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WHAT EVERY WORKING WRITER HAS IN COMMON
My Fellow Writers,
The day after I graduated college, I wanted to become a writer. My first out-of-school job was at Warner Bros. I've been everything from a script reader to a development executive. Over the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to begin to make the changeover to writer.
In my experience, I've met with and talked to hundreds of writers. I think I have a pretty good sense of what makes the difference between the ones who make a living at it and the ones who don't - and perhaps never will.
I've seen writers who hate writing who are wonderful; writers who love writing and are terrible. I've seen writers who have been writing since childhood who still don't get it and brilliant writers who didn't start until they were 45. I've seen writers who read a book a day, and others who never read. I've seen larger-than-life folks who are boring writers and boring dweebs who are great. Some can pitch, some can't. Some write burning-fast, some don't. Some kill on the first draft; others need fifty drafts.
There are no rules. But one. Writers who work FINISH THEIR PROJECTS.
I've mentioned my own strategy to do this many times - when I'm in writing mode, I write every day, no matter what, at least an hour a day; most often, a lot more than that. And I set deadlines that I make an honest effort to hit, even when they're merely self-imposed.
I don't care how you do it, but if you're going to go out there and call yourself a writer, you'd better figure out a way to do it, too. "Finish" doesn't mean rushing through a project to get the page count - it means turning your script into the best possible realization of its vision.
The biggest shortcoming I see in new writers is that they simply don't take the time (make the effort, bleed, sweat, toil, claw, scratch, bite, persist, endure, and push themselves) to finish.
I've seen and heard too many novice writers who talk about how much they love writing, but who don't have a project (or five or ten) to show for their passion. If you don't have it, you're not going to be hired by anyone. You can talk a great game, pitch a fabulous project, or get some true life rights, but unless you have a parent or spouse who's a studio boss, you won't get the assignment without a sample.
I know I have my limitations. But I also know my strengths - my focus and my persistence. And I use those strengths to finish projects. Draw on your own best qualities to do the same, one way or another, and you'll help move yourself closer to being a professional.
Finished,
Grady
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