen.” — JJ Abrams”It is no small feat to get a movie made, on any subject, on any screen.” — JJ Abrams
“Just do the best you can every time. And if you’re going to stay in the movies, and you like movies—and I love them—you’d better love them a lot, because it’s going to take all of your time. If you want to be in the movies, it’s going to break your heart.”—Richard Brooks
“When you start a movie script, it’s like entering a dark room: You may find your way around all right, but you also may fall over a piece of furniture and break your neck. Some of us can see a little better than others in the dark, but there is no guaranteeing the audience’s reaction.”—Billy Wilder
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