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Is the pursuit of a screenwriting career a whim? A diversion? Something to do inbetween jobs? Inbetween majors? Or are you committed to taking a respectable shot at this most difficult of professions?
By respectable shot I mean how long are you willing to keep at it?
I've had students--very talented students--who gave up after a year or two. The sound of too many doors slamming in their faves and phones being hung up in their ears just got to them. They weren't resilient enough. I'm not saying they were weak. Just not resilient enough.
And frankly I think they were smart to walk away. They weren't enjoying it. They were depressed. They felt shut out. That's no fun and hard to take. And it can effect your work. It can turn off the creative juices which is a whole other kind of pain.
The down side of giving up too soon (or maybe ever) is that you'll never know that if you waited one more day or wrote one more screenplay or took one more meeting your fortunes would turn.
I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: pursuing a career as a screenwriter is a marathon. I sincerely believe that those who stay in the race will be rewarded. The rewards may be small (at first), but it's those little successes that sustain you until the bigger ones come.
I know a lot of screenwriters (TV writers, playwrights, novelists, stand ups, actors, directors) and I've watched them fall away or grow stronger, have bad periods and good periods, get a deal, almost get a deal, get an agent, get a manager, get meetings, get phone calls returned, get respect and make a living doing what they want to do.
But the ones who make it, be it big or small or in the middle, are serious about it. It's not something they do for laughs or because it sounds cool at a party.
So if you're serious: cool. If you're not, ask yourself why you're in this game.
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