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My POV
Brian A. Wilson
Neither Squashed nor a Squasher Be
William Goldman opened and closed the book on Hollywood with his famous quote: "Nobody knows anything."
Unfortunately, not many people in Hollywood can embrace this concept as the liberating piece of news it is. After all, if nobody knows anything, you don't have to have all the answers either, do you? This frees you to work on your art and craft, create your gift to the world and take your best shot at reaching the largest number of people with your creation.
Instead, people feel threatened by Goldman's deceptively simple truism. Lack of self-esteem or balance in their lives leaves them feeling like know-nothings. The easiest way for them to feel better about themselves is to try to make you feel worse, look smaller by comparison or, better yet, quit your work entirely.
Are these people nuts? You bet. Worse, they're very clever nuts. They won't come right out and say, "You should quit writing." Instead, the cloak themselves in the guise of a mentor, well-meaning acquaintance, even teacher. This, unfortunately, makes their "you should quit" message even more powerful. It comes out as, "Nobody is buying anything." Or "The Hollywood systems is stacked against new writers, making it impossible to get in." "You can't get an agent." "Only established writers get read/sold/represented/loved." "I've sold more than you have." "Reading books/taking courses/writers' groups don't work."
Any of this sounding familiar? It's all baloney, all cut from the same wet blanket designed to dampen your enthusiasm for your projects, your career, your love of your art.
Just today, I heard teacher-a teacher, mind you--speak at a seminar.. One of her opening remarks: "When I started in this business, I thought I could change the world. I couldn't, and you can't either."
How this person gets out of bed every day is beyond me.
Yes, I know it's show BUSINESS. Yes, part of the equation is making money, profitability, repaying investors, net, gross, residuals, gap financing and on and on.
But the only thing that precipitates any of that business side is success on the art that comes before it. And the best art changes the world. Not in an instant, not always on a grand scale, but it does change the world.
Don't give in to these "suppressives," as screenwriting instructor David S. Freeman calls them. It isn't easy, but you must ignore this drumbeat of negativism if you're to have any chance to realize your art.
As writers, we can tend to get pretty down on ourselves and even our friends. Be on guard for this.
Don't badmouth yourself or your work. Don't start a pitch with, "Well you probably won't like this, but...." You don't have to be Pollyanna regarding your career or your buddy's latest script, but you can choose to look for solutions instead of just naming problems. You can encourage yourself and others around you to keep going, keep climbing that hill, instead of squashing their ideas and impulses.
The world needs what we're creating. And what we're creating changes and shapes the world, every day, in big ways and small.
And that, my friends, is about as good as it gets.
Keep writing.
BW
LA
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