3 - 2 - 1 | Screenwriting Thursday
Quick Plug: I will be opening another NoonWriters slot that suits the more traditional 9-5 crowd! If you’re interested you can sign up here!
NoonWriters is currently in beta mode, so just know that when you stop by we might be experimenting with something new! PLUS you have the opportunity to help shape the entire program!
Alright, lets get on with it:
3 IDEAS FROM ME
I.
As I was requesting a few scripts from last night’s AFI Screenwriting Spotlight (essentially a pitch fest) I was reminded of an incredibly simple way to help secure your scripts: Watermarking with the person’s name you’re sending it to.
Personally, I think the fear of someone stealing your script is MASSIVELY overblown. It’s 10,000 times easier to just pay you for your work than rewriting “your idea” from scratch.
I see a lot of screenwriters who are afraid to share their work for fear it will be stolen - but the fact is, sending it out as much as possible is how this industry functions. If you’re too afraid to share your script, no one will ever make it.
II.
Around the office - I’m hearing that unpublished short stories are gaining traction - some of them being purchased for millions.
Being well-connected is pretty essential to be able to bank this kind of cash, but something to consider.
III.
HAVE the audacity to share your work! You would be surprised at the quality of some screenplays being sent around.
Don’t use this as an excuse to put shoddy work into the world on purpose - you should always be aiming to ‘be so good they can’t ignore you’ - but don’t let fear hem you in either.
2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS
I.
From Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way:
”As blocked creatives, we often sit on the sidelines critiquing those in the game. ‘He’s not so talented,’ we may say of a currently hot artist. And we may be right about that. All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves and artist to center stage.”
II.
The illustrious Elizabeth Gilbert from her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, which she wrote after the success of Eat, Pray, Love when she felt like her next piece could never amount to its predecessor’s success:
“Perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat, pretending to be elegant when actually it's just terrified. Because underneath that shiny veneer, perfectionism is nothing more that a deep existential angst the says, again and again, 'I am not good enough and I will never be good enough.”
