Top 10 Misconceptions About the “Art” of Screenwriting
Screenwriting isn’t an “art form” - Let’s just cut to the chase with this one, even though I am biased holding an MFA from UCLA in Screenwriting. But, on this point, I would battle until the ink is dry. Screenwriting, like painting, sculpture, or paper mache’ statues of garden gnomes in their youth takes skill and talent. And skill and talent take work and commitment or what was the great Vincent Van Gogh doing for hours, capturing the light on canvas in Arles, France? You want to be a screenwriter you have to love the craft and you have to really desire flexing that muscle in your thoughts and fingers. It’s art and everybody is a critic.
You can’t make it unless you live in Hollywood - Firstly, Hollywood is no longer the only destination for the newly arrived scribe from The Midwest on a Greyhound bus. We are living in an age where content creators can have more eyes on their YouTube channels than there are derrieres in chairs (seats) at a movie theater. Movies are made all over the world about all sorts of people. Write the story because you love the story and where it is set, not because you are married to the results. Or the dream of snagging an Oscar. You can be Spielberg from Saskatchewan, I promise.
You need to have written a lot of scripts before anybody will take you seriously - Picasso didn’t have the same trajectory as DaVinci and the other Leonardo (DiCaprio) scored roles that Christian Bale might have been better cast. There is no formula for how things work. The only thing you can do, whether your first or fifth screenplay, is to insure you wrote it from your soul with passion emanating from every part of your being.
It’s the easiest way to become rich and famous in the film industry - Most people who work in the film industry are neither rich nor famous. They do it because the love it, so if you want to join the ranks of the dreamers, this is the right vocation for you. If you want coin, bank, or bucks, I’d suggest going another route...it might happen, the only enriching that writing can give for certain is to your soul. Chalk that one up as “priceless”.
Nobody will “read” you without an agent - That is a fallacy. You could manage with a manager, an entertainment attorney. Or even a really great contact. It’s on you to network even to land representation, so know and love your story inside and out, so when the opportunity presents itself, you can pitch your script with all the vim and vigor needed for somebody to want to hear more!
Your script will never get made - Sometimes they languish for years. Sometimes, they become calling cards to secure your next gig. Sometimes, you have to find the financing to make the movie. There are all sorts of combinations and permutations to meeting this goal. How about finishing the script first and then worrying about the future?
You have to establish yourself as “master of the genre” Kinda like The Masters of The Universe? Uh, that’s a hard no. You can write in any genre in which you are comfortable and you don’t have to be limited as a comedy guy, that family drama screenwriter, the go to girl for horror. You just need to write well.
No means no - It doesn’t. Any meeting you attend that doesn’t yield the desired results, guess what? You have the opportunity to ask questions, to hone your craft when you tackle the next draft. Additionally, when you meet with somebody, ask them what they are looking for, what they are working on, etc. No means in the immediate, it doesn’t limit your future collaborations. Remember that. Even A list writers know what a hard pass feels like.
You can age out of this business - That’s so wrong. I plan to stick with my craft until my teeth fall out of my mouth. (Geez, I hope that doesn’t actually occur and my guild dental insurance precludes that from happening, but I digress) Writing keeps your brain active and your soul youthful. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s too late or too early to pursue your writing dreams.
You don’t need to re-write - Yeah, you do. And so do I. Good writing is rewriting and if you are AT ALL adverse to making that commitment to yourself and your craft, I’d give it up here. You might be better suited to building sandwiches in a Subway or hanging on to your career in the aeronautical industry. We are human and our words are fallible. It’s our job to correct them because they reflect us on the page. Rewrite and prosper, I always say!