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The mistakes just keep coming. So far we have: Mistake #1, Going Out with your Script Before It's Ready; #2 was Going Out with your Script Before YOU'RE Ready; #3 was Going Out with your Scripts Before The Industry is Ready; and Mistake #4 was Taking the Easy Road.
So you make sure you're doing all the right things. You're ready, your script is ready, you did all the work and then some, so you have no doubt that you are putting in the great deal of effort that it takes to make things happen. You're so committed, in fact, that you're putting in EXTRA effort, not leaving anything to chance, and investing every gram of your soul, spirit, blood and sweat into your beloved screenplay. Nobody would ever accuse you of not laboring hard enough to give birth to your 110-page baby because, in fact, you've worked harder at this than at anything else in your life. And once you're done (you're still working on it, remember, these things can't be rushed) your efforts will be paid off accordingly: If you pay your dues, the rewards should come back to you in the same proportion -- massively. Right?
Not necessarily. Though I admire and applaud the efforts of folks with this mind-set, I have to point out that a lot of them are probably making...
Mistake #5: Taking the Hard Road.
"Hey, wait," you're thinking, "haven't you been riding our butts all this time about slacking, not putting in effort, and the like? And now that we are, you're saying it's too much?!"
Well, yeah. In screenwriting, as in most other things, there can be too much of a good thing. I have personally seen writers kill themselves (almost) over a script. One friend rewrote the same piece for FIVE YEARS, over numerous drafts, and tortured himself psychologically each time out. Another acquaintance drove herself crazy (and I mean LITERALLY) over getting her script perfect. And I've seen many more who valiantly strain for perfection, but only end up hurting their scripts and their souls.
It's easy to understand. In an industry that is nothing if not unpredictable, it's comforting to think that by putting in great amounts of effort, the results on the other end of the equation can be predicted. Unfortunately, there is no equation (not one that works this simply, anyway). But it's an easy trap to fall into, and once you do, you find that your struggles over individual scripts tend to drag down your overall productivity (my friend could have written as many as ten scripts in that five years, instead of the one.) And, after a certain point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in; your script stops getting better, and only becomes different (and often worse.)
But there is a larger, more subtle point here and that point is, well, subtlety itself. Being a good screenwriter, like being a good anything, requires a light touch, a certain efficient elegance that, while forged through repeated practice of one's craft, (for you that means writing MANY scripts) is not about brute force. You want to shoot for that certain Zen place where the writing just happens. And, perhaps paradoxically, the more you TRY to make it happen, the less it happens.
I hope many of you get my point, but in case you don't, read this over a few times. Maybe think of things (other than writing) that you are good at and have been doing for a long time, and apply what I've said. I think you'll see the truth in my words. And once you do, maybe some of you can give yourselves a break and relax a little.
But not too much. There are more mistakes lurking out there. I'll be here next week with one of them. Plus, I'll vent on the upcoming Writer's Guild strike which, at the time of this writing, I can say definitely will or will not happen. (But if it does, it's sure to be a short one, unless it's a lengthy one, or something in-between.) |
