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I'm a big football fan. I've watched enough games in my life to pick up all the cliches and superstitions the announcers, coaches and players talk about. My two favorite are : "I'd rather be lucky than talented" and "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."
Regarding the first: I've known quite a few talented screenwriters who can't get a break. And I've known quite a few lesser talented individuals who've made some serious money because they were in the right place at the right time and were blessed with some major luck.
That's the way it goes. I've been lucky in certain areas. In other areas I haven't. So be it. I once got 5 out 6 in the lottery. Instead of winning $7 million I won $2,400. That's the way it goes.
As far as the other saying: "It's not how you start, it's how you finish," I'd say that's a pretty smart observation and verey applicable to screenwriting.
I've read dozens of scripts that started good--real good--and then petered out at the end. And I've read others that had a weak start, that moved along choppily and slowly but surely gain momentum and then suddenly we're in Act Three and things are rolling along and then we get to the end and it's a slam dunk, satisfying ending.
All the writers of those scripts had to do was go back to the beginning and fix it. The writers who missed the boat in the third act and at the end, well, they had bigger problems.
The message? Don't panic if you start slowly. You can always go back. Concentrate on getting the ending right. And exciting. And satisfying. |
