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Here we are. The last of the Seven Myths of Screenwriting. First, let's review the previous six: 1)You either got it or you don't; 2)You don't have to rewrite (if you nailed the first draft); 3)You're creating Art; 4)You're creating Crap; 5)It takes one good script (to start a career.); and 6)You can be a screenwriter from anywhere, in your spare time.
Now within these six myths (and their corresponding realities) we've learned how you should think about your work, how you should WORK with your work, how to get your work out and start making it work FOR you, and how to maximize your chances in the entertainment industry (a note here: We've been talking about feature screenplays, but all of these principles apply equally to writing TV spec scripts and attempting to break into the TV industry.)So let's assume you've acquitted yourself of the myths, adopted the realities, and are plugging away.
And nothing happens. And nothing keeps happening. For month after month, year after year. A possibility? Well, we've established (firmly)that breaking into screenwriting is one of the most difficult feats around. So...how long do you try? When do you throw in the towel? A year? Five? Ten?
Myth #7...If you don't make it in (six months/a year/five/ten years) then you should give up.
A common game-plan for those who want to try their hand at this game is, "I'll give myself a year. If nothing happens in that time, then it wasn't meant to be, and I should move on." What's wrong with this plan? (I'm talking about the above sentence with ANY time-frame plugged in.) Well, the problem is that this type of thinking, by its nature, necessitates that you won't give screenwriting your all. That is, by limiting your window of "making it" to a finite time period, NO MATTER HOW LONG THAT PERIOD IS, you are by the very act of doing that saying that screenwriting will not be your life's work, that it's not important enough to devote as much time as it takes to get where you want to go.
Think about it. If you were a lawyer, and you said "I'll give this law thing a year, and if I don't get a big case in that time, I'll shine on the whole thing." You'd be laughed at, because (as everyone knows) if you're a lawyer, then you're a lawyer, and if you don't get a big case up front, eventually you will. But it's obvious that if you give up before then, you'll never get anywhere.
The above is obvious in law, medicine, engineering, etc., but for some reason it's not obvious in screenwriting (as well as acting, the visual arts, and other creative endeavors.) But just as in the more conventional vocations, you can't expect to be a success if you don't devote your life to it.
Now I'm not saying that "making it" will always defy set time-limits. Plenty of people make it before even the six-month mark. But the important point is that a TIME-LIMITED ATTITUDE is what will kill your dream. It's only when you've adopted the mind-set that you will keep at writing (and all its attendant duties)until you DO make it, no matter how long it takes, or die trying, that you will truly be in a position to reap success.
My experience bears me out on this. The only people I know who gained success in a reasonable time were those who had no time-limits set. It was this dedication and single-mindedness that made it happen. But those who "give themselves X" to make it invariably watch their deadlines pass. Because for the entire time X, their whole heart/mind/spirit wasn't invested in their dream.
So if you're truly serious about screenwriting, then the sky (time-wise) should be your limit. Once you've thrown away the yoke of that ticking clock you'll be in a position to break through to success. But until then, time is on your side. |
