Most of you who have written scripts know how difficult it is to stick with it from start to finish. I myself aspire to not only become a writer, but a "complete" filmmaker who does it all (i.e. Coen Brothers, George Lucas, etc). But in my attempts to write my first script and get the ball rolling, I often get beaten down by the idea that I might just be one of the many who don't make it. However, hearing about people like Diablo Cody and Michael Arndt, who basically hit home runs their first time out, drives that desire back into me that maybe I do it too whether it's on my first or 15th attempt. I was just wondering if any of you knew of any other "overnight" success stories like these and what kind of success any of you have had recently.
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Looking for that motivational spark.
- Thread starter cin0001
- Start date
Most writers improve the more they write, but there are some who have immediate success. Even then, good writers are always trying to improve. You really never do stop learning.
I never planned on writing screenplays until this past winter...I've always been a writer but I've always done so in other mediums. Then one day...INSPIRATION! I know I've had your problem in the past, where I wanted to write but nothing came out. Maybe that means I'm not as good a writer as others I don't know, but I always need something to be passionate about and then I really get into it.
It's not uncommon for me to spend almost an entire day writing. I turn on some music that I feel fits the mood I'm looking for, and I can just pace for an hour or several hours while I think and brainstorm. When the juices are really flowing I might stay up all night. A while back I hit a dry spell and could just sense that I lost a little bit of the passion that I needed, so I went to the home depot and got some supplies and brainstormed and put everything I could up on a story board and turned it all into a construction project...hey, anything to get you worked up and excited about what you're doing. Even the best, when working on their masterpieces, have days where they just don't feel excited about what they are doing.
Finally, in my experience, great writers are people who have had pretty interesting lives. The more interesting, the more experiences and perspectives you have to draw on. All of your characters--their thoughts, their actions--should have unique persona. If they all sound like and do the things you do, then that makes for bad writing. The only way to pull this most important aspect off is to pay attention to lots of different kinds of people.
Good luck and persevere! That's the most important word when it comes to creativity.
When I used to train actors I would start my first class with a new intake with the following question:
"Do you want to be an actor, or do you want to be famous?"
There isn't a wrong or right answer to the question, but it is important to understand what your motivation is.
For many of the kids I trained, they had picked acting because they wanted to be famous and acting seemed like the route to that goal. They would have been just as happy to achieve celebrity and wealth through a reality TV show. Fame, and the things they thought it would bring was the thing they desired.
Now, the problem with the chase for the fame is it has an almost automatic "failure" built into it... because you end up constantly judging yourself against whether you've "made it" or not. And, as most people don't ever meet the target they set for themselves (being the next Spielberg), they judge themselves as failures.
Now, those kids who wanted to become actors generally ended up being happier, because they considered themselves a success every time they got onto the stage, or ran a children's workshop, or spent a few days working on a student film.
I guess what I'm saying is this... it's better to want to make great films than it is to worry about how they'll be perceived in the industry. If you "make it" in terms of industry success it'll be a by-product of that process rather than the goal. I also think people who concentrate on making a great film because the process itself is what makes them happy, also make the best films. Film makers who chase fame generally end up becoming hacks... because they're always trying to second guess the industry.
If you want to find motivation look to what it is about the story you're telling that fascinates you... that's where motivation comes from.
"Do you want to be an actor, or do you want to be famous?"
There isn't a wrong or right answer to the question, but it is important to understand what your motivation is.
For many of the kids I trained, they had picked acting because they wanted to be famous and acting seemed like the route to that goal. They would have been just as happy to achieve celebrity and wealth through a reality TV show. Fame, and the things they thought it would bring was the thing they desired.
Now, the problem with the chase for the fame is it has an almost automatic "failure" built into it... because you end up constantly judging yourself against whether you've "made it" or not. And, as most people don't ever meet the target they set for themselves (being the next Spielberg), they judge themselves as failures.
Now, those kids who wanted to become actors generally ended up being happier, because they considered themselves a success every time they got onto the stage, or ran a children's workshop, or spent a few days working on a student film.
I guess what I'm saying is this... it's better to want to make great films than it is to worry about how they'll be perceived in the industry. If you "make it" in terms of industry success it'll be a by-product of that process rather than the goal. I also think people who concentrate on making a great film because the process itself is what makes them happy, also make the best films. Film makers who chase fame generally end up becoming hacks... because they're always trying to second guess the industry.
If you want to find motivation look to what it is about the story you're telling that fascinates you... that's where motivation comes from.
If you love writing, you can not fail (unless you do not write).
The average WGA writer write 9 screenplays before ever making a dime. Which makes me average.
But I don't understand why you would not want to write 50 screenplays if it took that many to break in. If you are doing what you love, writing the script is the reward. Once you "break in" you do not sell every script you write - from looking at the listings in Film Writers Guide (this was a decade ago) it seemed like the big spec writers had about a quarter of their originals land somewhere. Personally, that's about my average. Maybe a quarter of my specs sell, the rest are floating around somewhere - in and out of option... or sometimes just collecting dust. I could take assignments and have a much better batting average, but I prefer to write my own stories. I love to write - so I don't mind that I may have to write 4 scripts to sell one.
You need to take this one step at a time. Finish your first script.
Your motivational spark - you want to write the script. If you don't want to write scripts, do something else.
- Bill
The average WGA writer write 9 screenplays before ever making a dime. Which makes me average.
But I don't understand why you would not want to write 50 screenplays if it took that many to break in. If you are doing what you love, writing the script is the reward. Once you "break in" you do not sell every script you write - from looking at the listings in Film Writers Guide (this was a decade ago) it seemed like the big spec writers had about a quarter of their originals land somewhere. Personally, that's about my average. Maybe a quarter of my specs sell, the rest are floating around somewhere - in and out of option... or sometimes just collecting dust. I could take assignments and have a much better batting average, but I prefer to write my own stories. I love to write - so I don't mind that I may have to write 4 scripts to sell one.
You need to take this one step at a time. Finish your first script.
Your motivational spark - you want to write the script. If you don't want to write scripts, do something else.
- Bill