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Many (if not all) of you reading this no doubt enjoyed the recent Academy Awards telecast. And many (if not all) of you reading this are aspiring screenwriters. But as the drama of winners and losers unfolded Sunday, as the glitz and buzz and pageantry floated by on your TV screens, the dual concepts of Academy Award and Your Career as a Screenwriter might have been for many (if not all) of you reading this two totally unrelated items. "After all, " you think to yourself, "what does that magical, Hollywood glamor have to do with me, sitting at home in my underwear and pecking away at a computer keyboard, not only doubtful that the fruits of my labor (not to mention the Fruit of the Looms in which I performed that labor) would ever be award-worthy, but doubtful that anyone of consequence will ever even READ MY STUFF!?"
Well, all right, maybe trying to connect your writing efforts with a future Oscar is a stretch. But for many (if not all) of you, full-time professional writerhood, from the ranks of which those lucky Oscar-getters arise, seems just as beyond your grasp. Now last time we talked about the various breeds of Screenwriting Hobbyist. And I told you that there was one thing you can do that will greatly increase if not guarantee your chances of leaving the ranks of Hobbyists for the much more select fraternity of pros. It's a subtle, powerful, profoundly simple yet devilishly hard-to-grasp concept, but so few people ever use it to their advantage because so few even know what it is.
I always get a giggle when I pose this question to students in my classes and seminars. I ask "What's the one thing you need WITHOUT WHICH YOU MOST LIKELY WILL NEVER BECOME A PROFESSIONAL WRITER?" And the answers come flowing: Talent; dedication; passion; focus; hope; creativity; inspiration; dedicated time for writing; connections; energy; charisma; money.
Some of the above are byproducts of The Thing, some are prerequisites, some are just wrong. But none really comes close to the true answer.
Okay, I'll stop teasing and give it to you. Ready?
The thing you need is TO DECIDE YOU ARE GOING TO BE A PROFESSIONAL WRITER.
"What?" you're no-doubt asking. "What the hell does that mean?" Bear with me, now, I said this was subtle.
Think about the above for a moment. Really analyze it. If you DECIDE something, then not only do you begin to put energy towards it, but there is something concrete, tangible, real about it. You'll notice that things we decide on are no longer huddled under the umbrella with wishes, dreams, and hopes, nor are they vulnerable to things like fear, doubt, or uncertainty. A decision has been made, and now you will do whatever is necessary to accomplish your goal because, after all, you've made a decision. Simple as that.
If you're still not convinced, sit with this for awhile. Really let it sink in, and eventually you'll realize two things: One, you'll realize that I'm right, that a decision to do something is the only way for it to become a reality. And second, you'll realize that what had, upon first reading it, seemed like a simple thing is not simple at all. Because making a decision to do this very difficult thing means dedicating resources and time and energy and focus and everything else on the above list, and more. It means that you're serious about your career, because you've decided you'll have one.
And therein lies the difference between the vast sea of Hobbyists and the relatively small pool of Pros. At some point, evey professional has made that decision. Some are lucky, the ones that you hear always knew they wanted to be a writer (these types are found in every profession.) But for everyone else, at some point a conscious act of decision-making had to take place.
So will you ever be there, a paid, professional, full-time writer, possibly an Oscar nominee, possibly a winner? That's for you decide. |
